Students seeking a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree pursue a general course of business study that includes taking core courses in the functional areas of business. Students earning the BSBA degree must take a minimum of 50 percent of the total business hours at Longwood. For the purpose of assessing the quality of the program, graduating seniors will be tested on their general knowledge of business by taking the Major Field Test in Business.
Students also gain in-depth business knowledge by concentrating in one of the areas of business. Students must declare a concentration prior to registering for the second semester of their junior year.
Concentration Areas
Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (BSBA) must concentrate in one of the following areas:
Accounting: Students concentrating in accounting take courses that provide both technical instruction and a managerial perspective relevant to a career in accounting. The accounting concentration is designed to prepare students to be professional accountants in industry, government, or public practice. Students who complete the requirements for a concentration in accounting meet the specified content requirements to take the Virginia Certified Public Accountant examination. Students need a total of 150 credit hours to be certified in Virginia as a public accountant. A five-year BSBA and MBA program is available for students who want to graduate with 150 credit hours.
Economics: Economic logic underlies all business decisions and all government policies. A goal of the economics concentration is to teach students how to think critically about a situation and analyze its implications. Emphasis is placed on exposing students to important consumer, business, government and international situations. Graduates with a background in economics are hired by government and industry. In addition, a concentration in economics is a traditional education for students wishing to enter law school.
Finance: The finance concentration prepares students to make financial assessments and managerial decisions as well as plan and supervise financial activities for businesses and clients. Courses cover the theory and practice of managing financial aspects of businesses and organizations, including capital budgeting, investments, capital markets, financial institutions, and emerging financial instruments. With this background, students are prepared for lucrative careers such as financial managers, financial analysts, treasurers, controllers, credit managers, financial services representatives, stockbrokers, and more.
Information Systems and Cyber Security (ISCS): The ISCS concentration is designed to prepare students to plan, design, engineer, and implement secure networks and information systems in today’s modern electronic, mobile, and global environment. Students learn how to manage information technologies and exploit their full potential while protecting the information assets and rights of individuals and organizations. The concentration prepares students for a career in a variety of organizations ranging from the end users and creators of information systems to the guardians of information assets and the organization’s electronic infrastructure.
Management: The management concentration explores the relationship of behavioral and quantitative management techniques in the application of human resources, production processes, and organizational development. This curriculum provides students with skills in communication and critical thinking leading to management careers in any organization. In addition, the management skills of planning, directing, motivating, and controlling are essential for achieving organizational goals. The management concentration not only prepares students for professional careers with a wide range of management opportunities upon graduation, but it also provides a strong foundation for future graduate study in business.
Marketing: Careers in advertising, buying, selling, logistics, product management, international marketing, and marketing research are only a few of the fields available to students concentrating in marketing. This concentration is designed to prepare students for managerial positions in these fields. The curriculum includes not-for-profit, governmental, and international applications of marketing knowledge. Classroom knowledge, internship opportunities, and involvement of students in business organizations are integral components of the marketing concentration.
Real Estate: This concentration prepares students for a career as a professional in the real estate field. Students completing this concentration will be prepared to enter the areas of real estate investment, mortgage banking, property management, sales, appraisal, and development. The Principles of Real Estate (FINA 453 ) and Real Estate Appraisal (FINA 454 ) courses have been approved by the state of Virginia as preparation for the licensure exams.
