A specialty in accounting prepares business students for a further degree in accounting, as well as careers that are both directly and indirectly involved with accounting. Accounting focuses on the development, analysis, measurement, communication and validation of financial information. You can use this knowledge to evaluate economic situations, to help business owners know where they stand financially, to inform governing bodies of transparency and in many other situations. In the accounting discipline you also may be required to study aspects of business law, corporate strategy and marketing.
Economics is not just for economists. Students who plan on going on to study law, political sciences, business administration or public policy can benefit from this business discipline. Economics is the study of how needs are met in any given society. It takes into account social customs, allocation practices, politics and decision-making to determine the needs and wants of a society. You can apply this discipline to groups on a global scale or to a group as small as an individual household. You will learn to determine the supply and demand of fulfilling wants and needs and how this affects society in general.
More than just advertising, a study of marketing allows students to learn diverse communication strategies, research and product development. Graduates who specialize in marketing can look for careers in marketing management, merchandising, sales, product research and development, advertising and marketing on an international level. This includes also learning the basics of accounting and economics to better understand the target audience and the role of consumer behavior. For instance, product pricing is tightly tied to supply and demand, both on the consumer end as well as on the supplier end. If marketing sets the prices too high or too low, it can artificially inflate or reduce demand. You will learn to understand how this works as part of the marketing discipline.
This facet of the business major is designed for those who know that they want to operate their own businesses. Not only do students learn the basics of accounting, marketing and finance, they also learn what it takes to run a business on a day-to-day basis. Idea development and the thinking that it takes to bring that idea to life is part of the entrepreneurship discipline. Some schools may offer internships with local entrepreneurs. This may include businesses on an international level, as well as successful local businesses.