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Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)

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Students who begin Questrom in their first BU year complete QST SM 131 Business, Markets, and Society, along with their other degree requirements. This course is the first required course in the Questrom BSBA curriculum. It provides students with a philosophical, economic, and applied foundation for understanding the functions of business and the role of business, markets, governments, and other stakeholders in society. Collectively, the first year of the program is also designed to launch the development of students’ critical and analytic thinking, communication (including both written and verbal communication), and teaming skills along with their understanding of functions of business and the basics of business technologies.

Informed by their first-year experience, students have flexibility in the second year to explore functional area courses and determine the area(s) of business in which they would like to specialize. Typically, in the sophomore year, students develop foundational skills in one or more of the following functional areas of business: accounting, business law, finance, information systems, management & organizations, marketing, or operations management. In addition, they expand their understanding of critical and analytic thinking, develop skills in business analytics, and build their understanding of teaming. These capacities are reinforced by a term-long action-learning innovation project with a Boston-based company, typically taken during the second year.

In their junior and senior years, students complete their remaining required foundational disciplinary courses, including a required course focusing on business strategy and innovation in global markets; achieve depth in at least one area of specialization; complete their Global Business Experience; and participate in at least one Action-Learning Lab course.

Over the course of the program, students must also complete a broad set of elective and required courses outside of Questrom, some of which contribute to their general education, as per the Boston University Hub program.

Students engage in a variety of careers after graduating, ranging from highly quantitative and analytical roles—like financial analyst, data analyst, market researcher, and equity researcher—to positions in rotational development and leadership programs that provide a holistic business experience and exposure to advanced internal and client projects. Questrom’s undergraduate students have access to opportunities across all industries and work in areas including accounting, banking, consumer packaged goods, consulting, financial services, healthcare management, information technology, and marketing.

Learning Outcomes

Responsible Leadership, Innovation, and Global Competition.

  • Students will be able to analyze and apply principles of value creation and capture, to navigate market dynamics, and to make informed managerial decisions that are ethical, responsible, and respond to global and multicultural contexts.
  • Students will analyze firm roles in the global marketplace and make recommendations regarding how to manage interactions with diverse stakeholders and to navigate complex economic, political, and social environments.
  • Students will be able to make managerial recommendations that leverage innovation to create and capture value.
  • Students will adapt to and/or leverage global, cultural, regulatory, managerial, and ethical issues when developing solutions to business problems or challenges.

Broad Business Knowledge.

  • Students will understand and apply core business function concepts in finance, marketing, operations, information technology, organizational behavior, business law, and strategy.

Analytical Competencies.

  • Students will gather, organize, visualize, and analyze data to make business decisions. Students will leverage leading-edge technologies to enable business decisions.

Critical Thinking and Effective Communication. 

  • Students will be able to solve complex problems by applying a structured problem-solving methodology.
  • Students will construct and test the validity of arguments by asking thoughtful, challenging questions and engaging in civil discourse.
  • Students will write clear, concise, and complete summaries and analyses and develop and deliver cogent and concise oral presentations to diverse audiences.

Career Development Strategy.

  • Students will use self-assessment and professional exploration frameworks to develop specific, personal, career development strategies.

Collaboration and Community.

  • Students will collaborate effectively and contribute to building an inclusive team environment, while critically assessing the impact of individual and group behaviors on team dynamics and organizational performance.
  • Students will analyze how diversity influences organizational culture and performance and develop strategies to leverage diversity for achieving organizational goals.
  • Students will apply frontier management principles in order to effectively lead individuals, groups, and organizations.

    Requirements

    All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Students majoring in Business Administration will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Quantitative Reasoning and the Intellectual Toolkit as well as some of the requirements in Scientific and Social Inquiry; Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship; and Communication. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences.

    The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) requires that students complete coursework in business and the liberal arts, as well as seminars in career development, and that they complete no fewer than 132 units while also meeting all requirements of the BU Hub. Students normally take four academic courses each term. Though there are many ways to progress through the Questrom Undergraduate curriculum, ultimately every student must complete the same graduation requirements.

