Business - ASU Polytechnic
Mark Manfredo
About this opportunity
The W. P. Carey School of Business offers a number of use-inspired and industry-related business degree programs at the ASU Polytechnic Campus. Degree programs include the Bachelor of Science in Management as well as a number of concentrations in the Bachelor of Arts - Business Administration program including Global Agribusiness, Food Industry Management, Human Resources, Technology, Business Administration, Sustainability, Applied Business and Technology Solutions, and Communication. The faculty of the W. P. Carey School’s Morrison School of Agribusiness create the core of the resident business faculty at ASU Polytechnic. The ASU Polytechnic Campus is also the academic home of the Human Resources program through the Department of Management. A number of faculty from other W. P. School of Business academic departments also teach courses at ASU Polytechnic.
Business faculty at ASU Polytechnic work closely with Barrett staff in guiding students towards honors contracts and research opportunities. Barrett students can work with business faculty on honors contracts for a number of business courses taught at ASU Polytechnic. Often business courses taught at ASU Polytechnic have lower student-to-faculty ratios, allowing Barrett students to explore exciting research and experiential learning opportunities with faculty members. Business faculty at ASU Polytechnic, in particular faculty in the W. P. Carey School’s Morrison School of Agribusiness, have advised a number of multidisciplinary thesis and creative projects, often working in conjunction with faculty in other W. P. Carey School of Business departments as well as faculty in the Fulton Schools of Engineering and College of Integrative Arts and Sciences (CISA).
Barrett students are encouraged to get involved in one or more of the several business-related clubs / organizations at ASU Polytechnic including Leaders Academy, Business of Food Club, Sigma Alpha, Business Ambassadors, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R), and the Pre-Vet Club. A number of business-related experiential learning opportunities are also available to Barrett students studying at ASU Polytechnic, including opportunities to attend both local and out-of-state industry events and conferences. A very popular experiential learning opportunity is the Food Retailing Strategy Development and Case Study Competition where students work on a real-life case problem facing the food retail industry and present their case solution to a panel of industry judges at the National Grocers Association (NGA) Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Faculty Honors Advisor (FHA) for the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU Polytechnic serves as an important resource for Barrett students at ASU Polytechnic who are pursuing business degrees through the W. P. Carey School of Business, as well as students outside of the W. P. Carey School who may want to include some element(s) of business in their thesis / creative project. The FHA can also help identify faculty across ASU willing to collaborate and advise on multidisciplinary thesis / creative projects.
Thesis
Faculty in the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU Polytechnic embrace multidisciplinary research and are open to working with Barrett students from any major The faculty have a wide range of research interests including human resource management, the technology / business interface, food and agricultural business, economics, risk management, and sustainability topics related to the food, water, energy nexus. For more information on the research interests of business faculty at the ASU Polytechnic Campus see: https://fab-lab.wpcarey.asu.edu/people
Below are some recent thesis / creative projects advised by faculty in the W. P. Carey School of Business' Morrison School of Agribusiness at ASU Polytechnic:
A Financial Feasibility Analysis on: 3D-Printing Solid State Lithium-Ion Batteries
Four Peaks Brewing Co: Covid-19 Hits the Brewing Industry
Is Good the Enemy of the Perfect? Bundling Food Resources to Combat Food Insecurity
Academic Preparation
There is no specific academic preparation for successful completion of an honors thesis / creative activity beyond an open mind and desire to learn.
Learn about some of our Barrett students in the program:
Julia Ladner, Business communication major, who applied her honors thesis and internship work to employment with the State of Arizona.
Amanda Hinkle, Barrett Alum who graduated with degrees in Business Food Industry Management and Business Administration shares her journey through honors and ASU.
Recommended Timeline
Students begin discussing their thesis near the end of the semester prior to the academic year in which they plan to graduate (typically near the end of their junior year). However, students are encouraged to start their thesis / creative project as early as possible.
Students are highly encouraged to contact the FHA, Professor Mark Manfredo (manfredo@asu.edu) to discuss thesis / creative project ideas. Professor Manfredo can also help students connect with other W. P. Carey School of Business faculty, both at ASU Polytechnic and the Tempe Campus, as well as faculty outside of the W. P. Carey School.
Other Honors Opportunities
The following special topics course can be taken for honors credit:
- ST: Business of Beer (HON 394)
Honors contracts can be created on a case-by-case basis with faculty. Some examples of courses taught both at Poly and online as iCourses / oCourses in which honors contracts have been highly successful include:
- Introduction to Agribusiness (AGB 100)
- Economics of Resource Allocation: Food, and Agriculture (AGB 250)
- Agribusiness Marketing (AGB 321)
- Agribusiness Finance (AGB 333)
- Agribusiness Management (AGB 410)
- Food and Agribusiness Policy Issues (AGB 414)
- Food Advertising and Promotion (AGB 420)
- Food Supply Networks (AGB 425)
- Commodity Futures and Options Markets (AGB 435)
- Global Food and Agricultural Trade (AGB 452)
- Food Production Innovation and Development (AGB 456)
- Strategic Pricing in Food Markets (AGB 481)
- Frontiers in Risk Management (BUS 436)
- Business Risk Management (BUS 434)
- Human Resource Management (MGT 420)
- Employment Law (MGT 424)