Business

Study business near one of the leading financial and corporate centers in the world—Chicago.

A business major or minor at Lake Forest College provides students with fundamental accounting and finance tools that can be applied to virtually any industry or leveraged to enable students to start their own businesses.

Business is a highly practical area of study focusing on established theories applied to real-life situations with an eye on the increasingly global and technologically sophisticated business world. Business majors will be able to demonstrate the fundamentals of accounting, marketing, and finance.

Business

Make your own way: business at Lake Forest College

Lake Forest College students can double major with a minor or complete one major and two minors to create unique intersections of study. Combining a finance or business major with the entrepreneurship minor, for example, creates a powerful combination for launching your own business.

The business major at Lake Forest College allows students to customize their path and focus their degree with personal goals in mind. There are three concentrations available in the business program:

Accounting
Management
Marketing

The business-related student-run organizations provide the opportunity to develop leadership skills with hands-on activities, participation in regional and national conferences, and professional development networking.

blonde student chatting with another student

Collaboration

In the business program at Lake Forest, students learn to value collaboration, which will help them form networking connections. Our students learn to embrace effective collaboration with enthusiasm.

Analysis and Self-awareness

Strong leaders can reflect upon and analyze the self in order to better assess various situations in the business world. Lake Forest College business students develop keen self-awareness that helps lead to successful business leadership.

Communication

One of the key components of a successful business is the ability to communicate the value of their product to consumers. Students learn to write well and communicate effectively beginning in the first semester and culminating with a research paper or thesis in their senior year.

Chicago: a leader in the business world

With easy access to one of the leading corporate centers in the world—Chicago—students majoring in business at Lake Forest College have career-building opportunities you won’t find at most other colleges. Professors have vast connections and use the rich resources of Chicago to complement class work and demonstrate the practical applications of theories learned in the classroom. Students are exposed to some of the finest internship opportunities in the country and graduate with the skills and experience necessary to become successful business leaders.

The Chicago Metropolitan Area is home to 35 Fortune 500 companies. Students can access industries involved in manufacturing, distribution, printing, publishing, insurance, transportation, financial trading and services, and food and beverage.

Make the most of the city

Many of our economics, finance, business, and entrepreneurship students participate in Lake Forest College In The Loop, the College’s off-campus residential semester program in Chicago. Students reside at The Flats, a college residential building located in the heart of the South Loop, while also completing academic coursework and an internship in their area of study.

Access a vast professional network

Our students' access to Chicago ensures they are plugged into a vast professional network. Lake Forest College boasts a strong community of alumni who give back to the College in tangible ways by helping students and recent grads. And it’s not just alumni; it’s professors, parents of alumni, parents of current students, trustees, and friends of the College. Through these connections, students have access to hundreds of professionals willing to help them understand and navigate the business world.

Explore the Forester Network

“

I have advanced professionally in my role as a project manager, and I now manage numerous clients and help achieve company goals. I love being able to deliver solutions to my clients. Lake Forest provided a valuable education, giving me both soft and hard skills that have helped me in my career.

Aleksandra Oluic '20, Alight Solutions

Opportunities for Engagement

Lake Forest College Investment Club

Students listen to talks by finance professionals and learn the basics of investing through the "Wall Street Bootcamp" program.

Financial Management Association

The FMA is a global organization that provides knowledge and resources to help people make informed financial decisions.

Omicron Delta Epsilon

Omicron Delta Epsilon recognizes outstanding academic achievements in economics.

American Marketing Association

The AMA provides invaluable professional development and networking opportunities.

Business internships at Lake Forest College

The Chicago area offers many opportunities to pursue meaningful internships in a variety of professional settings that can give business majors an advantage in the job search. Students can experience and explore careers in their field of interest to see what’s right for them while gaining valuable skills and practical experience that employers look for. Out students have interned or secured a job with: