Undergraduate, four-year business administration and management degree programs typically require that students complete 60 credit hours of general education courses. While every program has slight curricular variations and degree concentrations, most programs require the completion of courses in the following areas of study: communications, English composition, physical sciences, social sciences, finite mathematics, statistics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, history and humanities electives. Graduate business administration and management programs, which typically are two years in length, do not require general education requirements. They do, however, require that students enter having earned an undergraduate business degree.
Undergraduate and graduate management and administration degree programs require that students complete a set number of major business courses. While undergraduate students are typically required to complete 60 credit hours worth of major courses, graduate students are generally required to complete between 30 and 36 credit hours. While graduate courses are more advanced and research-based, both undergraduate and graduate programs require that students complete courses in the following specialized areas: financial management, entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting, services management, occupational management and strategic management. To remain in good standing, undergraduate students must maintain a C average or better in core courses, while graduate student must maintain a B average or better.
Most undergraduate programs require that students complete a professional internship practicum at a participating business lasting at least 150 hours. In such internships, students are supervised by managers and administrators as they execute basic managerial and administrative tasks. In graduate programs, business administration students are required to complete a graduate thesis composed of both quantitative and qualitative conclusions that addresses a current challenge in the world of business administration. Completed theses are presented to the learning community and defended against a student's graduate thesis committee.