Business and Environmental Studies, B.S.

What is a business and environmental studies degree?

In this novel program, we combine a traditional business core with 40-plus hours of environmental studies electives, ensuring that students understand the triple bottom line of people—planet—profits. The business and environmental studies degree is suited for students who want a well-rounded business experience complemented with rigorous environmental thought. Graduates seek business careers that sustain the natural environment and value social, environmental, and cultural diversity.

Begin Specializing in Your Sophomore Year

Whether you want to be a manager of natural resources, be a leader in environmental advocacy, or start the next green business, a business and environmental studies degree from Florida Tech develops a strong background in business with experience in modern problem-solving strategies and best practices.

Our business and environmental studies program is dynamic and focused. You’ll start with core courses such as Global Business Perspectives and the Whole Earth Course in your first year. Guided by highly qualified faculty who care about your success, you’ll hone your strengths and begin specializing early in your studies.

Gain Practical Experience

As a senior, you’ll complete the practicum in business, a professional internship course in which you apply your business skills and savvy within a dynamic local company. This practical experience provides you with an expanded professional network, and perhaps even a pre-graduation job offer.

The Student Business Incubator (SBI) Practicum is another avenue for business and environmental studies students to explore business startups. The SBI is a living, breathing center for new venture creation.

The incubator combines curriculum, facilities, and expertise to fully immerse students in a semester long Lean LaunchPad program. This business-launching “boot camp” pushes students to speak to customers, vendors, and strategic partners as they gather resources, develop business models, and launch their businesses. You are paired with highly skilled executive entrepreneurs who help you develop prototypes, raise venture capital, and become a successful entrepreneur.

Students who showcase innovative business ideas may be asked to join the Student Business Incubator. This program provides necessary resources and guidance to nurture student business ideas into real business ventures. Through critical thinking and innovation, students have the chance to experience business outside of the classroom and business administration internships.

There was a time when eco-friendly companies were few and far between. Environmental consciousness has caused major corporations to integrate sustainability measures into their organizational mission. To help realize this mission, companies seek out informed business professionals who have an inclination toward environmental stewardship and can effectively manage the issues in sustainability. As a business and environmental studies college, Florida Tech offers a competitive program that is ideal for someone who wants to lead in an increasingly greener world.

Get Firsthand Experience and Intensive Faculty Interaction

One reason students choose the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business at Florida Tech as their business and environmental studies college is because of personalized support by faculty and staff. Students benefit from small class sizes, something not often found in larger institutions, resulting in intensive interaction with faculty mentors.

As an environmental studies college, Florida Tech supports your desire for a socially responsible education. At Florida Tech you will:

• Be mentored by experienced faculty in the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business and Environmental Management program, some of whom have participated in the Florida-Hungary Environmental Studies program, a partnership between the Florida Tech and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, which focuses on faculty development and research in environmental studies
• Have an option to minor in sustainability and collaborate with Facilities Management to increase the number of LEED-certified buildings on campus
• Have easy access to local companies that have adopted green initiatives such as Harris Corporation, a 2011 Governor’s Sustainability Award recipient
• Join any of the more than 100 campus clubs such as the Student Organization of Sustainability Action (SOSA), one of the few organizations open to all majors, which provides students with an opportunity to take on sustainability activities through volunteerism and student group projects

Incorporate Social Responsibility in Both Theory and Practice

Florida Tech prepares students by including corporate social responsibility into our program. Florida Tech’s Sustainability Policy and Plan reflects its commitment toward creating a greener campus. This environmental studies college engages in diverse sustainable initiatives from single-stream recycling to helping students donate unwanted items to decrease landfill waste. Students can also participate in beach cleanups just minutes away from campus.

Participate in Business Competitions

As an environmental studies college, Florida Tech gives students a chance to further develop their business skills through hands-on projects and national competitions such as:

• Strategic Management Intercollegiate Case Competition
• Cadillac Case Competition, where Florida Tech students placed fourth among 53 universities
• ANGA Collegiate Energy Challenge
• Honda CRZ Social Marketing Challenge
• Florida National Guard Promotion Challenge

Located in the Heart of Florida’s High-tech Corridor

Florida Tech is the perfect place for a Business and Environmental Studies degree. The 130-acre campus is located on the Space Coast (so named because of the presence of NASA and the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral just north of us), minutes away from the Indian River Lagoon, the most diverse estuary in North America.

The area has the fifth largest high-tech workforce in the country, with more than 5,000 high-tech corporations and government and military organizations located nearby. This workforce also provides an abundance of internship and employment opportunities.

