Minors

The minor in Arabic studies promotes language proficiency, as well as a deeper understanding of Arabic culture. Students who arrive at Carnegie Mellon with previous language experience and/or who have high Advanced Placement, an International Baccalaureate, or internal placement exam scores can take courses toward the minor earlier in their undergraduate program.

All university students are eligible to pursue a minor in biological sciences in conjunction with a major in any other department. The minor provides students with a broad-based perspective in biology. Students pursuing the minor in Biological Sciences will acquire basic knowledge in the key areas of biochemistry, genetics and cell biology, and relate this foundational knowledge to more specialized areas through electives.

A minimum of six biological sciences courses (and two chemistry prerequisites) must be completed to fulfill the minor in biological sciences. The curriculum includes four required courses and two elective courses. Units awarded for undergraduate research are not applicable to elective courses. Courses taken in other departments or colleges will be considered on an individual basis.

The minor in business administration is for students in other majors who wish to explore the functional areas of business administration. For students entering the university in or after the fall 2015 semester, the minor requires a total of six business courses (54 units) comprised of required courses, constrained electives and electives.

Computational biology is the discipline of approaching biological and biomedical problems using computational methods. The computational biology minor introduces students to the process of using biological data to build integrated models of biological systems, analyzing that data to find solutions to biological questions.

Students minoring in computer science will obtain a basic level of understanding of the fundamentals of the discipline. The minor enables students to explore sub-areas of interest within computer science, based on their interests. Students completing the minor will be able to use, design, develop, identify and analyze different algorithms and data structures to solve problems. Students will also be able to reason about and implement these algorithms using different programming languages and paradigms that best suit the desired application domain.

The minor in economics provides students with a solid understanding of economic theory and data analysis. All university students are eligible to pursue the minor. In order to avoid “double counting” issues, students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor. When courses are shared across degrees, students pursuing a minor in economics are asked to take additional advanced economics electives. All economics courses counting towards the minor must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher.

The global systems and management minor is intended for students wishing to learn about global business systems, systems development, product development and global project management. The minor exposes students to contemporary issues and practices facing organizations, managers and individuals working on a global scale across political, cultural and temporal boundaries. Students learn about being part of an organization that works globally with its employees, business partners, customers and supply chains.

The history minor at CMU-Q prepares students for their future by giving them a profound appreciation of the lessons of the past. In addition, the history minor prepares students to understand current problems within their historical context, improves student writing and argumentative skills, and trains students to be critical readers of source materials.

The minor in mathematical sciences gives students a firm foundation in a core set of fundamental mathematical topics, including real analysis, discrete mathematics, and linear algebra, while engaging students in a breadth of mathematical topic areas through electives.

The media and politics minor is a joint program between Northwestern University in Qatar and Georgetown University in Qatar. The minor introduces students to the role of mass communication in political, diplomatic, and policy-making processes, as well as the role of politics in the shaping of mass media products and policies.

The multidisciplinary energy studies minor is offered jointly by CMU-Q, Georgetown University in Qatar and Texas A&M University at Qatar. Development and efficient use of energy resources is critical for economies and societies worldwide. As the energy and natural sectors evolve, it is important to understand how technology, business and geopolitics are interlinked on a regional and global scale. This minor aims to provide to participants the basic elements of engineering, business and technology, and the political security aspects related to renewables, natural gas, and energy in general.

The neuroscience minor curriculum allows students from various disciplines to gain fundamental knowledge of neuroscience concepts. Students pursuing the minor will learn the basic biological foundations of the nervous system, understand the effects of basic neurological function on behavior, and gain an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field of neuroscience.

The interdisciplinary nature of the coursework echoes the nature of the field, with students selecting courses from the natural, social, and computer sciences. Because the curriculum within this minor may overlap with some degree requirements, no more than two courses fulfilling the neuroscience minor requirements may count towards the requirements of a student’s major or other minor.

The professional writing minor prepares students for careers as writers and communication specialists in a range of fields, including publishing, government, law, journalism, health care, community advocacy, the non-profit sector, education, corporate communications, finance, and the arts.

The minor in psychology is available to all students across the university. Students in the minor can customize their education by choosing their coursework with the required eight courses. Students pursuing the minor in psychology will acquire foundational knowledge about psychological theories, understand the application of the scientific method to the study of human behavior, learn to critically assess the connections between research results, hypotheses, and theories, and gain expertise in active research areas.

The tech entrepreneurship minor provides students with an in-depth, interdisciplinary understanding in the field of entrepreneurship with a focus on the use of digital technologies. Students develop critical thinking with respect to new ways of creating ventures and online businesses, and learn the interplay between business, technology and society through the lens of entrepreneurship.