    The requirements of the BSBA program are as follows:

    • 13 required four-unit courses:
      • QST AC 221 Financial Accounting
      • QST BA 221 Introduction to Data and Business Analytics (formerly QST QM 221)
      • QST BA 222 Modeling Business Decisions and Market Outcomes with Spreadsheets and Statistical Programming or QST BA 223 Business Modeling with Spreadsheets (formerly QST QM 222) (students may only take one of these courses for units)
      • QST FE 223 Introduction to Financial Management
      • QST IS 223 Information Systems and Emerging Technologies in Business
      • QST LA 245 Business Law, Contracts & Regulation
      • QST MK 223 Marketing: Concepts to Consumers
      • QST MO 221 Leading People & Teams
      • QST OM 223 Creating Value with Operations & Supply Chain Management
      • QST SI 422 Strategy, Innovation, and Global Competition
      • QST SM 131 Business, Markets & Society
      • QST SM 275 Critical & Analytic Thinking for Business
      • QST XP 298 Innovation Project
    • One Global Business Experience (see definition of Global Experiences below):
      • QST XP 301 Global Business Experience (1 unit)
    • Three required courses in career development:
      • QST ES 110 Explore Your Career (1 unit)
      • QST ES 210 Build Your Career Toolkit (1 unit) [or QST ES 215 (2 units) to replace ES 110 and 210 if student did not enter in their first year]
      • QST ES 310 Implement Your Career Plan (1 unit)
    • Two required courses that may be taken either in the Questrom School of Business or CAS:
      • QST BE 101 Introduction to Microeconomics for Business & Strategy (4 units) or CAS EC 101 Introductory Microeconomic Analysis (4 units)
      • QST BE 102 Introduction to Macroeconomics for Business & Strategy (4 units) or CAS EC 101 Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis (4 units)
    • One required CAS course:
      • CAS MA 121 Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences I or CAS MA 123 Calculus 1
    • Elective coursework:
      • Three free electives to be taken anywhere within Boston University (12 units)
      • Five Questrom electives (20 units) (used in fulfillment of a concentration)
      • Seven non-management electives to be taken within Boston University and outside Questrom (28 units)
    • One writing course required by the BU Hub:
      • CAS WR 120 (or equivalent) First-Year Writing Seminar (or other level of writing course, as determined by the CAS Writing Program)
    • In some cases, additional electives to ensure the minimum 132 units necessary to graduate or to meet remaining BU Hub requirements

    Global Business Experience Requirement (QST XP 301)

    All students must successfully complete the QST XP 301 Global Business Experience (1 unit). Through a combination of class-based and experiential learning, this requirement will enable students to obtain (a) an understanding of the cultural issues associated with conducting business in a global environment, (b) an understanding of the breadth of global political, economic, and regulatory environments, and (c) an understanding of the drivers and impact of globalization on business and society.

    Students may also satisfy the requirements of QST XP 301 by demonstrating their understanding of the principles of XP 301 on a faculty-graded Reflection Paper following the completion of:

    • an approved term-long study abroad program or a course-based study trip
    • an approved global business internship
    • a Questrom Global Business course with an experiential learning project

    Gateway Requirement and Minimum Grade Expectations for Initial Coursework

    Students must successfully earn a minimum grade of C in four of the following courses, and no less than C– in the fifth course, in order to apply these courses toward their Business Administration and Management major and advance into 300-level Questrom courses:

    • CAS EC 101 (4 units)
    • CAS MA 121 or MA 123 (4 units)
    • CAS WR 120 (or equivalent) First-Year Writing Seminar (4 units)
    • QST SM 131 (4 units)
    • QST AC 221 Financial Accounting (4 units)

    Concentrations

    The Questrom School of Business offers flexibility in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) program, allowing students to customize the degree by choosing from concentration options from within and across a number of disciplines.

    Questrom students must all complete at least one concentration. Concentrations present a deep exploration of a specific functional area in the study and practice of business. Concentrations include:

    • Accounting
    • Business Analytics
    • Finance
    • Global Business
    • Independent Concentration
    • Information Systems
    • Innovation & Entrepreneurship
    • Law
    • Management & Organizations
    • Marketing
    • Operations & Supply Chain Management
    • Real Estate
    • Strategy

      Note that a student can count no more than one course, one time, toward multiple concentrations. Concentration requirements are in addition to the courses required as part of the basic program of study.

      For students entering Boston University prior to fall 2025: Students use their four business electives to fulfill the concentration requirements. Students may also use their free electives to fulfill concentration requirements. See concentration sections below for those concentrations also having CAS requirements.

      For students entering Boston University in fall 2025 and beyond: Under the curriculum taking effect in 2025–2026, concentrations will consist of five courses. Details of these concentration requirements will be published on the UDC website as soon as they are available and in the 2026–2027 University Bulletin. Under that curriculum, students will use their five Questrom business electives to fulfill the concentration requirements. Students may also use their free electives to fulfill concentration requirements.

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