A B.S. degree in Business Retail Management is usually a four-year program. Accelerated programs are sometimes offered for students who already have an associate degree or 60 hours of undergraduate courses. Like most bachelor degree programs, students take general education classes in addition to those that are specific to the field. Some programs include real-world retail experience, such as working as an intern or running a campus-based store. Students gain practical knowledge about many parts of a retail organization, including purchasing, ordering and advertising.
A successful retail business manager works well with people, inventory and finances. Therefore, the curriculum has classes that cover these areas. To learn how to hire, lead, retain and inspire employees, you take courses in human resources. In addition, you study how to interact with both customers and members of the business community. Most of your courses teach you how to deal with the store setting, inventory and financial aspects of retail. You explore responsibilities such as setting goals, pricing, predicting trends and participating in e-commerce. You discover how to keep accounts, analyze profit and loss and develop financial reports.
Although students are busy with coursework about the retail industry, they must still take required core courses. These usually include classes in basic writing, such as English composition, natural and social sciences, including biology, chemistry and psychology, and technology courses, such as computer science. You may have to take some humanities electives, and you can choose from areas like fine arts, performing arts, languages and philosophy. Non-major classes are usually taken early in the program, but they may be transfer credits from another institution.
The information, skills and experiences you take away from a B.S. program in business retail management help prepare you for a number of introductory administrative positions. Depending upon your expertise and experience, you can start at entry-level jobs such as supervisor, merchandise manager, assistant buyer, assistant department or store manager or merchandise team associate. With prior work in the field, the addition of the degree might help you find work as a department or store manager, buyer, divisional merchandise manager, purchasing manager or regional store manager.