Business Administration, B.S.

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The Business Administration department’s role in the education of students in the liberal arts tradition in the Williams School at Washington and Lee University emphasizes written and verbal communication, development of student understanding of business theory and practice as well as connections between business and other fields, and importance of serving society with vision and integrity.

Introductory Accounting

ACCT 100 - Introduction to Accounting

Introductory Economics

Choose one course from the following list:

Managerial Finance

FIN 221 - Managerial Finance

Statistics

Choose one from the following list. Additional guidance in the Note(s) section below.

Note(s):

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.

Additional 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 should be taken. CBSC 250 may be substituted for BUS 202 in the buiness administration major.
For students majoring in both business administration and sociology & anthropology, SOAN 218 may be substituted for BUS 202 if needed.
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 .

Business Core

Complete all courses in the following list:

Business Analytics

Choose one course from the following list:

Integrated Organization

Choose one course from the following list:

Business Administration Electives

Choose a minimum of nine additional credits, chosen from business administration (BUS) or finance (FIN) courses, numbered 300 or above (excluding BUS 401 , BUS 402 , BUS 421 , and BUS 422 ).

Note(s):

No more than two finance (FIN) classes may count towards the Business Administration major.

Non-business Electives

Choose one class from each of the following three groups, for a total of at least nine credits:

Note(s): Some non-business classes taken towards the business major may only be available to students who have met the requirements of other majors or minors.

Macro-Environment

Choose one course from the following list:

Human Considerations

Choose one course from the following list:

Abilities, Skills & Knowledge (ASK)

Choose one course from the following list:

Note(s):

Study Abroad

Important Note for Business Administration Majors Studying Abroad or Transferring Credit:
Students planning to study abroad or transfer credits into W&L should be aware of the following restrictions:

Core Requirements: BUS 211 , BUS 217 , and BUS 220 must be completed at W&L and may not be transferred from another institution.
Credit Limits: A maximum of nine (9) credits may be applied to the business administration major from coursework completed outside of W&L. This includes:
- Study abroad programs
- Summer courses
- Transfer credit from other institutions

These nine credits may include:
- Up to six credits in BUS-prefixed courses (i.e., business electives)
- And/or up to nine credits in approved non-BUS courses that count toward the non-business elective requirement

Students may mix and match within these limits (e.g., 3 BUS + 6 non-BUS credits, or 0 BUS + 9 non-BUS credits), but no more than six BUS credits may be transferred into the major.

Total Major Requirements 48 credits

This includes 33 credits from business administration and finance, and 15 credits not in business administration or finance.