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2024-2025 Catalog
Business Administration, BA
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The Department of Business and Economics offers several programs that provide special opportunities for students who are interested in careers in business and related fields. The programs in business benefit from endowments by the estate and family of the late D. Abbott Turner who was a prominent leader in business and civic affairs in Georgia and a trustee of Wesleyan. These endowments help provide Wesleyan students with instruction, equipment, and special activities that add an important dimension to the educational process. Additionally, the Gail Webster-Patterson Endowed Speaker Series for Business brings distinguished speakers with profound knowledge and expertise in business practices, economics, accounting, and health administration to the College for the purpose of enhancing the educational experience of students who are majoring or minoring in one of these disciplines.
The D. Abbott Turner Program in Business Management includes three major curriculum alternatives:
- The major in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting, Digital Marketing, Economics, Healthcare Administration, Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, or Strategic Management.*
- The major in Accounting.
- The major in Global Business.
*Students in the Online Program may choose from Accounting, Digital Marketing, Economics, Organizational Behavior, or Strategic Management.
The department also offers an interdisciplinary major in Advertising and Marketing Communication (AMC).
The department has an expanded minor curriculum program with minors in Accounting, Business, Economics, and Finance.
The department sponsors lectures, conferences, seminars, and research which promote entrepreneurship and business career opportunities for women. These activities provide students with the opportunity to discuss significant issues and experiences with successful women from the business community.
Three student learning outcomes for the required courses in the Business Administration major have been identified:
- Business majors will demonstrate competency in breadth of knowledge of business principles.
- Business majors will demonstrate competency in depth of knowledge of business analysis.
- Graduates will demonstrate ability to integrate subject knowledge in the analysis of business issues.
Additional goals in the liberal arts are met in the general education curriculum:
- Understanding the historical and political context of business.
- Developing an awareness of the dimensions of human behavior as individuals and in organizations.
- Understanding the issues in philosophy and values which influence the business environment.
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Major Requirements: Business Administration
The major in Business Administration requires that the student complete a total of 57 hours of course work: 42 hours of business core courses in specified areas of essential business topics - accounting, marketing, management, economics, and finance - and 15 hours of course work related to a concentration.
Business Electives (6 hours)
- Two additional BUS courses
Students may not select courses offered through the Rize consortium to fulfill this requirement.
Concentration Courses (15 hours)
Students are required to pick at least one concentration:
Accounting Concentration
The Accounting concentration is designed for students who want additional training in accounting but do not want to sit for the CPA exam.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Digital Marketing (DM) Concentration
Businesses big and small, in every corner of the world, and selling any and every type of product rely on digital marketing to reach their consumers. Today’s digitally connected world allows us to connect with friends all around the world, video chat with family in other time zones and read about any interest we may have without leaving the comforts of home. For businesses in every industry producing any number of items, this means it is harder than ever to reach their target audience.
The Digital Marketing concentration will provide the student with baseline marketing skills so they understand the language of business, and are better equipped to land internships and jobs. It is designed to give the student a competitive advantage with the skills needed to compete in the fast-changing business world where most companies are using technology to reach their consumers. This competitive advantage gained by digital marketing skills will help enable the student to hit the ground running in their chosen profession.
Digital Marketing is also offered as a stand-alone minor.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Courses with an asterisk are available online through the Rize consortium.
Economics Concentration
Economics is the study of how individuals, businesses, and governments allocate resources to satisfy their objectives. The study of economics helps students understand markets, firms, financial organizations, and public debate about economic policy, including taxation, government expenditure, trade, globalization, health, and welfare. The concentration in Economics prepares students for graduate study in fields such as business and law, for graduate study leading to teaching and research in economics, and can be a stepping-stone to employment in business, finance, non-profit, and government organizations.
Required Courses (15 hours)
(a) Select one of the following (3 hours)
(b) Select one of the following (3 hours)
(c) Select three of the following (9 hours)
Courses used for (a) and (b) may not be chosen from the above, and to fulfill this requirement, at least one course must be at the 300-level or higher.
Healthcare Administration (HCA) Concentration
Healthcare is the largest and fastest changing industry in the U.S., making up close to 18% of our national gross domestic product (GDP). To make effective decisions, professionals working in the field must understand basic business principles and tools related to finance, information systems, strategic planning, human resource management, and marketing.
In the field of healthcare administration, one may be responsible for establishing and implementing the policies and objectives of a specific clinical or administrative department or service within a single facility, or an entire healthcare organization or system.
