The University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business will launch a new double major in Business and Computer Science in collaboration with the College of Engineering. The program will be available for first-year undergraduate students starting in the 2025-26 academic year. Students will complete requirements for the two majors: one of the business majors — accountancy, business analytics, finance, marketing or strategic management — and a major in computer science.

The dual major is the first such joint offering by Mendoza and the College of Engineering.

“The Business and Computer Science dual major is designed for visionary students who aspire to be at the forefront of technological innovation and business strategy,” said Mike Chapple, teaching professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations at Mendoza who will serve as the program’s faculty director. “This unique interdisciplinary program offers the opportunity to not only excel in computer science but also to master the business acumen necessary to bring groundbreaking ideas to market.”

The program is open only to Mendoza students, who must complete the core requirements for business and computer science majors within eight semesters as per University requirements. Mendoza students currently in their first year at Notre Dame will be able to apply starting this spring semester when they declare their majors. Applications will be evaluated based on academic performance as well as a demonstrated vision for how business skills will work together with the student’s knowledge in computer science to advance his or her career interests.

“Firms that traditionally recruit students from both Colleges report strong interest in students possessing both business and technical skills,” said Chapple.

Building a sense of community and service to society is a key component of the Business and Computer Science dual major program. One example of a featured course will be a special section of Mendoza’s required course, Mendoza Foundations of Ethical Behavior, which focuses on ethical and professional issues in technology and business.

The new program was made possible by the redesign of Mendoza’s undergraduate business core curriculum in 2022. This redesign significantly reduced the number of business core requirements to provide students with greater flexibility in crafting an academic plan of study attuned to their interests. The change enabled students to double major in business for the first time, added minors to allow students to pursue specific interests, and increased the opportunity to take coursework outside of Mendoza.

Originally published on Mendoza News.