Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Concentration in General Business
Lam Family College of Business
Dean: Dr. Eugene Sivadas
Contact: Dr. Denise Kleinrichert
Email: genbus@sfsu.edu
Business Building, Room 310
Office phone: (415) 338-2652
Concentration in General Business
The concentration in General Business is designed to provide a solid foundation in the functional areas of business and offers students flexibility in selecting from a broad range of business courses. The concentration is intended, but not limited, to prepare students for careers in small, medium, or family businesses.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students have basic competencies in business-related disciplines.
- Students will demonstrate discipline‐based knowledge in accounting, economics, finance, information systems, international business, management, marketing, operations, and statistics;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to integrate the knowledge of different functional areas into effective business solutions.
- Students demonstrate effective communication skills.
- Students will create well‐written documents on a business topic;
- Students will deliver an effective oral presentation on a business topic.
- Students demonstrate the ability to analyze business situations.
- Students will solve business problems using appropriate quantitative and analytical techniques;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to identify and analyze alternatives in a business context;
- Students will demonstrate the ability to articulate and defend a course of action;
- Students will apply appropriate information systems and technologies to solve business problems.
- Students demonstrate the ability to work effectively in diverse teams that embrace equality and inclusion.
- Students contribute effectively to accomplishing teams’ goals;
- Students leverage diverse viewpoints by communicating effectively and respectfully with teammates from different backgrounds;
- Students demonstrate the ability to be effective team leaders.
- Students demonstrate the ability to solve business problems with ethical and environmental implications.
- Students identify the ethical dilemmas inherent in the operation of a business and explore company performance from a triple bottom line perspective: social, environmental, and financial;
- Students demonstrate ethical decision-making and analytical skills through cases and projects that focus on each of the stakeholder categories and identify sustainable solutions that account for a triple bottom line.
- Students demonstrate the ability to develop global business solutions through analyzing legal, political, social, and cultural factors.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Concentration in General Business — 69 Units Minimum
Except in cases of credit by examination, no more than 6 units of the core may be completed on a CR/NC basis.
Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in core Business courses required as prerequisites for other core Business courses.
All concentration courses must be taken on a letter-grade basis. Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in all concentration courses.
Prerequisite Courses (9-12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select one: | 3-6 | |
| Calculus with Business Applications | ||
| Mathematics for Business Calculus I and Mathematics for Business Calculus II | ||
| Business Calculus | ||
| ECON 101 | Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis | 3 |
| ISYS 263 | Introduction to Information Systems | 3 |
or a passing score on the ISYS 263 CLEP Exam | ||
These courses must be completed before enrollment in certain core courses. Most core courses have specific prerequisites that are listed in the course descriptions.
Note: DS 110, ECON 101, and ECON 102 fulfill General Education requirements.
Core Requirements (39 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 100 | Introduction to Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ACCT 101 | Introduction to Managerial Accounting | 3 |
| Select one: | 3 | |
| Business Communication for Professionals - GWAR | ||
| Communications for Business Analytics - GWAR | ||
| BUS 682 | Seminar on Business and Society 1 | 3 |
| BUS 690 | Seminar in Business Policy and Strategic Management 1 | 3 |
| Select one: | 3 | |
| Business Statistics | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| DS 412 | Operations Management | 3 |
| ECON 102 | Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis | 3 |
| FIN 350 | Business Finance | 3 |
| IBUS 330 | International Business and Multicultural Relations | 3 |
| ISYS 363 | Information Systems for Management | 3 |
| MGMT 405 | Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MKTG 431 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
- 1
Must be taken for a letter grade.