A concentration in Healthcare Administration will help prepare the student to work in a variety of settings, including:
- Clinic/Medical group practice
- Hospital/Health system
- Home health/Hospice services
- Residential/Long-term care
- Insurance/Managed care
- Medical supply company
- Government Services
- University/Research Institution
A concentration in Healthcare Administration will provide the student with strong leadership abilities, including excellent communication and relationship management skills, diplomacy, collaboration and teamwork, adaptability and ability to manage change, and mentoring.
The Healthcare Administration concentration is designed to complement the student’s major with the objective of providing an introductory curriculum, which can assist the student in gaining employment in healthcare and healthcare related career fields. This objective can be achieved by: building on general education core foundations; introducing students to health services management functions through the mastery of certain skills including communication, decision-making, and coordination; and preparing students for graduate study.
Healthcare Administration is also offered as a stand-alone minor.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Human Resource Management (HRM) Concentration
Employment of human resource (HR) managers is projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow 7 percent from 2018 to 2028 - faster than the average of all occupations. This is not by accident: as advancements are made in best practices and new technologies within HR departments, companies are willing to pay up to find the most talented individuals available, as they recognize the value of having highly talented people in those positions. HR managers have a tremendously valuable impact not just on the companies they work for, but on individual co-workers within the organization, and play an integral role in the modern economy.
As the role of an HR professional within the workforce changes, students will need to adapt their skill sets in order to land these lucrative and prestigious positions. The increasingly focused skill set desired by major employers is no longer served by general business degrees. In today’s economy, it is essential that aspiring HR professionals receive training and experience in coordinating the administrative functions of an organization, hiring and training employees, handling inter-company disputes, working with HR software, and other skills that will be important to their job on day one.
The Human Resource Management concentration is intended to provide students with the relevant skills to address these areas and to succeed as the highest performers in this burgeoning field. While students will also receive a traditional business education, graduates with this concentration will be able to point to specific skills they have learned and developed in HR that will allow them to stand out amongst all applicants.
Human Resource Management is also offered as a stand-alone minor.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Courses with an asterisk are available online through the Rize consortium.
Organizational Behavior (ORGB) Concentration
Combining content from business and psychology, the Organizational Behavior concentration provides students with a more focused exploration of the impact of human behavior (both as individuals and in groups) on organizational practices. This concentration would be an ideal option for a psychology or business major who plans to apply to related graduate programs. Students who plan on entering the workplace following graduation will benefit from increased knowledge relating to human resources, conflict management, and employer-employee relations in governmental, for-profit, and non-profit organizations in both public and private sectors.
Organizational Behavior is also offered as a stand-alone minor.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Strategic Management (STMT) Concentration
Strategic management involves decisions about the set of goal-directed, coordinated commitments and actions that a firm undertakes to gain and sustain superior performance relative to competitors. It includes diagnosing the competitive challenges facing a firm, formulating strategies (including corporate, business, international, etc.) to address the competitive challenges, and devising a coherent set of actions to implement a firm’s strategy.
Knowledge of strategic management complements students’ mastery of particular functional or operational areas, and allows graduates to understand how their functional roles and activities in a firm relate to the firm’s overall strategic objectives.
Strategic Management is also offered as a stand-alone minor.
Required Courses (15 hours)
Course Sequencing for the Business Administration Major
A recommended sequence of courses for the student majoring in Business Administration is shown below. (Only major courses are reflected.)
Fourth Year, Fall:
- Concentration course or BUS elective
Professional Development
Throughout their Wesleyan education each student is given opportunities to explore professional and career choices, and to develop and demonstrate the knowledge and skills essential for professional success. Each student will complete PDE 350: Professional Practice Seminar and PDE 400: Professional Development Experience .
The student learning outcome of developing an understanding of how a liberal arts education enhances a student’s preparation for careers and further professional growth is met in the business administration major with BUS 488 . The program also recommends students consider internships as opportunities to experience their fields of interest. It is not uncommon for an internship to lead to a job offer. Some of the sponsors who welcome Wesleyan interns in business include Atlanta Heat, Cherry Blossom Festival, Coliseum Hospital, Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Medical Center of Central GA, Merrill-Lynch, the Southern Company and Georgia Power, Truist Bank, and the United Way.
Postgraduate Opportunities
The business degree prepares students for a profession and a career, while providing for immediate employment. Consequently, although some graduates pursue a Master of Business Administration or other graduate degrees, most enter the workforce immediately following graduation. Recent graduates are working for Grant Thornton, Dow Chemical, Ernst and Young, the Department of Revenue, City Bank of London, Coca-Cola, SunTrust Bank, Bright Ideas Advertising, and for many other businesses, industries, and nonprofit organizations.
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