Florida Tech is just over the causeway from the Atlantic Ocean with its 72 miles of beautiful beaches, and a short trip to the Florida Keys or the Orlando theme parks. We also have a rich campus life that includes a wide range of intramural and collegiate sports, clubs, and social activities.

Build Lasting Professional Relationships through Campus Organizations

Beyond the classroom, business administration degree majors build leadership experience through exciting internships and participation in academic organizations like the Society for Advancement of Management, student government, and over 100 other student organizations.

Delta Mu Delta is a business honor society that seeks to recognize academic excellence, forge connections between business students around the world, and create networking opportunities for business administration internships during college (and careers after college).

Peerless Study and Internship Opportunities

Students in our business and environmental studies program garner real world experience in a variety of ways during their studies. Many Florida Tech students participate in an environmental business internship at local and national companies, including:

• Brevard County Natural Resources Department
• NASA
• The Central Intelligence Agency
• Department of Energy

These organizations, as well as local aquaculture firms, provide Florida Tech students with hands-on experience in their field through a challenging environmental business internship.

Expand Your Knowledge through the Business Plan Resource Course or the Business Practicum

Senior year business and environmental students take part in the Business Plan Research Course. This class gives students a chance to utilize the skills they’ve learned in an environmental business internship and course study to create a business plan for a real or hypothetical business opportunity.

The Major Field Practicum, a six-hour community service requirement, helps students prepare for the business world after college while helping their community. Students, matched with a company that suits their interests, conduct a “live case analysis” of the organization. Our students also participate in studies of local events to determine their impact on nearby economies.

Some of the company partners for these practicums include:

• Northrop-Grumman
• NASA
• Kennedy Space Center
• State Farm
• Merrill Lynch
• Clear Channel Outdoor

Campus-Based Research Opportunities

There are also many opportunities for hands-on learning, particularly through our Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Development, which focuses on entrepreneurial education, global innovation, and practical research in pursuit of new venture creation, sustainability, social value creation, and venture acceleration; and our Center for Ethics and Leadership, which promotes the practice of ethical behavior and effective leadership by engaging in activities that provide a forum for research, discussion, and better understanding of ethics and leadership among all stakeholders in society. Key initiatives in the global management program include an ethics and leadership breakfast, intercollegiate ethics competition, leadership conference and projects about corporate social responsibility.

An environmental business career is for those special individuals interested in both the environment and commerce. An environmental business career affords professionals the opportunity to apply economics to environmental concerns and issues related to the climate and natural resources. A business and environmental studies degree from Florida Tech prepares graduates for jobs in management, advocacy, lobbying, marketing, and consulting.

Get Recruited Upon Graduation

Employers who have recruited Business and Environmental students for careers include:

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Waste Management Inc.
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Northrop Grumman
• Harris Corp.
• Rockwell Collins
• First Intersil
• NASA
• Clear Channel Outdoor
• Kennedy Space Center
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Wachovia

Career Outlook

An environmental business career is available in commerce, industry, government institutions and nonprofit organizations.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides detailed information about hundreds of occupations, including, entry-level education, overall working environment, and employment prospects. According to the Bureau, employment in business administration is expected to grow about as fast as the average of other occupations in the marketplace, while occupations in environmental sciences are expected to grow by 19% through 2020. The Bureau also cites management analyst as one of the hottest careers, estimating growth of 22% between 2010 and 2020. This opens up the opportunity to create an interesting environmental business career.

The handbook states that most employment growth in environmental arenas is in the private consulting sector, where individuals work to help clients monitor and manage environmental concerns and comply with government regulations. Additional job opportunities are available for experts to consult on environmental concerns related to building construction, roadway planning, transportation systems, and protecting natural resources.

Other Career Options

• Environmental scientist and specialist
• Chemist and materials scientist
• Environmental engineer
• Environmental science and protection technician
• Epidemiologists (requires master’s degree)
• Geoscientist
• Hydrologist
• Microbiologist
• Natural sciences manager
• Occupational health and safety specialist
• Educator
• Lawyers specializing in environmental matters, including permitting, litigation, and regulatory issues

Graduate and Doctoral Programs

After receiving their business and environmental studies degree, many of our students go on to graduate school at Florida Tech to pursue their MBA. Nathan M. Bisk College of Business students are eligible for entrance into Florida Tech’s FastTrack MBA, allowing students to finish in five years with both a bachelor’s degree with a master’s degree in business. Students must maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA and complete 95 credits to be considered for acceptance.