Department of Business

The Economics major is recommended to the student who desires a thorough grounding in business courses to augment the economics knowledge that is necessary for understanding the complexities of modern business, government, and nonprofit organizations.  Employment opportunities are found in banking, government, industrial relations, management, research and forecasting, communications, international trade, and sales.

In addition to the College of Business degree requirements, the economics major must earn a minimum grade of “C” in each economics course and/or advanced elective attempted. 

To receive a minor in economics, one needs to complete four required courses and two elective courses:

• Four required courses (12 hours):
• Econ 2301: Principles of Economics I Macro
• Econ 2302: Principles of Economics II Micro
• Econ 3340: Macroeconomics
• Econ 3390: Managerial Economics
• Two elective courses (six hours) approved by the department chair.

Teacher Certification - Economics

For details concerning requirements for teacher certification and information on professional courses, consult the College of Education and Human Development section in this catalog.

The finance major provides the student with a broad education in financial markets and institutions, in investments, and in the financial management of organizations. Electives can be selected to provide an emphasis in insurance, real estate, financial planning, or financial management. Finance graduates are qualified for careers in banking or other financial institutions, stock brokerage firms, in the growing financial services industry, and in the financial division of major organizations.

Management involves the coordination of resources—both human resources (people) and non-human resources (machine, materials, etc.)—to achieve organizational objectives efficiently. The curriculum in management, therefore, provides the student with an understanding of the specialized functional areas and with a broad, integrated view of the firm as a whole. Men and women with university degrees in management are equipped to advance more rapidly into positions of increasing responsibility in private business firms, in not-for-profit organizations, and in government.

In addition to the College of Business requirements, a student entering or transferring into management must have a minimum overall 2.0 GPA and to graduate, a management major must have a minimum 2.5 GPA within the major specialization courses.

Human resources management involves the recruitment, selection, maintenance, and development of human resources by organizations. It includes such diverse functional areas as interviewing, training, compensation and benefits, health and safety, and labor relations. University graduates in human resources management are found in all types of business firms, larger service organizations, and governmental agencies.

Marketing, as a professional field, is concerned with the whole range of activities that facilitate the movement of goods and services from the producer to the ultimate consumer. The marketing curriculum provides the student with a fundamental understanding of each of the specialties involved in the process as well as with the management of the marketing function generally. Typical kinds of careers open to marketing graduates include advertising, market research, sales and sales management, purchasing, services marketing, business-to-business marketing, brand management, consumer behavior, and retail management.

In addition to the College of Business requirements, a student entering or transferring into marketing must have a minimum overall 2.0 GPA and to graduate, a marketing major must have a minimum 2.5 GPA within the major specialization courses.

The academic major in General Business provides students an opportunity to study the fundamentals of a business enterprise and at the same time diversify into a secondary field of concentration. Four of the fields of concentration available to a student are outside of the College of Business.  The program allows students to take courses in General Business only or to concentrate their course work in one of the following areas:  Advertising Communications, Business Education, Construction Management, Entrepreneurship, Industrial Engineering, or Retail Management.

Business Concentration

The Business Concentration enables an individual to receive a thorough education in business without a major in any one business discipline. This focus gives enough flexibility so that an individual can explore career paths in accounting, real estate, insurance, personnel management, marketing, and finance. This concentration is designed for an individual who is interested in majoring in business but who is undecided about an area of specialization.

Advertising Communication Concentration

The Advertising Communication Concentration is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business, the Department of Art and Design, and the Department of Communication and Media. This field of study combines a solid knowledge of business with the creation and placement of information designed to produce sales; it is a substitute for the human salesperson. This career, blending commercial business and show business, attracts interesting people with a desire to be creative. Advertising Communication encompasses many areas including marketing, copywriting, art and layout, research, television production, photography, graphics, packaging, printing, and retail promotion.

Entrepreneurship Concentration

The Entrepreneurship Concentration prepares students who are interested in one day starting and running their own businesses. A solid understanding of budgeting and understanding financial statements is obtained from accounting and finance courses. Knowledge of how to hire, train, motivate and retain employees is gained from the human resource management course. Finally, the three entrepreneurship courses help students crystallize how to identify opportunities in the marketplace and put together a plan to exploit those opportunities through a new business.

Industrial Engineering Concentration

The Industrial Engineering Concentration is an interdisciplinary program between the College of Business and the Department of Industrial Engineering. This concentration combines a solid knowledge of business with the technical expertise of engineering. This combined education enables a graduate to make decisions concerning products to manufacture or services to provide, the layout of the production facilities, materials used in manufacturing a product, production procedure, quality control, and inventory control as well as methods of motivating and rewarding employees. Because their skills and knowledge can be used to improve operating efficiency in almost any type of company, graduates from this concentration can be employed by insurance companies, banks, construction firms, public utilities, hospitals, retail organizations, manufacturing companies, and other large business firms, as well as by government agencies.

Business Law

Business and non-business majors may minor in Business Law.  See the Department Chair or Academic Advisor for more information.

Economics

Non-business majors may minor in Economics.  See the Department Chair or Academic Advisor for more information.