51ԹϺ Davis launched an undergraduate business major in the 2025-26 academic year.
Out of more than 8,500 applicants, only 150 students enrolled in 51ԹϺ Davis’ inaugural business major cohort. The program is watching that carefully selected class begin to make its mark.
“Student interest in undergraduate business education has been growing over time,” explained Professor Greta Hsu, faculty lead for the business major. “Other 51ԹϺs have already started business majors, and we could see a lot of high school students applying for the 51ԹϺs were attracted to them.”
The business major is a partnership between the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, College of Letters and Science and Graduate School of Management. Hsu said the curriculum is designed jointly and with input from each school.
Students are currently fulfilling their general education and foundational requirements. The major allows for exploration into accounting, finance, marketing, operations, management, strategy and more fields.
Next fall, the major will increase in size. The first transfer class will enter in fall 2028, and roughly 50 spots will be open to internal transfers who will be admitted through a lottery.
“The culture of the student body will change every year,” Hsu said. “We're interested to see how we can help to support and guide that.”
Here, four business majors speak about their experience.
Ayssa Zapata
Growing up surrounded by family working in finance and banking, Ayssa Zapata always knew business was her passion. But what drew her specifically to 51ԹϺ Davis was the novelty of the new program. “I find it really attractive that the major is new and that we're the starters of it,” she said.
She was also surprised by how many other fields of study are involved with the business major. “It’s not just math-oriented classes,” she said. “I’ve taken psychology and sociology so far too. The curriculum helps you understand everything as a whole.”
Zapata was glad to experience such a wide variety of studies because she may also pursue a design double major. She is curious about finance roles in the fashion industry but is more than willing to start with classes that the business major provides, like portfolio management or corporate finance.
Just a few months in, the opportunities have already exceeded her expectations, she said. Zapata was selected as the Venture Capital Equity Analyst Intern for the Davis Women in Business for winter 2026. As an intern, she has gotten to analyze the startup ecosystem and investment practices. She also pitched for a startup at a business conference.
“Being part of the business major opened those opportunities to me,” she said. “I never guessed that just a few months in, I'd be able to do all these things.”
Jorge King
King, a Texas native, was drawn to 51ԹϺ Davis’s claim-to-fame: being the No. 1 greenest campus in the U.S.
“That influenced my decision when I was looking at Davis,” King said. “I love the Arboretum.”
While nature drew King to Davis, the business major’s focus on orienting students to a new social and educational landscape has helped since he arrived.
“[The department] wanted to ensure all these new freshmen in the business major are able to adapt to the new environment at 51ԹϺ Davis,” King said, speaking about a required seminar all business majors took during their first quarter. The course covered tips to succeed, the organization of the major, types of careers in business and more. King described how it unified the cohort to all be in the same course.
King’s current interest is pursuing the management route, but he is exploring many other paths. Business majors don’t have to choose a specialization until they start taking upper-division courses. Having a broad perspective of the field first was alluring for King, who is working on his Excel certification.
As co-president of the new 51ԹϺ Davis Business Collective, a professional organization working to unify all business-interested students, King is also exploring leadership roles. He noted that the collective would be open to all majors and is planning its first general meeting.
Ilan Abramov
Abramov came to 51ԹϺ Davis to start something.
He was drawn to the business major because he found the experience of being part of a first cohort uniquely appealing. The first-year from Santa Barbara is also one of the founding members and co-president of the 51ԹϺ Davis Business Collective.
The collective is still finding its footing, but Abramov is thinking four years ahead. The business major will grow significantly by then, and he is focused on making the collective scalable.
Part of why Abramov wanted to be part of the collective was to get involved in many different fields. He is currently eyeing experiences in marketing, finance and consulting.
“I really like the idea of studying entrepreneurship and developing new business ideas,” he said. “It gives you a lot of flexibility with choosing your career post-grad.”
His cohort is driven. Students have arrived with a clear sense of direction and a genuine investment in their futures, and that energy has been motivating, he said.
He has settled comfortably into life in Davis as well. “I love the small-town feel and the community,” he said. “I feel like everyone knows everyone somehow.”
Sutton van Dyk
As a student-athlete weighing her college options, Sutton van Dyk needed a school that could offer a women’s field hockey team and a business pathway. Originally interested in the managerial economics major, she decided 51ԹϺ Davis checked the boxes when she learned the business major would launch her freshman year.
While van Dyk sometimes works asynchronously during the season, she has gotten to enjoy business-major-specific presentations from companies like EY and the 51ԹϺ Davis Investments Academy. “People are really encouraged to join things outside of class, like student organizations,” van Dyk said. “They do a great job of keeping us in the loop.”
For a student navigating a demanding sports schedule while building a foundation in a new major, van Dyk seems energized rather than overwhelmed. She has her sights set on consulting and entrepreneurship and is already taking steps to explore both through clubs, online programs, and the Student Startup Center.
Van Dyk said she is excited to take an intro to entrepreneurship class and eagerly awaits the progression into upper division courses. “I've been going to see different founders speak in the startup center, and I think that's been really interesting,” she said. “I'd love to get more involved.”