Is a Business Major Right for Someone with a Learning Disability in Math?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the suitability of a business major for individuals with learning disabilities in mathematics. Participants explore the mathematical requirements of business degrees, including topics like finance, accounting, and statistics, and compare these to the math demands of other fields such as engineering and science.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about the level of math required in business degrees, noting their own learning disability in math and questioning the curriculum's demands.
  • Another participant mentions that business majors typically take elementary statistics and business calculus, describing them as relatively simple and catered to business students.
  • Some participants argue that the math courses required for business majors are not as rigorous as those for physics or engineering majors, suggesting they are almost insulting to be labeled as college-level math.
  • There is a discussion about the perception of business majors as lacking mathematical knowledge, with some participants defending the rigor of certain business programs, particularly at the PhD level.
  • Participants note that while some business specialties may require advanced math, many business courses primarily involve basic arithmetic and statistics.
  • There is mention of the preference for quantitative backgrounds among MBA employers, although MBA-level math is often described as not requiring calculus.
  • Some participants highlight that the actual math involved in business courses can vary significantly depending on the specific major chosen.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the mathematical rigor of business degrees, with some asserting that they are less demanding than those in science and engineering, while others argue that certain business specialties can be quite rigorous. Overall, there is no consensus on the perceived difficulty of business mathematics.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the level of math required can depend on the specific business major, with some areas potentially requiring more advanced mathematical skills than others. There are also differing opinions on the implications of the current economic climate for understanding business mathematics.

FishmanGeertz
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I am considering a business degree, and I have a few questions concerning this field of study.

I have a specific learning disability in mathematical comprehension. I know that a business major involves finance, accounting, and statistics, which involves numbers and math. What level of math is a required part of the curriculum?

I believe with extensive training and tutoring, I would be able to perform advanced-level mathematics, but with great struggle and difficulty. In high school, I excelled at every other subject (especially writing and spelling) and was on the school's honor roll. I graduated with a 3.6 GPA a few years ago. My only "problem" was in the field of math.

In the business world, most of the number-crunching is done with simple calculators. The really difficult math lies mainly in the fields of science, physics, and engineering.

If you have a business degree or MBA, what kind of input can you give me?
 
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The business majors at my school (FYI I'm not one but I am friends with one) have to take elementary statistics and business calculus. Both class are catered to business people and are pretty simple. From what I hear statistics is just "how to a calculator". Business calculus while being a watered down, trig-less version of differential calculus is still calculus. I would say its pretty easy but if you have a disability, it might prove hard.

Some other classes like accounting or economics might involve number crunching but no kind of symbolic math.

Then again every major would have to take math classes since its part of a general education.
 
Chunkysalsa said:
The business majors at my school (FYI I'm not one but I am friends with one) have to take elementary statistics and business calculus. Both class are catered to business people and are pretty simple. From what I hear statistics is just "how to a calculator". Business calculus while being a watered down, trig-less version of differential calculus is still calculus. I would say its pretty easy but if you have a disability, it might prove hard.

Some other classes like accounting or economics might involve number crunching but no kind of symbolic math.

Then again every major would have to take math classes since its part of a general education.

So you're saying that the math given to business majors is fairly simple and nowhere near the difficulty and complexity of the math given to physics, engineering, and science majors.
 
FishmanGeertz said:
So you're saying that the math given to business majors is fairly simple and nowhere near the difficulty and complexity the math given to physics, engineering, and science majors.

The math courses business majors have to take shouldn't even be considered college courses. It's almost insulting to say they're math courses.
 
Pengwuino said:
The math courses business majors have to take shouldn't even be considered college courses. It's almost insulting to say they're math courses.

What about MBA's?
 
FishmanGeertz said:
What about MBA's?

I can't imagine they have any more mathematical knowledge. Business majors are just notorious for being dumb as bricks when it comes to mathematical knowledge.
 
Come on gentlemen, no reason to belittle a fellow degree. Sure at the undergrad level business may not require advanced math, but PhD in Business tend to borrow heavily from Mathematical Statistics and Operation Research (i.e. Management Science).
 
Yea the math is not even close to anything in science.

Also while a PhD in business might need to know some advanced statistics an MBA probably won't add any math.
 
Chunkysalsa said:
Yea the math is not even close to anything in science.

Also while a PhD in business might need to know some advanced statistics an MBA probably won't add any math.

A PhD in any field of study is mainly for people who want to teach and become professors?
 
  • #10
FishmanGeertz said:
A PhD in any field of study is mainly for people who want to teach and become professors?

...no.

A PhD is for people that want to do research.
 
  • #11
I am currently studying business and engineering and the math i am required to do for my business courses does not even compare to my engineering math classes. My observation is that once you get past the initial introductory math units (statistics, calculus etc.), the actual math involved in business classes is almost limited to arithmetic and very basic statistics. Of course it will also depend on which majors you take; a major in quantitative finance will probably require that you take classes in multivariate calculus and statistics, whereas a major in accounting will involve mainly arithmetic.
 
  • #12
danago said:
Of course it will also depend on which majors you take; a major in quantitative finance will probably require that you take classes in multivariate calculus and statistics, whereas a major in accounting will involve mainly arithmetic.

Ah yes, forgot to mention this. A few specialties can get damn serious with the math courses going beyond what some science majors even require.
 
  • #13
Pengwuino said:
Ah yes, forgot to mention this. A few specialties can get damn serious with the math courses going beyond what some science majors even require.

I heard from my friends who have been to the US on student exchange, that the top business colleges, such as Wharton, demand mathematical sophistication to the equivalent level of engineering undergraduates, especially from students in quantitative concentrations...
 
  • #14
Pengwuino said:
I can't imagine they have any more mathematical knowledge. Business majors are just notorious for being dumb as bricks when it comes to mathematical knowledge.

Except for the very significant portion of MBAs with science and engineering backgrounds :smile:. Many of the employers hiring MBAs prefer to see that quantitative background as well. But MBA level math is typically nothing you'll need calculus for. Excel is the preferred tool for business math.
 
  • #15
kote said:
Except for the very significant portion of MBAs with science and engineering backgrounds :smile:. Many of the employers hiring MBAs prefer to see that quantitative background as well. But MBA level math is typically nothing you'll need calculus for. Excel is the preferred tool for business math.

What is "excel?"
 
  • #17
kote said:
Except for the very significant portion of MBAs with science and engineering backgrounds :smile:. Many of the employers hiring MBAs prefer to see that quantitative background as well. But MBA level math is typically nothing you'll need calculus for. Excel is the preferred tool for business math.

Well, of course. I was just saying what is typically required from most business majors. I know a few physics majors who went on to Business school after they got their BS.
 
  • #19
FishmanGeertz said:
So you don't need a bachelors degree in mathematics or be a genius, to understand business?

Quite the opposite, as you might be able to discern from how the economy works these days.
 
  • #20
Pengwuino said:
Quite the opposite, as you might be able to discern from how the economy works these days.
OK, let's not go overboard now. The state of the economy is not and never will be a strong indicator of how good people who study business understand business.
 
  • #21
Ryker said:
OK, let's not go overboard now. The state of the economy is not and never will be a strong indicator of how good people who study business understand business.

Point taken. However there are examples of people who tried to outrun basic mathematical premises that drive economics.
 

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