ACADEMIC YEAR BUSINESS MINOR

Program Overview

Sophomores in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Nursing are eligible to apply to the Academic-Year Business Minor program in the fall of their sophomore year. Admission to the Academic-Year Business Minor is highly competitive. Applications will open on October 15 and close on December 15. Final decisions are not made until after fall grades are posted in January.   

Review the steps for applying for the Academic-Year Business Minor below.

Step 1: Determine your eligibility and review admissions standards

Only students in their second year at Villanova in CLAS, Engineering, and Nursing may apply for the Academic-Year Business Minor. This includes students who transfer into Villanova as sophomores in the fall semester.

Admission to the Academic Year Business Minor program is highly competitive. Competitive applicants for the Academic-Year Business Minor program should have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.9 and have taken at least one class in a quantitative course listed in Step 3 with a grade of at least A- at Villanova (not including AP credits). The average GPA of last year’s class was 3.9 and less than 30% of applicants were admitted to the minor last year.  

If you were not accepted for internal transfer to VSB in the spring of your first year, you are eligible to apply for the Academic-Year Business Minor in the fall of your sophomore year. However, the Academic-Year Business Minor is as competitive as the internal transfer program.

Students not meeting this academic profile are strongly encouraged to consider the Summer Business Institute (SBI). Students who complete SBI earn their business minor in 10 weeks over the summer and have access to the same VSB resources as students completing the Academic-Year Business Minor. There are many additional benefits for completing SBI as compared to the Academic-Year Business Minor (see “Consider alternative VSB programs” section below for more information).

Step 2: Review Academic-Year Business Minor curriculum requirements

Academic-Year Business Minor Course Requirements: prospective students should review the minor requirements and discuss how the courses may apply to their degree requirements with their academic advisor. Students complete the minor in a minimum of four semesters and concurrently take classes with VSB students.  

Students accepted to the Academic-Year Business Minor are required to register for VSB1015 Business Dynamics (3 credits) and VSB1000 Information Technology (1 credit) in the spring semester they are accepted. Admission decisions are released before the spring semester begins, and accepted students will receive instructions before classes begin to make adjustments to their schedules. Students unable to register for VSB1015 Business Dynamics and VSB1000 Information Technology in the spring of their sophomore year will not be allowed to complete the Academic-Year Business Minor.

Step 3: Register for mandatory quantitative courses

Applicants for the Academic-Year Business Minor are required to take a minimum of one of the quantitative courses listed below.

Strongly recommended quantitative courses list:

• ECO1001 Intro to Microeconomics  
• ECO1002 Intro to Microeconomics (or higher-level economics course) 
• STAT1430 Business Statistics (or higher-level statistics course)

Other quantitative courses considered in application but do not count towards Academic-Year Business Minor requirements:

• MAT1312 Biocalculus  
• MAT1320 Calc I for Liberal Arts 
• MAT1500 Calculus I (or higher-level mathematics course)
• STAT1230 Intro Statistics I (does not satisfy Academic-Year Business Minor statistics requirement)
• STAT1313 Statistics for Life Sciences (does not satisfy Academic-Year Business Minor statistics requirement) 

Step 4: Consider alternative VSB programs

Students interested in the Academic-Year Business Minor are strongly encouraged to consider the Summer Business Institute (SBI). Students who complete SBI gain access to VSB resources, additional VSB courses and minors, and are well positioned to pursue careers in business and other industries. 
 
Many students choose SBI over the Academic-Year Business Minor because SBI allows them to complete introductory VSB courses earlier than the Academic-Year Business Minor, better positioning themselves for internships and to more meaningfully engage with VSB events and programming. 

Completing SBI also allows students to take more advanced VSB courses and minors earlier than students who complete the Academic-Year Business Minor. Because the Academic-Year Business Minor takes four semesters to complete the introductory business courses, it leaves little time, if any, to take additional courses in VSB afterwards. SBI students are eligible to take advanced courses in VSB as soon as they complete SBI because they have completed the equivalent VSB core prerequisites over the summer.

Step 5: Apply for the Academic-Year Business Minor 

Applications for the Academic-Year Business Minor will open on October 15, 2026 and remain open until December 15, 2026. Check back in October for the application link.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Academic-Year Business Minor advising team at  vsb-ug@villanova.edu.