Undergraduate Program

BS Business Major

The BS major is best for students interested in studying a business discipline in greater depth through a specialized track. If you have questions about or want to enroll in the undergraduate business program, please contact us to schedule an advising meeting.

Requirements for a BS in business:

Satisfactory completion of pre-major requirements in calculus (AP/IB credit is acceptable and courses are not subject to the College’s overlap policy)
Core set of nine required courses
Six courses in one of the tracks listed below

Completing the required coursework above satisfies the College’s upper-level writing requirement.

Students can only officially declare for one BS Business track (accounting, business analytics, finance, entrepreneurship, information systems, or marketing).

Pre-major Requirements

Students are eligible to officially declare for the BS business major by submitting a major declaration form once all pre-major requirement courses have been completed or are enrolled in the last calculus course in the sequence (MATH 143, MATH 162, or MATH 172).

One of the following calculus sequences or its equivalent:

MATH 140-143
MATH 161-162
MATH 171–172

Core

All of the following courses are required:

One statistics course
- Required for the finance and business analytics tracks and preferred for all tracks: STAT 190*, STAT 216, ECON 230, or MATH 203**
- Other options for the accounting, entrepreneurship, information systems, and marketing tracks:
- STAT 180***, PSCI 200, or PSCI 205
ECON 108: Principles of Economics****
ECON 207: Intermediate Microeconomics
ACC 201: Financial Accounting
FIN 205: Financial Management
MKT 203: Principles of Marketing
CIS 220: Business Information Systems and Analytics
BUS 221: Operations and Strategy
STR 203/ECON 214: Economic Theory of Organizations

*STAT 190 was previously listed as STAT 213

**STAT 180 was previously listed as STAT 212

***MATH 201 is a prerequisite for MATH 203

****Students who received AP or IB credit for ECON 108 must take one additional higher-level ECON course.

Tracks

Accounting Track (6 Courses)

Students in the accounting track will be exposed to different areas of accounting including financial accounting, managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing. Students who complete this track will be eligible to sit for the CPA exam in New York State. However, to obtain CPA licensure, students will need additional coursework. For this, students can apply to the 4+1 MS in Accountancy Program at Simon Business School. Students completing the 4+1 program can consider careers in auditing, public accounting, corporate accounting, taxation, forensic accounting, governmental accounting, internal auditing, and other accounting-related fields.

ACC 221: Managerial Accounting (S)
ACC 224: Intermediate Accounting I (F)
ACC 225: Intermediate Accounting II (S)
ACC 226: Auditing (F)
ACC 227: Individual Income Tax (F)
ACC 228: Corporate, Gift & Estate Taxes (S)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
F/S= offered both fall and semesters

Business Analytics Track (6 Courses)

Business analytics is a multidisciplinary field that combines business, mathematics, statistics, and computer science to extract meaningful insights from data. Students in the business analytics track will learn the foundational skills of analyzing business data including coding in python, econometrics, databases, data visualization, and predictive analytics. This track is best suited for students who are interested in using tools to develop insights, understand trends, and make informed decisions.

CIS 191: Introduction to Programming for Business Analytics (F/S) or CSC 161: Intro to Programming
ECON 231W: Econometrics (F/S)
CIS 240: Data Management and Descriptive Analytics for Business (F)
CIS 242: Predictive Analytics (S)

Two of the following:

ACC 221: Managerial Accounting (S)
BUS 389: Business Research (S)
CIS 211: Business Modeling with Excel (F/S)
CIS 245: Social Media & Text Analytics (S)
ECON 217: Contract Theory (F)
ECON 233: Applied Econometrics (S)
ECON 288: Game Theory (F/S)
FIN 246: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, and FinTech (S)
MKT 212: Marketing Research & Analytics (F)
MKT 233: Advertising and Social Media (S)
STR 221: Business Strategy (S)
STR 241: Pricing Strategy (F)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
F/S= offered both fall and semesters

Entrepreneurship Track (6 Courses)

Students in the entrepreneurship track will learn the critical skills needed to innovate, launch, and manage new ventures. Through a blend of coursework and hands-on projects, students learn how to identify market opportunities, create business models, and secure funding. Emphasizing both theory and practice, this track fosters a holistic understanding of entrepreneurship, empowering graduates to navigate the startup landscape or drive innovation within existing organizations. The wide range of business courses provides a flexible framework for graduates to apply business ideas and solutions.

