General Business Minor

The General Business Minor is a 15-credit minor designed to complement any major. The purpose of the minor is to provide fundamental business knowledge and skills that will prepare students to make a positive impact at work and in society. The expansive list of electives includes courses from multiple schools across Grounds, providing an exciting opportunity for students to tailor the program to best complement their major area of study. In contrast, the B.S. in Commerce Program is a three-year intensive program in which students participate in the Integrated Core curriculum and concentrate in one or more study areas: Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Management, and Marketing.

Students may declare the General Business Minor after they have (1) declared their major in SIS, (2) completed COMM 1800, and (3) completed two of the four core courses. Submit the minor declaration form when you have completed these requirements.

There is no application for the minor. It is simply a declaration process that occurs after students have declared their major. Students must fulfill all the requirements of the minor and earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the 15 unique credits taken for the minor in order to graduate with the credential. 

There is a great deal of flexibility as to when you need to start the General Business Minor. COMM 1800 is a prerequisite for CGBM 2110, 2210, 2310, and 2710. COMM 1800 can be taken beginning in your first year. You must be at least a second-year to take any of the CGBM courses. As for the electives, many of these courses do not have prerequisites. Hence, they can be taken at any time (i.e., before, concurrently, or after your CGBM coursework). 

No. Students who are admitted to the B.S. in Commerce Program may not also pursue the minor.

The list of courses that count as electives continues to grow. The most up-to-date listing can be found at this site. Please note that there may be limitations on whether a given course can count as electives based on your major (e.g., ECON 2010 cannot count for both the General Business Minor and Econ major). Students are responsible for checking with their major.

You may request a course count as an elective for the General Business Minor. This system allows you to see what UVA courses have been previously approved as electives, as well as to select additional courses to be considered. 

For a course to be considered as an elective, it must meet the following criteria:

1. Taken for a grade (as opposed to C/NC)
2. Conveys foundational business knowledge
3. Employs professional skills (critical thinking, teamwork, etc.)
4. Applied learning experience

You will need to submit a syllabus for the specific course before a final decision can be made. Approval is up to the discretion of the Director of the General Business Minor Director. All decisions are final.

Approval given through site only confirms that the course will count towards the minor’s requirements if the student completes the course. Students must work with the instructor of record for any course to make sure that they meet the prerequisites for the course and that there is room available in the course for the student to enroll.

It is highly recommended that students first discuss any study abroad courses with their adviser in their UVA school of enrollment to make sure that:

1. The course will be accepted by the school of enrollment (e.g., College of Arts & Sciences, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy), and
2. The adviser confirms with the student how the number of credits for the course will convert from the abroad institution to UVA’s course credit system.

After confirming the information above, the following is possible through a UVA-approved study abroad program: 

• Up to 1.5 credit hours of core courses for the General Business Minor may be satisfied with study-abroad courses.
• Up to 3.0 credit hours of electives for the minor may be satisfied with study-abroad courses.

All requests regarding study-abroad courses and the General Business Minor should be made at this site.

In general, COMM 1800 and the core courses must be taken at UVA. However, we will accept credit for COMM 1800 and CGBM 2110 taken at another university before joining UVA as long as those courses would count for credit in the admittance process for the B.S. in Commerce Program. We will also allow students to transfer up to 3 credit hours of electives if those courses were taken at another university before joining UVA and are accepted for credit in the application process to the B.S. in Commerce Program (e.g., credit for either COMM 2020 or ECON 2010). Please reach out to our advising team with any course-specific questions.

No. All coursework for the minor needs to be taken at UVA or through a UVA-approved study-abroad program. The only exception to this policy relates to coursework taken prior to joining UVA.