PRIME experience for organizational leadership / management majors requires that all students complete a 4-credit PRIME experience related to their particular area of study. PRIME is an amalgamate for a professional internship, research project, international experience, mentoring and coaching, or experiential learning/entrepreneurship project related to your particular area of study.
Your PRIME experience gives you the opportunity to select a specialized project to extend their university training beyond and outside the classroom. For example:
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an internship with a private business, non-profit, government agency or other entity;
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an opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on a research project or to pursue your own research;
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an international experience to provide the necessary skills to work effectively with an increasingly diverse and global job market; or
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an entrepreneurship project, an independent special project conducted for a business or organization.
Responsibility for arranging a PRIME experience rests with each student. Faculty and instructors can be helpful in identifying opportunities and making contacts. Talk with your advisor or a faculty member to get started.
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Professional Internship (BA 410)
A supervised work experience with an employer (private business, non-profit, government agency or other entity). An internship provides students with the opportunity to apply classroom learning and gain important entry-level job experience. Ideally, students will have opportunities to identify problems or issues that can be solved or addressed using the theories and techniques learned during the course of their studies in the Management major, or they may learn beyond what they were exposed to in classes. While many students complete an internship during the course of their program, in order for the internship to satisfy the PRIME requirement, the student must submit three journal entries during the course of their internship and prepare a reflection report at the end of their internship experience. This option is an excellent choice for students who plan to work in a professional occupation after graduation.
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Research Project/Thesis (BA 403)
An opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on a research and/or scholarly project. The student may wish to work collaboratively with a Management faculty member as a contributor to an existing research project or work with a faculty member as an advisor to pursue the student’s own research, such as with an honors thesis. The deliverable for a research project would be either a formal research report or a defined section of a more comprehensive report. This option is an excellent choice for students who may be interested in pursuing careers in analytics or academia.
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International Experience (BA 406)
An international experience can provide students with the necessary skills to work effectively with an increasingly diverse U.S. population and global job market. While many students complete part of their program abroad, in order for that to satisfy the PRIME requirement, the student must document how their foreign study will contribute to their knowledge and experience relative to their major in ways that could not have been obtained through their courses here at OSU. As such, students must submit three journal entries while overseas along with a reflective paper on the impact of culture on business. This option is an excellent option for students interested in working internationally or for an organization that operates internationally.
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Mentoring and Coaching (BA 407 )
This course provides an in-depth exploration of mentoring and coaching. Students will learn about how to coach and mentor others as well as use evidence-based coaching and mentoring processes to enhance their own self-development. Utilizing their newly-gained skills, students will be assigned to small groups of first- or second-year students where they will have opportunities to lead discussions, develop relationships, mentor, and coach. The course takes place over the Fall, Winter, and Spring terms with deliverables in each term. This option is an excellent choice for students interested in helping others and developing a valuable managerial skill-set.
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Experiential Learning/Entrepreneurship Project (BA 406) or an entrepreneurship project, an independent special project conducted for a business or organization
It is not a traditional job or employment experience like an internship where one learns by doing typical employment tasks. Instead, the student is given responsibility to carry out a single, purpose-driven project. Examples could include the development of an onboarding process, a financial or marketing analysis, or the development of a written business plan for a new product launch. In addition to the deliverables required by the organization, the student must prepare a reflection report similar to that required for the internship. This option is an excellent choice for students interested in focusing on project management and pursuing their PMI certification.