Concentration Requirements (21 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select seven courses from at least four different prefixes: | ||
| A U 220 | SF State and Braven Career Accelerator | 3 |
| BUS 350 | Introduction to Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| BUS 354 | Starting a Small Business | 3 |
| BUS 400 | Professional Communication for the Global Workplace | 3 |
| BUS 430 | Social Entrepreneurship: Mission-Driven Ventures | 3 |
| BUS 440 | Ethics at Work: Business Impacts | 3 |
| BUS 450 | Greening of Business | 3 |
| DS 312 | Data Analysis with Computer Applications | 3 |
| DS 408 | Computer Simulation | 3 |
| DS 411 | Decision Modeling for Business | 3 |
| DS 601 | Applied Management Science | 3 |
| DS 604 | Applied Business Forecasting | 3 |
| DS 624 | Quality Management | 3 |
| DS 655 | Sustainable Supply Chain Optimization | 3 |
| DS 660GW | Communications for Business Analytics - GWAR | 3 |
| ECON 400 | Economic and Social History of the United States | 3 |
| ECON 450 | Health Economics | 3 |
| ECON/HIST/LABR 474 | History of Labor in the United States | 3 |
| ECON/LABR 510 | Labor Economics | 3 |
| ECON/LABR 511 | Collective Bargaining | 3 |
| ECON 620 | Economic Development | 3 |
| ECON/I R 635 | Economics of Globalization | 3 |
| HTM 324 | Historical and Contemporary Aspects of Food, Beverage, and Culture in America | 3 |
| HTM 351 | Asian Food, Culture, and Hospitality | 3 |
| HTM 400 | Wine Appreciation | 3 |
| HTM 421 | Food, Wine, and Culture in California | 3 |
| HTM 424 | Tourism Management | 3 |
| HTM 425 | The Business of International Tourism | 3 |
| HTM 560 | Hospitality Human Resource Management | 3 |
| IBUS 430 | Import-Export Management and Small Business Operations | 3 |
| IBUS 517 | Legal Environment of World Business | 3 |
| IBUS 590 | International Environmental Analysis | 3 |
| IBUS 592 | Doing Business in Greater China | 3 |
| IBUS 593 | Doing Business in Europe | 3 |
| IBUS 596 | Doing Business in Japan | 3 |
| IBUS 598 | Doing Business in Emerging Markets | 3 |
| IBUS 620 | Research in International Business and the Global Market | 3 |
| IBUS/MGMT 659 | Introduction to International Business Negotiation | 3 |
| IBUS 676 | Social Entrepreneurship in a Global Context | 3 |
| IBUS 681 | Seminar in Comparative Management | 3 |
| IBUS 690 | Global Strategic Management | 3 |
| ISYS 350 | Building Business Applications | 3 |
| ISYS 463 | Information Systems Analysis and Design | 3 |
| ISYS 565 | Managing Enterprise Networks | 3 |
| ISYS 568 | Multimedia Business Applications Development | 3 |
| ISYS 569 | Information Systems for Business Process Management | 3 |
| ISYS 575 | Information Security Management | 3 |
| ISYS 650 | Business Intelligence | 3 |
| MGMT 648 | Seminar in Leadership and Influence Skills | 3 |
| MKTG 432 | Public Relations | 3 |
| MKTG 433 | Personal Selling | 3 |
| MKTG 436 | Retail Management | 3 |
| MKTG 441 | Business-to-Business Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 469 | Digital Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 644 | Services Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 675 | Brand Management | 3 |
| MKTG 680 | International Marketing Management | 3 |
| MKTG 688 | New Product Management Seminar | 3 |
Two non-Lam Family College of Business upper-division courses are permitted as substitutes for two of the seven required courses and count towards the different prefix requirement with advisor approval.
General Education Requirements
| Requirement | Course Level | Units | Area Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Communication | LD | 3 | A1 |
| Written English Communication | LD | 3 | A2 |
| Critical Thinking | LD | 3 | A3 |
| Physical Science | LD | 3 | B1 |
| Life Science | LD | 3 | B2 |
| Lab Science | LD | 1 | B3 |
| Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning | LD | 3 | B4 |
| Arts | LD | 3 | C1 |
| Humanities | LD | 3 | C2 |
| Arts or Humanities | LD | 3 | C1 or C2 |
| Social Sciences | LD | 3 | D1 |
| Social Sciences: US History | LD | 3 | D2 |
| Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLD) | LD | 3 | E |
| Ethnic Studies | LD | 3 | F |
| Physical and/or Life Science | UD | 3 | UD-B |
| Arts and/or Humanities | UD | 3 | UD-C |
| Social Sciences | UD | 3 | UD-D |
| SF State Studies | |||
| Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective. | |||
| American Ethnic and Racial Minorities | LD or UD | 3 | AERM |
| Environmental Sustainability | LD or UD | 3 | ES |
| Global Perspectives | LD or UD | 3 | GP |
| Social Justice | LD or UD | 3 | SJ |
Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration (2011)
with 12 units in the major satisfied.
Business Administration ADT Roadmap
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration (2011)
with 21 units in the major satisfied.
Business Administration ADT Roadmap
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration 2.0 (2021)
with 15 units in the major satisfied.
Business Administration ADT Roadmap
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration 2.0 (2021)
with 18 units in the major satisfied.
Business Administration ADT Roadmap
This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Business Administration
California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).
Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.
An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.
Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.
Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.
A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:
- How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.
Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.