Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

For students entering the School of Management prior to September 2011

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree program consists of 33 courses in both the liberal arts and management. Students normally take four academic courses each semester. These courses are distributed as follows:

• 14 required courses in the School of Management
• 4 Management electives
• 5 required Liberal Arts courses
• 7 Level A and Level B Liberal Arts electives (described in the Electives section of this website)
• 2  non-Management Level C electives (described in the Electives section of this website)
• 1 Free Elective (described in the Electives section of this website)

For students entering the School of Management in September 2011 and beyond

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree requires that students complete coursework in both the liberal arts and management, and that they complete no fewer than 136.5 academic credits (if they begin as freshmen in the School of Management and complete SMG SM 121 and SM 122) or 134.5 credits (if they transfer into the School of Management and complete SMG SM 299). Students normally take four academic courses each semester. These courses are distributed as follows:

• 14 required courses in the School of Management
• 4 Management electives
• 5 required Liberal Arts courses
• 7 Level A and Level B Liberal Arts electives (described in the Electives section of the Bulletin)
• 2  non-Management Level C electives (described in the Electives section of the Bulletin)

Freshman Year

Students in their freshman year are introduced to management as a system—the idea that organizations succeed only when corporate values, business strategy, and administrative procedures form a rational, integrated whole. The course stresses personal ethical behavior as an essential prerequisite for any viable system of corporate governance; written and oral communication skills as essential to effective leadership; quantitative analysis as an essential ingredient of rational business decision making; and teamwork as an essential skill for a management career:

• CAS EC 101 Introductory Microeconomic Analysis
• CAS EC 102 Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis
• CAS WR 100 Writing Seminar (or level of English composition course(s) as determined by the CAS Writing Program)
• CAS WR 150 Writing and Research Seminar
• CAS MA 121 Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences I or
• CAS MA 123 Calculus I
• SMG SM 121/122 Management as a System
  Please note: SMG SM 121 and SMG SM 122 must be completed by all students who enter as freshmen in September to remain in good standing. For transfer students, SMG SM 299 is required in lieu of SMG SM 121 and SMG SM 122. Students must have completed at least one semester of matriculated college coursework to enroll in SMG SM 299.
• One Liberal Arts elective (4 credits total)

Sophomore Year

Students in their sophomore year develop the analytical tools of financial and managerial accounting and statistics, study organizational behavior, and learn the institutional realities of business law. Informed by their freshman experience in Management as a System, students more readily comprehend the importance of these analytical tools, see the need to extend their team skills, and recognize the practical importance of the institutional perspective of business law:

• SMG AC 221 Financial Accounting
• SMG AC 222 Managerial Accounting
• SMG LA 245 Introduction to Law
• SMG OB 221 The Dynamics of Leading Organizations
• SMG SM 221 Probabilistic and Statistical Decision Making for Management (6 cr)
• SMG SM 222 Modeling Business Decisions and Market Outcomes (6 cr)
• SMG SM 411 Charting Your Career Path (.5 cr)
• Two Liberal Arts electives (8 credits total)

Junior Year

Juniors at SMG devote an entire semester to SM 323 The Cross-Functional Core. This unit is the cornerstone of the School’s philosophy of teaching management as a system. It combines four functional courses (finance, management information systems, marketing, and operations and technology management) into a coherent unit that stresses the interrelationships among them. An integral part of the unit is a team project to develop a full business plan for the introduction of a new product.

• SMG FE 323 Financial Management
• SMG IS 323 Introduction to Management Information Systems
• SMG MK 323 Marketing Management
• SMG OM 323 Operations and Technology Management
• Four Liberal Arts electives (16 credits total)

Senior Year

• SMG SI 422 Strategy and Policy
• Four management electives (16 credits total)
• Two Level C electives (non-management courses) (8 credits total)
• One Free Elective (4 credits) (for students entering the School of Management before September 2011).  Students who enter in September 2011 and beyond must ensure that they have completed 136.5 academic credits (for those who completed SMG SM 121/122) or 134.5 academic credits (for those who completed SMG SM 299) by the time they graduate.

During the senior year, students take the final core management requirement, a course in strategy and policy, as well as management electives. To graduate, students must take four management electives, along with any remaining non-Management electives.

Every student, working with academic and faculty advisors, is given the opportunity to plan a flexible, integrated elective program designed to meet his or her intellectual and professional interests. Advisors emphasize the need to maintain an appropriate balance among courses in the liberal arts, management, and fields offered by other schools and colleges of the University.

Concentrations

Undergraduate students may choose to concentrate in any one of 10 managerial disciplines or functions. To do so, however, the student must meet the stated guidelines for the selected area. Concentration requirements are in addition to the 13 courses required as part of the basic program of study. Students use their four management electives to fulfill the concentration requirements. Students may also use their Free Elective to fulfill concentration requirements. Any course taken for a concentration must have the SMG prefix. See concentration sections below for those concentrations also having CAS requirements.

Accounting

Students who concentrate in Accounting must complete 16 credits beyond SMG AC 221 and SMG AC 222. All concentrators must take:

• SMG AC 347 Intermediate Accounting I
• SMG AC 348 Intermediate Accounting II

And 8 credits from the following list:

• SMG AC 414 Financial Statement Analysis
• SMG AC 430 Accounting Research (2 cr)
• SMG AC 445 Advanced Managerial Accounting
• SMG AC 469 Principles of Income Taxation I
• SMG AC 541 Advanced Accounting
• SMG AC 544 International Accounting (2 cr)
• SMG AC 555 Not-for-Profit Accounting (2 cr)
• SMG AC 565 Auditing
• SMG AC 579 Principles of Income Taxation II
• SMG AC 585 Forensic Accounting (2 cr)

The School of Management offers a Certificate in Advanced Accountancy (CAA) program during the summer. The CAA requires completion of sixteen credits from among the following courses, in addition to the completion of an Accounting concentration. A course cannot count as both a CAA requirement and an Accounting “B” list requirement.

• SMG AC 430 Accounting Research (2 cr)
• SMG AC 541 Advanced Accounting
• SMG AC 544 International Accounting (2 cr)
• SMG AC 555 Not-for-Profit Accounting (2 cr)
• SMG AC 565 Auditing
• SMG AC 579 Principles of Income Taxation II

This CAA program is designed to fulfill the 150-credit-hour requirement associated with becoming a certified public accountant.

Requirements to sit for the Certified Public Accountant Exam vary from state to state. Students are encouraged to check with the state in which they plan to practice to ensure that they have completed the necessary requirements. BU SMG students taking the CAA must take the following SMG courses for their accounting concentration: AC 347, AC 348, AC 469 and either AC 414 or AC 445.

Entrepreneurship

Students who concentrate in Entrepreneurship must take four electives. All concentrators graduating before January 2012 must fulfill the following requirements for a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

Two of the following three courses are required:

• SMG SI 443 Art of the Start
• SMG SI 444 Entrepreneurship
• SMG SI 445 Small Business Management

Concentrators who take three courses from the “A” list above must take one course from the “B” list below. Those who take two courses from the “A” list must take two courses from the “B” list

• SMG FE 450 Private Equity: Leveraged Buyouts
• SMG FE 455 Financing New Ventures
• SMG FE 469 Real Estate Finance
• SMG IM 345 International Management Environment (also offered in London)
• SMG IM 445 International Management Policy
• SMG IS 472 Electronic Commerce
• SMG LA 346 Law and Ethics
• SMG LA 349 Law of the Internet
• SMG LA 360 Real Estate Law
• SMG LA 430 Entertainment Law (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing & Management
• SMG MK 486 Internet Marketing
• SMG OB 445 Managing the Family Firm
• SMG OB 448 Negotiations
• SMG OM 456 Technology and Management
• SMG OM 467 Global Supply Management
• SMG SI 435 Entertainment Management (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG SI 449 Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• SMG SI 455 Leadership & Management of Nonprofit Organizations
• SMG SI 468 Entrepreneurship in High-Technology Environments
• SMG SI 469 Real Estate Development
• SMG SI 471 International Entrepreneurship

Students graduating in January 2012 and beyond must fulfill the following requirements for a concentration in Entrepreneurship.

Four courses in total are required.

Three courses from the following list are required:

EP “A” list

• SMG SI 443 The Art of the Start
• SMG SI 444 Entrepreneurship
• SMG SI 445 Small Business Management
• SMG SI 471 International Entrepreneurship

Concentrators must also take one course from the following “B” list.

EP “B” list

• SMG FE 450 Private Equity: Leveraged Buyouts
• SMG FE 455 Financing New Ventures
• SMG FE 469 Real Estate Finance
• SMG IS 472 Electronic Commerce
• SMG LA 360 Real Estate Law
• SMG LA 430 Entertainment Law (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing and Management
• SMG OB 448 Negotiations
• SMG SI 449 Corporate Entrepreneurship
• SMG SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation
• SMG SI 435 Entertainment Management (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG SI 455 Leadership & Management of Nonprofit Organizations
• SMG SI 468 Strategy in High Technology Environments
• SMG SI 469 Real Estate Development

Students may also seek permission for approval of a 4th course not listed on the above “B” list by petitioning the Entrepreneurship Concentration Liaison.

Finance

Students who concentrate in Finance must take four electives. All concentrators must take the following:

• SMG FE 442 Money, Financial Markets, and Economic Activity
• SMG FE 445 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
• SMG FE 449 Corporate Financial Management

Students graduating before January 2012 may take any upper-level elective in the School of Management as the fourth course to complete a Finance concentration. Beginning with students graduating in January 2012, Finance concentrators must choose their remaining elective from among the following “B” list courses:

• SMG AC 414 Financial Statement Analysis
• SMG AC 445 Advanced Managerial Accounting
• SMG FE 427 International Financial Management
• SMG FE 429 Futures, Options, and Financial Risk Management
• SMG FE 450 Private Equity: Leveraged Buyouts
• SMG FE 454 Investment Banking
• SMG FE 455 Financing New Ventures
• SMG FE 469 Real Estate Finance
• SMG FE 498 Directed Study: Finance (four-credit version)

General Management

The field of management is constantly changing and many students prepare for this change by pursuing intellectual opportunities at the frontiers of modern management. These students often find that a General Management concentration, which consists of any four management electives, enables them to construct a more flexible program of study. This approach is especially appropriate for students who anticipate pursuing an MBA degree later in their careers. Students who concentrate in General Management cannot double concentrate.

International Management

Five to nine courses in total are required, depending on the foreign language requirement.

The following two courses are required:

• SMG FE 427 International Financial Management
• SMG IM 345 International Management Environment (also offered in London)

For students graduating from May 2009–September 2011, two courses from the following list are required. For students graduating in January 2012 and beyond, one course from the following list is required as well as one additional course as explained at the end of this section.

• SMG IM 445 International Management Policy
• SMG MK 467 International Marketing Management
• SMG OB 444 International Management
• SMG OM 467 Global Supply Management
• SMG SI 471 International Entrepreneurship

Additional International Management Requirements

• Students concentrating in International Management must 1) complete a language other than English through the fourth-semester level, 2) obtain a certificate of proficiency in a foreign language from CAS, or 3) earn a score of 560 or above on an SAT II foreign language exam as described in the foreign language section of the bulletin.
• All International Management concentrators must also complete one CAS International Relations course.
• For students graduating in January 2012 and beyond, all International Management concentrators must complete a semester studying abroad, either through a program sponsored by Boston University’s International Programs or through another approved program. Please note that only students considered to be international according to University regulations may fulfill this requirement through participation in Boston University’s programs in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

Note for the Class of 2012 and beyond: Students completing the International Management concentration are required to take one additional SMG elective in order to satisfy their fourth SMG elective requirement. This elective may be taken in any SMG department.

Law

Students who concentrate in Law must take four electives. All concentrators must take three courses among the following:

• SMG LA 346 Law and Ethics
• SMG LA 349 Law of the Internet
• SMG LA 355 Employment Law and Public Policy
• SMG LA 360 Real Estate Law
• SMG LA 430 Entertainment Law (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG LA 450 Advanced Business Law

Students must also choose a fourth elective from among the SMG elective offerings.

Management Information Systems

Students who concentrate in Management Information Systems must take four electives. All concentrators must take one of the following two required programming courses:

• CAS CS 108 Introduction to Application Programming
• CAS CS 111 Introduction to Computer Science I

The following three management information systems courses are all required:

• SMG IS 465 Managing Data Resources
• SMG IS 467 Networking and Data Communications
• SMG IS 469 Designing Information Systems

The applications knowledge requirement can be fulfilled by taking one of the following management information systems applications courses:

• SMG IS 428 Managing Information Security
• SMG IS 472 Electronic Commerce
• SMG IS 474 Information Products: Applied Economics and Strategy
• SMG IS 479 Innovating with Information Technology
• SMG IS 498 An approved four-credit directed study with an IS faculty member
• SMG SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation

Marketing

Students who concentrate in Marketing must take four electives. All concentrators must take the following:

• SMG MK 445 Consumer Behavior
• SMG MK 447 Marketing Research

Concentrators must choose the remaining two electives from the following list:

• SMG MK 449 Business Marketing
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing & Management
• SMG MK 465 Retailing Management
• SMG MK 466 Personal Selling and Sales Force Management
• SMG MK 467 International Marketing Management (also offered in London)
• SMG MK 468 Advanced Marketing Strategy
• SMG MK 469 Advertising and Promotional Strategy
• SMG MK 470 Pricing Strategy and Tactics
• SMG MK 486 Internet Marketing
• SMG MK 487 Branding
• SMG MK 498 An approved four-credit directed study with a MK faculty member

Operations & Technology Management

Students graduating before January 2012 who concentrate in Operations & Technology Management must take four electives. All concentrators must take three courses among the following:

• SMG OM 440 Operations Strategy
• SMG OM 441 Operations Analysis
• SMG OM 443 Supply Chain Modeling Practicum
• SMG OM 447 Service Operations Management
• SMG OM 453 Project Management
• SMG OM 456 Technology and Management
• SMG OM 465 Improving Quality: Six Sigma Certification
• SMG OM 467 Global Supply Management

The remaining one elective may be chosen from the list above or, in consultation with the OM Concentration Liaison, from a selection of SMG elective courses that have a cross-functional link to Operations & Technology Management. The recommended list includes, but is not limited to:

• SMG AC 445 Advanced Managerial Accounting
• SMG FE 449 Corporate Financial Management
• SMG IS 469 Designing Information Systems
• SMG MK 447 Marketing Research
• SMG MK 449 Business Marketing
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing & Management
• SMG OB 441 Human Resource Management
• SMG OB 448 Negotiations
• SMG OM 498 An approved four-credit directed study with an OM faculty member
• SMG QM 450 Business Analytics
• SMG SI 435 Entertainment Management (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG SI 444 Entrepreneurship
• SMG SI 445 Small Business Management
• SMG SI 449 Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• SMG SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation
• SMG SI 468 Entrepreneurship in High Technology Environments

Students graduating in January 2012 and beyond must fulfill the following requirements for a concentration in Operations & Technology Management.

Four courses in total are required.

All concentrators in Operations & Technology Management must take the following two courses:

• SMG OM 440 Operations Strategy
• SMG OM 441 Operations Analysis

At least one course must be chosen from the following “B” list:

• SMG OM 443 Supply Chain Modeling Practicum
• SMG OM 447 Service Operations Management
• SMG OM 453 Project Management
• SMG OM 465 Improving Quality: Six Sigma Certification
• SMG OM 467 Global Supply Management

The fourth elective may be chosen from the “B” list above (recommended), or in consultation with the OM Concentration Liaison from a selection of SMG elective courses that have a cross-functional link to Operations & Technology Management (the OM “C” list).

• SMG AC 445 Adv. Managerial Accounting
• SMG FE 449 Corporate Financial Mgmt
• SMG IS 469 Designing Information Systems
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing and Management
• SMG OB 441 Human Resource Management
• SMG OB 448 Negotiations
• SMG QM 450 Business Analytics
• SMG OM 498 An approved four-credit directed study in OM
• SMG SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation

Organizational Behavior

Students who concentrate in Organizational Behavior must take the following two courses:

• SMG OB 441 Human Resource Management
• SMG OB 460 The Leadership Challenge

One must be chosen from the following electives:

• SMG OB 442 Leading High Performance Teams and Project Groups
• SMG OB 444 International Management
• SMG OB 445 Managing the Family Firm
• SMG OB 448 Negotiations
• SMG SI 445 Small Business Management

The fourth elective can be: one of the above OB electives or an approved, behaviorally oriented class from another functional area.

Approved Suggestions:

• SMG IS 472 Electronic Commerce
• SMG IS 479 Innovating with Information Technology
• SMG LA 346 Law and Ethics
• SMG LA 355 Employment Law and Public Policy
• SMG MK 445 Consumer Behavior
• SMG MK 463 Services Marketing & Management
• SMG MK 469 Advertising and Promotional Strategy
• SMG MK 486 Internet Marketing
• SMG OB 498 An approved four-credit directed study with an OB faculty member
• SMG OM 440 Operations Strategy
• SMG OM 447 Service Operations Management
• SMG OM 453 Project Management
• SMG OM 465 Improving Quality: Six Sigma Certification
• SMG SI 435 Entertainment Management (only offered in Los Angeles)
• SMG SI 443 Art of the Start
• SMG SI 444 Entrepreneurship
• SMG SI 449 Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• SMG SI 451 Organizing for Design and Innovation
• SMG SI 455 Leadership & Management of Nonprofit Organizations
• SMG SI 471 International Entrepreneurship