Undergraduate Degree Requirements

The bachelor of science in business administration degree requires:

Skills Assessment. These requirements are designed to ensure that each student has attained a minimum level of competency in the areas of finite math and Excel.

Total Credits. A minimum of 120 acceptable semester hours of credit, as follows:

Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours

  • Business core requirements—28
  • Business area of emphasis requirements—18
  • Business electives—15
  • General education nonbusiness requirements—42
  • Nonbusiness electives 17

The school reserves the right to disallow any credit that it determines is not appropriate academic credit. 

Residence. Students must complete 30 hours of business courses in residence on the Boulder campus after admission to the college, including the 18 hours in the area of emphasis and the 9 hours in the area of application (included in the business electives). Students must be in residence at CU-Boulder, and must be registered as business degree students during the term of graduation.

Minimum Grade Point Average

  • A cumulative grade point average of 2.000 in the area of emphasis and all grades in the 18 credit hours must have a grade of C- or higher (no pass/fail credits can be applied to the area).
  • A minimum scholastic cumulative GPA of 2.000 is required for all courses attempted at the university.
  • A cumulative 2.000 is required for all business courses attempted at the university.
  • A cumulative grade point average of 2.000 is required in the area of application courses.

General Requirements 

Business Core Requirements (28 semester hours)

Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours

  • BCOR 1010 Introduction to Business—3
  • BCOR 1020 Business Statistics—3
  • BCOR 2000 Accounting and Financial Analysis—4
  • BCOR 2200 Introductory Finance—3
  • BCOR 2300 Adding Value with Management—3
  • BCOR 2400 Fundamentals of Marketing—3
  • BCOR 2500 Operations and Information Management—3
  • BCOR 3000 Business Law, Ethics, and Public Policy—3
  • BCOR 3010 Business Applications of Social Responsibility—3

Business Area of Emphasis (18 semester hours)

Students must choose an area of emphasis in accounting, finance, management, or marketing. Areas of emphasis consist of 18 semester hours beyond any business core courses.

Business Electives (15 semester hours)

Business courses required by specific areas in excess of the 18 hours listed under areas of emphasis may count as business electives. 

Nonbusiness Requirements (42 semester hours)

  • Mathematical skills (Note 1)—6
  • Written communication (3 semester hours must be upper-division)—6
  • Historical context—3
  • Cultural and gender diversity—3
  • United States context—3
  • Literature and the arts (3 semester hours must be upper-division)—6
  • Natural sciences—6
  • Contemporary societies (Note 2)—6
  • Ideals and values—3

A list of courses that fulfill specific requirements for each area can be found on the CU website at www.colorado.edu/artssciences/students/undergraduate/core_curriculum.html.

Curriculum Notes
1. Students may complete the math requirements by taking MATH 1071and 1081. A college-level calculus course may be substituted for MATH 1081. Passing an assessment test for MATH 1071 will exempt a student from the course but carries no credit (a maximum of two attempts). Two semesters of college calculus will satisfy the 6 hours of math.
2. A minimum of 3 semester hours each of microeconomics and macroeconomics is required.
 

Nonbusiness Electives (17 semester hours)

Not all classes are accepted as elective credits. Generally, to be acceptable, electives must have a form of assessment such as a term paper and/or examinations, and must be regular classroom-type courses. Course coverage must be college level, must not be repetitious of other work applied toward the degree, must be academic as opposed to vocational or technical, and must be part of the regular university offerings.

The Leeds School of Business reserves the right to disallow any credit that it determines is not appropriate academic credit. For more information, contact the Office of Undergraduate Student Services.

Senior Audit

Prospective graduates must sign up for a senior audit with the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Career Development the semester before they plan to graduate. Students planning to graduate in May must request a senior audit by the previous October 1; August graduates must request a senior audit by the previous October 1; and December graduates must request a senior audit by the previous March 1. Failure to do so will delay graduation. 

Students desiring to change their area of emphasis after completing the senior audit must request the change through their  advisor no later than the first week of class of their final semester. Changes after that time will delay graduation.

Double-Degree Programs

Numerous career opportunities exist for graduates trained in both a specialized field and business. For this reason students may be interested in a double-degree program leading to completion of degree requirements concurrently in two fields. Such double-degree programs have been arranged for engineering, environmental design, journalism, and music, and may be arranged for other professional combinations as well.

The two programs of study proceed concurrently, terminating together with the awarding of two degrees. Normally, at least five years will be needed to complete a double-degree program. No substitutions are allowed.

Students desiring to transfer from double-degree programs to the Leeds School of Business must submit an application to the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

For further information contact the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Minor in Business

Beginning fall 2013, a new, 12-hour minor will be available to nonbusiness majors by application.

This program has been uniquely designed for nonbusiness students so that they can effectively perform in an emerging global business environment. Through integrated modular course work, students will be introduced to the essential elements of marketing, management, accounting, finance, and corporate social responsibility.

Once completed, students will choose between one of three business track options: innovation, analytics, or entrepreneurship. Finally, students complete their minor requirements through a business capstone course that focuses on strategy, application, and the development of a “venture plan.” (Students will also have the option of completing multiple tracks for increase breadth of application.)

NOTE: Courses are available in fall and spring.

In addition to the required 12 semester hours of course work, the following requirements apply to the minor in business:

  • Prerequisite of a statistics or calculus class with a C- or better (AP, IB or equivalent) or passing score on a specially designed ALEKS exam.
  • All students accepted into the new minor will be required to attend a 5-hour on-boarding experience before the semester in which they begin the minor.
  • The cumulative GPA for all minor degree course work must equal 2.00 or higher.
  • Transfer work and previously taken BCOR classes will be evaluated for application to the minor on a case-by-case basis. However, students may be required to take more track courses to complete 12 hours in the minor at CU.
  • No pass/fail work may be applied to the minor.
  • All minors must be complete and on record at the time your degree is awarded.

Students can obtain an application for the business minor or get further information in the Office of Undergraduate Student Services.