Business Administration Major, BS

Major in Business Administration (BSBA)

Program Description

The program in Business Administration is accredited by AACSB International, a distinction that less than 5% of the 16,000 business programs worldwide can attain. The hallmarks of quality business education are innovative programs that engage students with their communities to make positive and meaningful impact. Business education has always been an effective combination of academic scientific research with methods, knowledge and innovative practices co-designed with corporate and small business partners. The only significant change during the last decade has been the tremendous improvement of technologies that allow instant collection, transfer, and analysis of vast amounts of critical information. This has necessitated the slight shift of business education from studying a relatively “static” set of best practices to a much more dynamic exploration of new knowledge to address challenges and opportunities that have not been identified yet.

Students will be exposed to a broad spectrum of activities, academic disciplines and specialty functions within organizations (i.e., Marketing, Human resources, Finance, Accounting), whether they operate for profit or not. A blend of academic studies enriched with experiential and co-curricular learning opportunities prepare students to enter a challenging environment with the confidence and skills to be successful.   

Student Learning Outcomes

Business Administration students (BAS) will demonstrate:

• the ability to use appropriate language, conventions, organization, supporting evidence, and content to effectively communicate in writing for business purposes, and a business audience. (Written Communication).
• the ability to use appropriate language, conventions, elocution, poise, organization, supporting evidence, and content to effectively communicate through the spoken word for business purposes, and a business audience. (Oral Communication).
• the ability to analyze, synthesize or deconstruct, interpret and evaluate information and concepts across or within the business disciplines to solve problems. (Critical Thinking).
• the ability to extract, decode, evaluate, interpret, and construct meaning through interaction with written business language. (Critical Reading).
• the ability to exhibit knowledge of scientific concepts and processes and ability to engage the scientific method towards informing decision making and participation in civic, social, cultural, and economic affairs. (Scientific Literacy).
• the ability to understand and create arguments that are supported by empirical evidence and clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats such as using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, as appropriate. (Quantitative Literacy).
• the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, and use business information effectively and responsibly to increase understanding.  (Information Literacy).
• competency in one of the business administration concentration areas. (Concentration Competency).

Overview of Major Requirements

Students majoring in Business Administration must satisfy the general education course requirements, complete the required major courses outlined below, and take electives for a minimum total of 120 semester hours (SH) in order to graduate. Where noted, a particular pre-requisite course can be taken as part of the general education (GE) requirements.  A minimum grade of C- or better is required in each prerequisite and major course.

It is suggested that students take the following courses as part of their general education experience MAT 1312 (pre-Calculus), BLA 2325 (Business Law), ECO 2311 (Principles of Microeconomics), ECO 2312 (Principles of Macroeconomics), and MIS 1380 (Business Computing).

The major is organized into foundational, breadth and depth courses.  The Foundation courses introduce students to the whole spectrum of business functions and activities that are common across all types of business. Some foundational courses may be part of the general education curriculum.  The Breadth courses focus on major fields of business that students may consider as their particular pathway to a career or preparation for graduate studies. The Depth courses are particular to each concentration/track and provide education required by specialists within organizations. The program offers five concentration areas for more in-depth study: Economics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing. It also offers an Honor’s option for all business majors.

Major Curriculum

Pre-Requisite

MAT 1312                   Pre-Calculus I                                                          GE Course

Foundation Courses (24 hours, 12 of which satisfy GE Requirements)

ACC 2316                    Principles of Financial Accounting (3 SH)  

BLA 2325                     Business Law (3 SH)                                               GE course

ECO 2311                    Principles of Microeconomics (3 SH)                          GE course

ECO 2312                    Principles of Macroeconomics (3 SH)                         GE course

MGT 2321                   Principles of Management (3 SH)               

MIS 1380                     Business Computing (3 SH)                                     GE course

MKT 2331                   Principles of Marketing (3 SH)                                    

QBA 2325                    Business Statistics (3 SH)

Breadth (12 Semester Hours)

ACC 2317                    Managerial Accounting (3 SH)                    

QBA 3370                    Business Analytics (3 SH)                              

FIN 3351                     Principles of Financial Management         

QBA 3377                    Operations Management

Depth Tracks (24 Credit Hours)                 

Students choose from the following areas: Economics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, or Marketing. 

 

Economics         

Economics can serve an entry into any career in which analytical thinking and writing skills play a role, including law, journalism, banking, teaching and business. Students with an economics background are prized by employers for their ability to see insights into problems from a different perspective, based on their deep knowledge of economic systems and individual decision-making.  Many students also use this as a stepping stone towards further study in graduate school, ranging from the study of law, economics, business and education.

ECO 3313 – Intermediate Microeconomics (prereq ECO 2311)

ECO 3314 – Intermediate Macroeconomics (prereq ECO 2312)

ECO 3316 – Applied Econometrics & Forecasting (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)

ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)

ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course

ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course

ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course

MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone)

 

Finance

Finance allows students to pursue one of two paths. First, graduates may choose to enter the corporate world as financial managers, in order to one day advise and analyze the financial health of corporations and other firms. Second, graduates may choose to become prepared toward sitting for the Certified Financial Planner ® Exam. Certified Financial Planner ® Certificants are known as ethical and knowledgeable financial advisors. Given that the days of pension plans are fading, and workers need to design and oversee their own financial futures, financial planners are in high demand.

ACC 3314 - Income Tax Accounting I

FIN 3357 - Personal Financial Planning (GE)

FIN 4378 - Investment Planning

FIN 4383 - Insurance Planning

MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone)

Plus select either Corporate Finance or Personal Financial Planning Track

Corporate Finance Track

FIN 3368 - International Finance

FIN 4379 - Financial Institutions

FIN 4381 - Intermediate Financial Management

Personal Financial Planning Track

FIN 4320 - Retirement Planning

FIN 4330 - Estate Planning

FIN 4385 - Advanced Financial Planning

 

Management

The management depth area is designed to develop and maintain progressive and innovative curricula, which prepare students to assume careers in business, industry, government, non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurial ventures. This purpose is served by faculty committed to effective teaching, to expanding intellectual knowledge in their fields and to provide community service. Emphasis is placed on providing a broad scope of various academic disciplines so that students can develop an understanding and appreciation of the business world and its relationship to a global economy and society.

MGT 3322-Organizational Behavior

MGT 4348-Human Resource Management and Employment Law

MGT 4349-Services and Quality Management

MGT 4386-Global Issues in Management

MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone)

Plus select 3 courses from among:

MGT/MIS 3320-Project Management

MGT 3324-Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management

MGT 3391/4391 -Management Internship

MGT 4347-Managing Organization Development and Change

MGT 4387-Leadership

MGT 4388-Business, Society, and Sustainability

 

Management Information Systems (MIS)

The MIS depth area is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for careers in management information systems. MIS careers take our graduates to business and government, to non-profit organizations and to entrepreneurial ventures. Students are trained to provide the linkage between the strategic needs of organizations and the technologies that are capable of transforming them. Roles vary from specialized duties of database administration, project management, network management and social computing to generalized business functions that allow graduates to infuse their technology knowledge in broader business/strategic teams.

MIS 2312 - Internet Technology (GE)

MIS 3320 - Project Management

MIS 3330 - Information Systems Concepts

MIS 3340 - Systems Analysis and Design

MIS 3360 - Basic Concepts of Telecommunications

MIS 3380 - File Structures and Database Operations

MIS 4322 - Global Electronic Commerce

MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone)

 

Marketing

The marketing depth area is designed to provide students with fundamental preparation in general marketing with an overall understanding of marketing as the creation, communication and delivery of value for any organization. The marketing faculty is dedicated to student development of marketing fundamentals like segmentation, target marketing, differentiation and positioning, as well as specialized areas of marketing such as social media and services marketing. Students will be prepared to assume a wide range of organizational positions including selling, customer service, product development, promotions, social media marketing, distribution and many other areas.

MKT 3334 - Integrated Marketing Communications

MKT 3335 - Consumer and Organizational Buyer Behavior

MKT 4376 - Marketing Research

MKT 4380 - Marketing Strategy

MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone)

 

Plus select 3 courses from among:

MKT 3302 - Business Plan Foundations

MKT 3303 - Foundations of Non-profit Marketing

MKT 3305 - Entrepreneurial Marketing

MKT 3332 - Principles of Retailing

MKT 3391/4391 -Marketing Internship

MKT 4302 -Selling and Sales Management

MKT 4370 - Services Marketing

MKT 4372 - Social Media Marketing

MKT 4379 -International Marketing

 

Business Administration Honors Curriculum

An honors curriculum has been developed to address the students’ desire for a more research oriented undergraduate experience, as well as to allow faculty to mentor and develop young researchers in the field.  Students successfully completing the curriculum will graduate with Honors in Business Administration.

Admission to the honors curriculum is restricted to students who apply and who meet a specified set of criteria.  Application is encouraged during the second semester of the student’s junior year and usually occurs while taking upper level Depth courses.  The following minimum criteria will need to be met in order to be admitted to the business administration honors curriculum.

1. A GPA of 3.25 within the major
2. A cumulative GPA of 3.25
3. No grade lower than a B in any BA courses (possible one exception with a strong recommendation by a faculty member)
4. Identification of a faculty mentor and a potential research project
5. Recommendation by the Business Administration Honors screening committee, who will evaluate each applicant on academic merit and professional goals.

The honors curriculum consists of two additional required courses, one each semester of the senior year.  During semester one, students will enroll in the course “Directed Honors Research Investigations in Business”.  During the last semester, students will enroll in “Honors Thesis in Business.”  In order to graduate with honors, the student must still meet the GPA standards set at admission, successfully complete both courses, and successfully prepare and defend a thesis.  Students admitted to the honors curriculum may choose any of the five depth areas.

Business Administration Honors Curriculum (6 credit hours)

The honors curriculum consists of two required courses, one each semester of the senior year.

• BUA 4310 Directed Honors Research Investigation in Business (3 SH)
• BUA 4312 Honors Thesis in Business (3 SH)

 

Note: For students in the Honor’s track, the BUA 4310 Directed Honors Research Investigation in Business will substitute a Depth Track elective, and BUA 4312 Honors Thesis in Business will substitute MGT  4399 – Strategic Management (Capstone).