Nineteen-year-old Ethan Murdock may not have an exact plan for his future, but he describes himself as an opportunist. With various side hustles in the works, from vending machines to cotton candy, he said he’s found additional opportunities out of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business Administration.

Murdock said he saw college as more of just a “next step” when applying. But his class experience under Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy Dale Eesley has exposed him to local business leaders and career pathways in the Omaha area. He’s now pursuing his real estate license.

“The entrepreneurship class is engaging,” Murdock said. “There’s constantly something new, and Dr. E. talks with (first-hand) experience.”

Murdock, like other College of Business Administration students in the fall 2026 semester, has been given a new opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship as a major at UNO. The university announced in the fall that seven concentrations under the business school have advanced into complete major pathways.

The seven new majors:

1. Accounting
2. Entrepreneurship
3. Finance
4. Human resource management
5. Logistics and supply chain management
6. Management and leadership
7. Marketing

College of Business Administration Dean Gurpreet Dhillon said the new specializations reflect the university’s efforts to talk with employers, industry heads and community stakeholders to best understand what they are looking for in talent. He said the goal is to make sure students have the signifiable skills to stand out in applicant pools and to prepare them for evolving industries. He emphasized how the worlds of business and tech have never been closer.

“The very existence of business schools is market-driven. The very existence of majors and degree programs are all market-driven,” Dhillon said. “So, if we sitting in the business school are not responsive to the market, I don’t know who else will be.”

Phani Tej Adidam, professor and chair of marketing and entrepreneurship at UNO, said a degree in entrepreneurship empowers students with holistic knowledge on how to run a business and wear multiple hats. They become familiar with calculated risks, bootstrapping and creativity — enabling them to be adaptable across work environments.

“We want our students to graduate, not simply being prepared to find opportunities, but empowered to create them,” Adidam said.

The College of Business Administration encouraged the public to be on the lookout for future events where they can hear more about what the college is up to, as well as hear insights from executives and leaders in the community. Adidam also said the school is in the works of developing a unique degree path aimed at entrepreneurs who might have dropped out of school in order to create ventures or run a business.

He said UNO is looking to give these entrepreneurs a chance to learn current skills and complete a degree.

For Murdock, he began the school year as an entrepreneurship major. He has since switched to a degree in multidisciplinary studies to take on all the business courses that fit his interests.

He said he still wants to be an entrepreneur and has found real value in the business leaders in the community who have spoken to his class, exchanged business cards with him and have been an “open book” for discussing goals.

He said Eesley was actually a mentor he found in high school through his work with the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

“I actually knew him before he was my professor, so I always called him ‘Dale,’” Murdock said. “I’m trying so hard to break that habit because I want to make sure I’m showing a lot of respect.”

You can see an updated list of the UNO College of Business Administration’s degree pathways here.