Programs of Study

The School of Business and the Graduate School offer the following degrees and programs:

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics

Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing

Bachelor of Business Administration in Operations and Technology Management

Master of Business Administration in Nonprofit Management (see Graduate School)

Master of Business Administration (see Graduate School)

Master of Science in Finance (see Graduate School)

Master of Science in Operations and Technology Management (see Graduate School)

Additional and Specialized Programs

Minor in Business Administration

Minor in Economics

Minor in Entrepreneurship

Minor in Global Business

Minor in Sustainability

Entrepreneur Scholars Program

Dual B.B.A./M.B.A. Program for Accounting

Post Graduate Business Certificate Program (see  Graduate School)

Post-Baccalaureate Business Certificate Program (see Graduate School)

School of Business Undergraduate Degree Requirements

The undergraduate program in the Pamplin School of Business includes five majors leading to a B.B.A. degree. The B.B.A. majors include accounting, economics, finance, marketing, and operations and technology management. It includes a general education component based on the University Core Curriculum. This is followed by other foundation and major courses depending upon the specific major. Minors are offered in business administration, economics, entrepreneurship, global business and sustainability.

Double Majors

Students who want to major in two areas of business must complete the majority of these programs through separate electives. Only two upper-division electives may be cross counted for double majors.

School of Business Undergraduate Learning Goals and Outcomes

Graduates of the Pamplin School of Business should be able to:

1. Business Knowledge Competencies: Obtain and integrate knowledge about business in a changing world.
   1. Demonstrate a broad core of business knowledge.
   2. Understand the effects of globalization on organizations.
   3. Integrate cross-functional knowledge to solve concrete business problems.
2. Communication Competencies:  Become an effective and professional communicator.
   1. Demonstrate effective written communication.
   2. Demonstrate effective oral communication.
   3. Build a well-supported argument and communicate it effectively.
3. Problem Recognition, Prioritization, and Decision-Making Competencies: Recognize, evaluate, and prioritize business issues and problems at the operations and functional levels, and suggest appropriate solutions and evaluation strategies.
   1. Use appropriate data, analysis tools, and methods to organize and analyze business problems.
   2. Recognize opportunities, problems and risks, and make and defend decisions in structured and unstructured contexts.
4. Leadership, Team, and Personal Competencies:  Develop personal competencies needed in organizational settings.
   1. Collaborate with others to solve problems.
   2. Demonstrate leadership in dynamic environments.
5. Ethics and Social Responsibility Competencies: Make ethical and socially responsible choices in business and community settings.
   1. Obtain knowledge of ethical, legal and social implications of business decisions.
   2. Recognize and analyze ethical dilemmas in making business decisions.
   3. Be able to explain personal ethical views.
6. Global Acumen Competencies: Identify, appreciate, and understand the cultural, economic and linguistic components of other cultures while reflecting the values and principles of our unifying global communities.
   1. Recognize how components of culture inform/influence one’s worldviews, values and beliefs.
   2. Demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture, such as history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, beliefs and practices.
   3. Demonstrate the ability to interact meaningfully with people from other cultures.

Pamplin Professional Preparation Program (P4)

Students in the Pamplin School of Business are required to engage in a series of professional development activities. This includes vocational assessment, leader development, and professional-experiential activities. Students will complete resume-building sessions, job shadows, mock and informational interviews, service projects, an internship, a portfolio, and attend an etiquette dinner and other related career-development activities.

Global Acumen Requirement

Students in the Pamplin School of Business will participate in coursework and experiential activities to foster the development of their global acumen to enable them to contribute to inter-culturally complex communities and succeed in international and multicultural work environments. The components of the Global Acumen requirements will include (1) BUS 360: Cross Cultural Organizational Behavior and Ethics; (2) a meaningful international experience (“MIE”); and (3) an upper division (300 or 400 level) course with an international focus. An MIE may include a study abroad experience, an international internship, a non-traditional international academic experience, or other opportunities that include a robust international academic component. All MIEs must be approved by the PSOB dean’s office.

Honors Pledge

The faculty of the Pamplin School of Business encourage students to acknowledge the ethical component of teaching and learning that is an essential factor in fulfilling the University’s mission in the classroom. Students are asked to reflect upon the core value of academic integrity and make this an integral part of their work at the University. Students are also asked to sign an honors pledge and attach it to submitted course work to affirm the integrity of their scholarship to all concerned.

Business Requirements for B.B.A. degrees — 53-59 credit hours

In addition to the University core curriculum requirements, students in the five B.B.A. majors take similar non-business and business courses. The non-business courses taken in the College of Arts and Sciences assist in developing essential skills in speaking, writing, and mathematics.

The business foundation is composed of lower and upper division courses taken by all B.B.A. majors. Lower division courses are sequenced to provide students foundational skills in leadership, software, economics, accounting, finance, marketing, operations and technology management, as well as broader perspectives on the legal and social responsibilities of business. Upper-division foundation courses further develop business skills in decision modeling, cross-cultural organizational behavior and ethics, and innovation. 

Degree Requirements

Before declaring a major in business and taking upper-division major courses, students must complete the following:

1. Mathematics requirements for all majors: Statistics (MTH 161) and Finite Mathematics (MTH 141) with a minimum grade of C- in each class.
   1. Some approved higher level mathematics courses can be substituted for these courses.
   2. All students must enroll in a mathematics course every semester until the mathematics requirements are completed.
2. Additional mathematics requirement for economics, finance, and operations and technology management majors: Calculus (MTH 121) with a minimum grade of C-.
3. All of the lower-division business foundation courses (BUS 100, BUS 101, ECN 120, ECN 121, BUS 200, BUS 205, BUS 209, BUS 210, BUS 250 & BUS 255) with a minimum combined GPA of 2.0.
4. BUS 100 — Introduction to Leadership Skills must be completed in the student’s first two semesters in the program. Students who transfer into the program after their first year in college are also required to complete this course unless they have completed 60 or more college semester credit hours at the time of their admission into the program.

To qualify for the degree, students must complete the following:

1. A minimum of 120 semester credit hours.
2. All coursework with a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0.
3. All required major coursework with a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0.
4. All components of the Pamplin Professional Preparation Program (P4).
5. All components of the Global Acumen program.