Freshmen at universities nationwide, including those at the University of Wisconsin, are showing less interest in business as a major or career, according to a recent study.

In a study from the Higher Education Research Institute, freshmen interest in business — both majors and careers — has declined from 2008-09.

Linda DeAngelo, assistant director for research at the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, said the study, conducted on a national level, showed a 2.2 percentage point decrease in freshmen interest. While it may seem like a slight dip, it is something to take notice of.

“One thing to know is that in the most recent recession we had in the early part of the decade, we did not see changes in the number of students who wanted business careers,” DeAngelo said.

DeAngelo added the study conducted on the national level is a pulse of the freshmen class and cannot clearly predict what this means for upcoming classes.

UW is also seeing a decrease in the amount of freshmen interested in business, but this has not had an effect on the amount of applicants to the School of Business.

According to Steve Schroeder, assistant dean at the UW School of Business, 18 percent of students applying to UW in 2008 expressed interest in pre-business, while only 16 percent of students applying in 2009 indicated interest.

Bad press for business can have an effect on interest, Schroeder said. For example, news coverage on the economic crisis can make students weary of joining the business industry.

DeAngelo said the scrutiny business executives come under may also be a turn-off for students.

Schroeder said freshmen interest in business cannot be the ultimate indicator of how many freshmen actually go into business, as the majority of freshmen change their intended major.

He added that any major has a cyclical trend.

While interest may have dipped, Schroeder said the business school has not seen a dip in the number of applications. In fact, the number of students applying to the school has increased.

UW junior class of fall 2008 had 738 students apply to the business school, approximately 9.8 percent of the class. Of those students, 436 were admitted, according to records from the School of Business.

In the junior class of fall 2009, 684 students applied to the business school, which make up approximately 11.7 percent of the class. Of that batch, 400 students were admitted.

The near 2 percentage point increase in the number of junior applications contrasts the 2 percentage point decrease in freshmen interest.

“We haven’t seen a dip, but we wouldn’t be surprised if we did. Students major in business because they’re interested,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder said the school actively recruits students to apply if they are interested and says the business school has an advantage attracting students because of their location in Grainger Hall.

He said Grainger Hall offers a tight-knit community with many resources and quality faculty on a large campus, which is an appealing feature of the School of Business.