BS in Business Administration Curriculum

At Olin, you’re admitted into the BSBA program as a first-year student.

The early entry—offered by only a handful of business schools—means you have a more targeted tool set when you apply for internships and full-time positions.

Obviously, you focus on business fundamentals and your business major. But with your business degree, you must take at least 40% of your classes in areas other than business, which encourages you to broaden your educational horizons and pursue a minor (or two), second major or second undergraduate degree.

In addition to first-year entry, hallmarks of our curriculum include:

A Well-Rounded Business Curriculum

To graduate, you must complete a minimum of 120 units of coursework, of which 42.5 units are professional business requirements. You also take 48 required units outside of business, 17.5 units of business electives and 12 units of additional electives round out the requirements.
  • Required Courses

    You must take all your business and required courses for grades, and you must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA overall and in your business school classes. A typical sequence is listed below. See the WashU Bulletin for detailed degree requirements.

    First Year

    • Individual in a Managerial Environment
    • Foundations of Business
    • Calculus I or higher
    • English Composition 100
    • Microeconomics
    • Managerial Statistics I
    • Calculus II 

    Sophomore Year

    • Principles of Financial Accounting
    • Managerial Statistics II
    • Management Communication
    • Analytics and Modeling for Business Decisions
    • Core requirements

    Junior Year

    • Core and professional requirements

    Senior Year

    • Professional and general electives
  • Experiential Learning

    Olin’s Center for Experiential Learning pairs teams of business school students with Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofit organizations and startups looking for cost-effective—or pro bono—management expertise. Options include the following:

    • In the Practicum, faculty-led teams of four or more students work with company representatives on a semester-long management project.
    • In the Taylor Community Consulting Program, teams of two to four students are assigned to each six-week project with a St. Louis nonprofit.
  • Global Experiences

    International internships, study abroad and on-location courses help you gain an appreciation of how culture influences business strategy and operations.

    Learn more about global study opportunities.

  • Entrepreneurship

    Students seeking an outlet for their creativity and innovation have many options: the Hatchery business plan course, Innovating for Healthcare, CEL Entrepreneurial Consulting Team, student-run on-campus businesses and pitch competitions. The Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurial Studies supports startups at all stages as well as student ventures.

    Learn more about developing your entrepreneurial spirit.

My favorite class has been Management 100. This class was fast-paced, and the three units—microeconomics, strategy and management—each contributed to a deeper understanding of the business world.

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Jeanette Smith

BSBA

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