Business Administration (BSBA)

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Offered by the Kogod School of Business .

Admission to the Program

Freshman applicants should have demonstrated above average performance in their college preparatory courses in secondary school. Scores on the SAT or ACT should indicate that the applicant has the potential for success in a rigorous university degree program. Due to the quantitative emphasis of the business administration curriculum, it is strongly recommended that applicants take the SAT II Math test for placement purposes.

In addition to university requirements for transfer admission, transfer applicants (including non-degree and degree seeking from other academic units) to KSB should have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale). All transfer students are required to take MGMT-458 and at least 18 upper-level credit hours toward their major requirements in residence. Transfer credits for 300-level and above business courses are subject to validation by the appropriate department chair and may be conditional on successful completion of a more advanced course at American University.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better
Completion of college writing requirement
Completion of university mathematics requirement

General Education Requirements

A total of ten courses, consisting of two courses from each of the five foundational areas.
At least one course from Area Five: The Natural and Mathematical Sciences must include a laboratory science component.
No more than two courses may be taken in the same discipline.

Note: Foundational Area 4 should be fulfilled by ECON-100 Macroeconomics FA4 (3) and ECON-200 Microeconomics FA4 (3) .

Major Requirements

A total of 120 credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher.
- Students must ensure that no more than 66 of the 120 credit hour graduation requirement are taken within the Kogod School of Business.
- IBUS-200 and FIN-200 are considered business courses and may not count toward the non-business course requirement even if they are taken for General Education credit.
Business core courses: 38 credit hours with grades of C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted).
Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 to be eligible to enroll in business courses.
Area of specialization: a minimum of 12 credit hours with grades of C or better (pass/fail grades are not permitted). Students should declare an area of specialization before the end of their junior year. All areas of specialization must be approved in advance by the Office of Academic Programs. Students must meet the following minimum standards of performance prior to approval:
- minimum grade of C in ECON-100 Macroeconomics FA4 (3) and ECON-200 Microeconomics FA4 (3) .
- minimum grade of C in MATH-211 Applied Calculus I (4) and STAT-204 Introduction to Business Statistics (4) (In lieu of STAT-204 , students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4) or
  STAT-203 Basic Statistics with Calculus (4)
  prior to enrollment in Kogod must complete ITEC-210 Data Analysis for Business (1) with grade of C or better).

Note: With the approval of the Office of Academic Programs, BSBA students pursuing a second major may fulfill a custom specialization with courses from their non-KSB major coursework.

Free electives: 24 credit hours.
At least 50 percent of the business credit hours required for the BSBA must be earned at American University.
A student may take no more than three internship credits in total towards the 120 credit graduation requirement for an undergraduate business degree.

Course Requirements

Students are responsible for fulfilling university and school requirements following a prescribed sequence. The academic advisors in the Kogod School’s Office of Academic Programs must be consulted for counseling and advice when preparing class schedules. However, it is the student’s responsibility to consult course descriptions to identify course prerequisites and when courses are offered.

Non-Business (14-15 credit hours)

ECON-100 Macroeconomics FA4 (3)
ECON-200 Microeconomics FA4 (3)
MATH-211 Applied Calculus I (4)
or
MATH-221 Calculus I (4)
STAT-204 Introduction to Business Statistics (4)
or
ITEC-210 Data Analysis for Business (1) and STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4) / STAT-203 Basic Statistics with Calculus (4) (Available only to students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-202 or STAT-203 prior to enrollment in Kogod)

Business Core (38 credit hours)

AT = analytical tool emphasis; provides a strong foundation in business analytical software

C = case analysis emphasis; provides growth opportunities for students to evaluate cases

O = oral communication emphasis; assists in the development of oral presentation skills

T = teamwork emphasis; focuses on teamwork and the importance of interpersonal relationships and communication

W = written communication emphasis; develops business writing skills, written assignments account for a significant part of the course grade

ACCT-240 Principles of Financial Accounting (3)
ACCT-241 Principles of Managerial Accounting (3) (AT)
ACCT-244 Introduction to Business Law (3)
or
MGMT-203 The Legal Environment of Business (3)
FIN-365 Business Finance (3) (AT)
IBUS-300 Fundamentals of International Business (3) (C/W)
ITEC-200 The Edge of Information Technology (3) (AT)
ITEC-355 Production/Operations Management (3) (AT/C)
KSB-100 Business 1.0 (3)
(students not taking KSB-100 in their freshman year take a 300- or 400-level business course in its place)
KSB-211 Business Professionalism (2)
MGMT-201 Global Corporate Citizenship FA3 (3) (O)
MGMT-353 Management and Organizational Behavior (3) (T)
MGMT-458 Strategic Management (3) (C/O/T/W)
MKTG-300 Principles of Marketing (3) (W)

Specialization (12-15 credit hours)

Kogod students select an area of specialization from the approved programs below or design a custom specialization with the assistance and approval of their academic advisor. Specializations are 12 credit hours, with the exception of finance, which requires 15 credit hours. Students who choose to pursue two specializations must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours (or 15 credit hours for finance) for each specialization. With the approval of the Office of Academic Programs, BSBA students pursuing a second major may fulfill a custom specialization with courses from their non-KSB major coursework.

Students who choose the specialization in International Business must demonstrate proficiency in a second language at the intermediate level. For options and more information, see the Kogod School’s Office of Academic Programs .

Students who choose the specialization in International Business must also satisfy a global experience requirement. This can be met either through completion of an approved study abroad program, an international internship, or successful completion of a comparable American University global immersion course. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted on a case by case basis by the Department of International Business. International students are exempt from this requirement.