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Minors

Minors

Add a minor to complement your degree

Finlandia offers almost 30 minors in various disciplines that can enhance your educational experience and further explore interests. Our minors range from 15-21 credit hours.
Click the button below to see a full list of our current minors, or explore our offerings on this page to learn more.
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ART & DESIGN MINORS

Art History

An Art History minor provides students with a foundational understanding of the history and cultural utility of the visual arts from across the world. Additionally, it provides students seeking graduate studies an understanding of history within the context of cultural productions, philosophical theories, and design trends useful in fields such as museum and curatorial studies, gallery management, and art conservation.

Digital Design

A minor in Digital Design gives students with an interest in fields such as web development, package design, and user experience a foundational understanding of visual literacy. The design studios provide a supportive environment for study of the technology-driven fields of design.

Ceramics

Finlandia’s Ceramics minor provides students interested in both functional and sculptural pottery a foundational understanding of the ceramic design process. It introduces students to the development of their artistic practices and pursuits with engaged studio practice.

Fiber & Fashion Design

A minor in Fiber & Fashion Design provides students with a foundational understanding of the materials and processes used in the fiber arts for interior or garment design as well as the fine arts. Students with an interest in 2D and 3D artistic expression will be encouraged to develop their own voice within these artistic practices.

Fine Art

A minor in Fine Art provides students with a solid foundation in the traditional practices of drawing, painting, and sculpture. Students interested in developing a personal style and artistic voice will find strategies within the fine arts to support their lifelong learning goals.

3D Design

A minor in 3D Design allows students to design objects and spaces using the concepts of form and function. It provides students with the methods and the means to develop design strategies through cross-disciplinary approaches and collaborative work skills.

ARTS & SCIENCES MINORS

Biology

The Biology minor sets the foundation for understanding and investigating the science of life. Students begin by exploring the breadth of the field, and then delve into specific subdisciplines with selected courses. This minor will benefit students interested in careers that require an understanding of the biological sciences and/or scientific inquiry.

Creative Writing

The Creative Writing minor allows an avenue for students interested in this form of original expression to develop their passion and skills with the goal of developing as artists and communicators. Creative writing minors can recognize the technical features of literature and replicate or modify them in their own writing.

Criminal Justice

The minor in Criminal Justice provides students with foundations and topics in the field. Students will take the introductory course, criminal law and criminology with other courses of their choosing. The minor can augment various majors for careers that involve law enforcement, criminal profiling, business law, victim advocacy, or otherwise general understanding of the criminal justice system.

English Language & Literature

The English minor provides students with a strong base in the study of literature, proficiency in reading, writing and critical thinking, and exposure to various methods of interpretation and argument. These are desirable skills in a wide range of fields and careers. The English Minor is appropriate for Arts and Science majors, Marketing and Business Management students, and students on any academic or career path where interpersonal communication skills are valued highly.

Environmental Studies

In lockstep with Finlandia University’s stated vision of providing “good stewardship of natural resources” as well as a curriculum that promotes “the well-being of the…natural environment,” the Environmental Studies minor provides a balanced approach to appreciating the complexities of local, national, and global environmental issues via the fields of art & design, the sciences, and the humanities.

Finnish & Nordic Studies

The Finnish & Nordic Studies minor offers an interdisciplinary approach to aspects of Nordic history, culture, and society with a special focus on Finland. Through engaging with language, history, literature, folklore, and contemporary issues in Norden, students develop a broad appreciation of the region and its place in the world. The minor may complement a student’s major course of study, or broaden a student’s base of knowledge and skills entirely separately from the major. Students in the Finnish Studies minor can prepare for a number of fields in graduate school, or for employment in cultural, business, governmental, and NGO sectors.

Gender & Sexuality Studies

The Gender & Sexuality Studies minor is an interdisciplinary course of study that focuses on gender, sexuality, feminism, and men’s studies. Students take six courses offered by different academic disciplines in order to explore the issues surrounding gender & sexuality in a nuanced, exploratory, and critical way.

Global Studies

This minor will allow students to compare a variety of global cultures to prepare them for life and work in an interconnected world. Possible regions of study include the Middle East, Scandinavia, Europe, SE Asia, and beyond; thematic approaches include cultural anthropology, human geography, history, business, criminal justice, and international relations.

History

History is an ideal minor for students majoring in Business, Marketing, Art and Design, or any Liberal Arts degree. The skillset of a historian includes outstanding written and verbal communication, data collection and analysis, argumentation, and persuasion—all of which can help prepare students to be successful in today’s competitive marketplace.

Human Science

The Human Science minor intersects natural science, social science, and health science in order to explore human life from a scientific perspective. This minor will help prepare students for graduate school or careers that require knowledge of how to approach the study of human biology, behavior, and society both skeptically and critically.

Military Science

The minor in Military Science focuses on officer leadership training. It emphasizes the development of practical problem-solving, decision-making, leadership, and communication skills, which are valuable in various professions. The courses are completed with the Army ROTC program in cooperation with MTU. Students enroll in ROTC courses at Finlandia and attend the courses on MTU’s campus.

Philosophy

The Philosophy minor is an excellent way for students to complement their studies: by taking just five courses students will engage with the history of philosophy while honing their critical thinking, argumentation, and writing skills. The philosophy minor is a clear indicator to graduate programs (such as those in law and medicine) that students are ready for the rigor of their studies.

Pre-Law

A minor designed to help prepare students for the rigors of pursuing a law degree. Skills emphasized include logic, ethics, written and verbal communication skills, critical textual analysis, and a background knowledge in the field of law.

Psychology

The Psychology minor examines the study of human behavior, cognition, and emotion, each from a scientific perspective across many subfields. It will prepare students for any career which values listening and communication, creative and skeptical insight, critical questioning and evaluation of information, and using data to guide decision making.

Religious Studies

The Religious Studies minor has value beyond mastering content. It is for people who aspire to develop intellectual openness, the capacity for mindful questioning, and appreciation for diversity. The critical reading skills developed are useful even beyond the reading of sacred literature. This minor explores content that is relevant to understanding history, social structures, arts and literature, and politics.

Sociology

The minor in Sociology helps students investigate modern societies, and shows them how to conduct social research. Class content includes major sources of inequality – like class, race, and gender – and how they get transmitted across generations. Students also examine the social significance of even apparently trivial features of our lives, such as how we talk, how we use technology, and how we consume media images. These skills are especially valuable for anyone pursuing a career in behavioral science, policy research, communication, advocacy, advertising, or social work.

BUSINESS MINORS

General Business

The General Business minor gives students basic competencies in general business practices and culture in order to enable them to work in a managerial, marketing, or related capacity within their chosen career field.

Healthcare Management

The Healthcare Management minor allows business and other students to familiarize themselves with the field of healthcare management. Nursing and other students can also earn the minor provided they meet the course prerequisites.

International Business

This minor gives business majors additional specialized studies in the field of International Business. It would put students on the path for eventual Certified Global Business Professional certification.

Management

The Management minor gives non-business students the background that could serve them in managerial and supervisory positions in their chosen career field. This minor also provides business majors with additional specialized studies in the field of Management.

Marketing

The Marketing minor allows non-business students to build a background in Marketing that could serve them in related positions in their chosen career field. The minor also gives business majors additional specialized studies in the field of Marketing.

Sports Management

The Sports Management minor provides business students an option for a second field of specialization in Sports Management. It can also be a minor option for non-business students who meet the required prerequisites of BUS 245 Principles of Marketing and BUS 271 Principles of Management.

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