ENT 101: Introduction to Entrepreneurship (F)
ENT 223: Planning and Growing Business Ventures (S)

Select four from below:

ACC 221: Managerial Accounting (S)
BUS 118: Business Ethics (S)
BUS 201: Impactful Presentations (F/S)
BUS 217: Business Leadership (S)
BUS 219: Negotiations (S)
BUS 389: Business Research (S)
CIS 211: Business Modeling with Excel (F/S)
CIS 245: Social Media & Text Analytics (S)
ENT 227: Fundamentals of Social Entrepreneurship (every other S, odd years)
FIN 213: Corporate Finance (F)
FIN 233: Mergers and Acquisitions (S)
FIN 241: Real Estate Principles (F)
FIN 242: International Finance (F)
FIN 244: Asset Management (S, odd years)
FIN 246: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, and FinTech (S)
LAW 205: Business Law: Contracts and Legal Entities (F)
LAW 250: Business Law: Transactions and Other Topics (S)
MKT 212: Marketing Research and Analytics (F)
MKT 213: Marketing Projects and Cases (F/S)
MKT 233: Advertising and Social Media (S)
MKT 235: Product and Brand Strategy (F)
MKT 237: Digital Marketing Strategy (S)
PSCI 238: Business & Politics (S)
PSCI 244: Politics & Markets (S)
SOCI 210: Silicon Valley and Its Networks (S)
STR 221: Business Strategy (S)
STR 241/ECON 241: Pricing Strategy (F)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
F/S= offered both fall and semesters

Finance Track (6 Courses)

Students in the finance track will gain the necessary understanding of how individuals and companies raise funds and invest in financial markets. Starting with an understanding of the time value of money, students then explore theories of investing, an understanding of risk and strategies to hedge risk, and the application of these theoretical concepts to areas such as financial decisions within a corporation, the evaluation and pricing of mergers and acquisitions and specialized investment areas such as real estate and cryptocurrencies. Students who complete the financial track are well-positioned to be financial analysts in brokerage firms, banks, corporate finance departments, insurance companies, and an increasing number of FinTech companies that are merging principles of technology (AI) with traditional financial activities.

FIN 206: Investments (S)
FIN 213: Corporate Finance (F)
ACC 222: Financial Statement Analysis (S)
FIN 224: Options, Futures & Derivatives (F) or MATH 210: Introduction to Financial Mathematics (F/S)

Two of the following:

ACC 221: Managerial Accounting (S)
BUS 389: Business Research (S)
CIS 211: Business Modeling with Excel (F/S)
ECON 209: Intermediate Macroeconomics (F/S)
ECON 211: Money, Credit, and Banking (F)
ECON 217: Contract Theory (F)
ECON 233W: Applied Econometrics (S)
ECON 271: Behavioral Economics (F)
FIN 233: Mergers and Acquisitions (S)
FIN 241: Real Estate Principles (F)
FIN 242: International Finance (F)
FIN 244: Asset Management (S, odd years)
FIN 246: Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, and FinTech (S)
STR 221: Business Strategy (S)
STR 241/ECON 241: Pricing Strategy (F)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
F/S= offered both fall and semesters

Information Systems Track (6 Courses)

The information systems track is a joint offering between Simon Business School and the Department of Computer Science. Students completing this track will learn the core knowledge of computer science including discrete math, software development, and data structures, and algorithms. Depending on the electives chosen, students may also have a knowledge of mobile app development, predictive analytics, and databases. A basic knowledge of information systems is helpful in a wide variety of business careers, including software development, product development, application development, and technology management. 

MATH 150: Discrete Math (F/S)
CSC 170: Intro to Web Development (F/S)
CSC 171: Intro to Computer Science (F/S/SM)
CSC 172: Data Structures and Algorithms (F/S/SM)

Two of the following:

CSC 210: Web Programming (S)
CSC 214: Mobile App Development F (iOS) / S (Android) / SM (iOS)
CIS 242: Predictive Analytics for Business (S) or CSC 240: Data Mining (F/S)
CIS 240: Data Management and Descriptive Analytics for Business (F) or CSC 261: Database Systems (F/S/SM)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
SM= offered summer

Marketing Track (6 Courses)

Students in the marketing track will learn to develop and implement effective marketing strategies, which are crucial for driving business growth and leading innovation. Through a diverse range of electives, students have the opportunity to explore conducting market analysis, developing digital strategies, fostering brand development, creating compelling marketing campaigns and effective communication, and making ethical, strategic decisions in competitive business environments. These competencies will not only facilitate a seamless transition into industry roles but also provide a strong foundation for advanced studies in graduate school.

Choose at least (4), up to (6) from the list below:

MKT 212: Marketing Research and Analytics (F)
MKT 213: Marketing Projects and Cases (F/S)
MKT 233: Advertising and Social Media (S)
MKT 235: Product and Brand Strategy (F)
MKT 237: Digital Marketing Strategy (S)
STR 241: Pricing Strategy (F)

Then, choose the remaining (0-2) courses from below:

BUS 118: Business Ethics (S)
BUS 201: Impactful Presentations (F/S)
BUS 219: Negotiations (S)
BUS 389: Business Research (S)
CIS 211: Business Modeling with Excel (F/S)
CIS 245: Social Media & Text Analytics (S)
STR 221: Business Strategy (S)
STAT 221W: Sampling Design (F)

F= offered fall semester
S= offered spring semester
F/S= offered both fall and semesters

Students can use the following worksheets to help plan their courses: