Business Administration major leading to a BS degree

A major in business administration leading to a Bachelor of Science requires at least 42 credits total, including at least 24 credits from business administration and finance, and 18 credits not in business administration or finance, as follows:

1. ACCT 100 
2. ECON 100
3. BUS 202 (or one of the following: CBSC 250, ECON 202, POL 202, MATH 118, SOAN 218; see note below)
4. BUS 211, 217
5. FIN 221
6. BUS 398 or 399
7. Business Administration electives: at least twelve additional credits, chosen from Business Administration or Finance courses numbered 300 or above (excluding BUS 401, 402, 421, and 422)
   *No more than two FIN classes may count towards the BSADM major.
8. Non-Business Administration electives: nine credits chosen from the following:
   ACCT: all courses numbered 200 and above
   AFCA 286
   ARTH 204, 209, 245, 263, 267, 275, 276, 288, 378, 398, 453
   ARTS 204, 215, 217, 218, 220, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228, 231, 232, 236, 237, 275, 320
   BIOL 267, 275, 357 (CSCI 257)
   CBSC 214, 215, 223, 240, 252, 254, 259, 262, 269
   CSCI 209, 211, 230, 257 (BIOL 357), 315, 317, 319, 326, 335
   DANC 220, 233
   ECON: all courses numbered 200 and above
   ENGL 201, 202, 203, 206, 215, 233, 234, 254, 257, 261, 262, 286 (AFCA 286), 289, 349, 354, 366, 370, 382, 391, 431, 453
   ENGN 250
   ENV 230
   FILM 220, 233, 236, 237S, 238
   GERM 302, 392 (BUS 392)
   HIST 203, 232, 233, 258, 260, 268
   JOUR 215, 220, 221, 227, 230, 266, 273, 301, 325, 338, 341, 345, 371, 372, 377
   LIT 222
   MATH 309, 310, 332, 333
   MUS 205
   PHIL 234, 240, 242, 247, 346, 348, 354
   POL 215, 227, 229, 232, 233, 245, 246, 247, 250, 255, 381
   SOAN 205, 208, 212, 220, 222, 225, 228, 240, 245, 246, 252, 263, 265, 267, 269, 276, 280
   SPAN 211, 212, 214
   THTR 209, 220, 238, 239, 251, 253, 361
9. One course from each International Business, Information Systems, and Normative Considerations. The 21 credits required in 7 and 8 above must include at least one course from each of the following areas:
   a. International Business: ARTS 223, 275, ARTH 245, 275, 288, 378; BUS 305, 332, 362, 369, 390, 392 (GERM 392); EALL 215; ECON 246 (REL 246), 270, 271, 273, 274, 276, 280, 281, 282S, 356, 380; ENGL 382; FIN 357; GERM 302, 392; HIST 232, 233; JOUR 221, 266; LIT 222; POL 215, 227, 245, 246, 247, 381; SOAN 225, 245, 246, 252, 269; SPAN 211, 214
   b. Information Systems: ACCT 310; BUS 306, 314, 315, 316, 317, 321, 333
   c. Normative Considerations: ACCT 303, 304; BUS 345, 348, 369, 381; CBSC 269; ECON 231, 235; JOUR 301, 345; PHIL 242, 354; POL 233

Notes on Statistics Courses:

• Due to content overlap, students may take only one of the following courses for degree credit: BUS 202, ECON 202, SOAN 218, POL 202.
• The options for statistics courses differ primarily by applied field (Business, economics, politics, etc.) and the software used for analysis (coding vs. more traditional statistical analysis software). BUS 202 includes an important coding component and business contexts that will prepare students for subsequent coursework in the business major. As other examples, CBSC 250 contains important psychological research design elements for the CBSC major and use coding, while SOAN 218 focuses more on questions that arise in the analysis of observational data in complex social settings and may include either coding or more traditional statistical analysis software.

Statistics Course Guidance

• Students planning to major in business administration should take BUS 202.
• For students majoring in both business administration and cognitive and behavioral science, CBSC 250 may be substituted for BUS 202.
• For students majoring in both business administration and SOAN, SOAN 218 may be substituted for BUS 202.
• Students considering the Economics major are encouraged to enroll in ECON 202. Students are not encouraged to double major in both business and economics. However, if ECON 202 has already been taken, it may be substituted for BUS 202.
• Students majoring in both business administration and politics are encouraged to register for BUS 202 to get the coding component. However, if POL 202 has already been taken, it may be substituted for BUS 202.

Study Abroad 

Business administration majors planning to study abroad (or otherwise transfer credits into the university) should be aware of the following:

• BUS 211 and BUS 217 must be taken at W&L to count toward the business major.
• A maximum of six credits will be accepted towards the business major from outside the university.
  • This includes study abroad, courses taken in the summer, or any other courses taken outside of W&L.
  • These six credits include both BUS classes and non-BUS classes.

Note on non-business electives: Some non-business classes taken towards the business major may only be available to students who have met the requirements of other majors.

Business Administration majors may not minor in Data Science- Business Analytics but may minor in Data Science.