Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Concentration in Decision Sciences
Concentration in Decision Sciences
The Decision Sciences concentration provides students with the skills necessary to analyze and solve practical business problems. Concentration courses allow students to acquire competence in decision making through the use of professional business software, such as spreadsheet, forecasting, and simulation packages. By selecting appropriate electives, students can prepare for a career using decision sciences in computer information systems, finance, operations, marketing, design and industry, accounting, international business, general management, or other areas within industry or government.
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 Decision Sciences — 69-72 units
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 within the course descriptions.
Note: DS 110, ECON 101, and ECON 102 (formerly ECON 100) fulfill General Education requirements.
Core Courses (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
Course must be taken for a letter grade.
Concentration Courses (12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select four: | ||
| DS 310 | Critical Data Analysis for Business | 3 |
| DS 311 | Technologies in Data Analytics | 3 |
| DS 312 | Data Analysis with Computer Applications | 3 |
| DS 408 | Computer Simulation | 3 |
| DS 601 | Applied Management Science | 3 |
| DS 604 | Applied Business Forecasting | 3 |
| DS 612 | Data Mining with Business Applications | 3 |
| DS 624 | Quality Management | 3 |
| DS 655 | Sustainable Supply Chain Optimization | 3 |
| DS 660GW | Communications for Business Analytics - GWAR | 3 |
Note: DS 660GW Communications for Business Analytics - GWAR can satisfy both the core course requirement and one of the four required concentration courses.
Approved Electives (9 units)
Please select three courses from the list below. Students may also use additional courses from the Concentration Courses list above. If you’re interested in a course that is not in either of these lists, ask your Decision Sciences faculty adviser about it and they will consider it, provided the course is analytical in nature. Decision Sciences majors should take at least two of their electives from the same department. Be sure to check course prerequisites and be aware that some departments may limit their courses to majors..
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Any DS concentration option above not already used to satisfy a requirement | ||
| Any upper-division ACCT course | ||
| Any 200-level or higher CSC course | ||
| Any upper-division ECON course except ECON 690GW | ||
| Any upper-division FIN course except FIN 350 | ||
| Any upper-division ISYS course except ISYS 363 | ||
| Any upper-division MATH course | ||
| BUS 354 | Starting a Small Business | 3 |
| BUS 450 | Greening of Business | 3 |
| ENG 620 | Introduction to Computational Linguistics | 3 |
| ENG 680 | Applied Computational Linguistics | 3 |
| IBUS 430 | Import-Export Management and Small Business Operations | 3 |
| IBUS 590 | International Environmental Analysis | 3 |
| IBUS 690 | Global Strategic Management | 3 |
| MKTG 436 | Retail Management | 3 |
| MKTG 441 | Business-to-Business Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 469 | Digital Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 632 | Marketing Research | 3 |
| MKTG 660 | Marketing Analytics | 3 |
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.
SF State Scholars
The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.
Transfer Student Roadmaps
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration
with 18 units in the major satisfied.
Roadmap with 18 Lower-Division Units
For students with an AS-T in Business Administration
with 15 units in the major satisfied.
Roadmap with 15 Lower-Division Units
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.