Business Acumen

Related Content

Huntsman School Majors/Minors Course Descriptions Differential Tuition

The Business Acumen is a set of 17 courses that every business major is required to take, regardless of their major. This allows each student at the Huntsman School to get a foundational business background in addition to the specialized knowledge of their selected major.

The goals of the Huntsman School Acumen are to:

  • Introduce key business disciplines including accounting, finance, leadership, marketing, and operations.
  • Examine the broader economic, legal, and social context within which business activity occurs.
  • Develop important quantitative, information technology, and communication skills used by decision makers.

The Business Acumen provides the platform upon which students can develop specific skills and competencies offered by the School's seven majors and twenty-one minors.

List of Business Acumen courses

Business Acumen courses require a C or better in all courses except those noted with a single asterisk (*) that have major-specific grade requirements (see details below).

It is recommended that DATA 1100 Excel for Business Analytics and DATA 2100 Data of Information Business noted with double asterisk (**) be taken concurrently. 

  • ACCT 2010 Financial Accounting Principles *
  • ACCT 2020 Managerial Accounting Principles
  • BUS 3200 Professional Communication with AI (CI)
  • DATA 1100 Excel for Business Analysis **
  • DATA 2100 Data and Information in Business **
  • DATA 3100 Making Decisions with Data
  • DATA 3300 Intro to Modern Data Analytics (QI)
  • ECN 1500 Intro to Economic Institutions, History, and Principles (BAI)
  • ECN 2010 Introduction to Microeconomics (BSS)
  • FIN 3200 Corporate Finance (QI) *
  • FIN 3300 Investments 
  • MGT 3050 Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation
  • MGT 3350 Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
  • MGT 3700 Operations Management *
  • MSLE 3500 Fundamentals of Marketing *
  • MSLE 3800 Leadership
  • MSLE 3890 Systems Strategy and Problem Solving

* Major-Specific Grade Requirements for Acumen Courses:


  • Accounting Major
    • B or better in ACCT 2010
  • Economics Major
    • This major does not require the Acumen courses but does require a C or better in all courses
  • Finance Major
    • B- or better in:
      • FIN 3200 
  • International Business (Teach Out) Major
    • B or better in MSLE 3500
    • B- or better in: 
      • FIN 3200
      • FIN 3300
      • MGT 3700

  • Management Major
    • B- or better in:
      • MGT 3700 (Required for all emphases)
      • FIN 3200 (For Wealth Management emphasis)
  • Marketing Major
    • B- or better in MSLE 3500