This is the preliminary (or launch) version of the 2024-2025 VCU Bulletin. Courses that expose students to cutting-edge content and transformative learning may be added and notification of additional program approvals may be received prior to finalization. General education program content is also subject to change. The final edition and full PDF version will include these updates and will be available in August prior to the beginning of the fall semester.
The activity of management is concerned with setting an organization’s strategic goals and formulating processes to achieve them. Managers carry out their administrative roles by handling such duties as preparing and administering budgets, planning and directing operations, and coordinating employees’ activities.
The management/business administration concentration provides students with a broad-based study of management and other business disciplines. The course options in the curriculum give students flexibility in developing a program of study that can lead to a variety of entry-level positions in private and public organizations.
Learning goals
The goal of the curriculum for the management concentration is to prepare students for careers that require general skills in business and management.
- General management competencies
Graduates will develop skills in managing people and other resources to help achieve organizational goals. - Analytical competencies
Graduates will have quantitative and analytical skills that can be applied to the solution of managerial problems.
Student learning outcomes
Upon completing this program, students will know and know how to do the following:
- Depth of knowledge
Demonstrate an understanding fundamental concepts of management that relate to the shaping of employee behaviors toward the achievement of organizational goals - Communication skills
Communicate a personal leadership vision that reflects self-awareness, knowledge of leadership theories and concepts, and appropriate oral communication skills - Analytic skills
Use knowledge of human resource management concepts and data to suggest solutions to management problems - Quantitative skills
Identify and use relevant data to help make informed decisions about management issues
Special requirements
The admission requirements for the School of Business detail the deadlines and other requirements for students to be admitted to one of these major programs of study. The following courses must be completed before the student may declare a specific business major: ACCT 203, ACCT 204, BUSN 201 or BUSN 205, SCMA 212 or MATH 200, BUSN 225, ECON 210, ECON 211, UNIV 111, UNIV 112 and UNIV 200.
The School of Business has special academic policies, including policies on transfer credits, that apply to all undergraduate degrees.
All baccalaureate degree programs in the School of Business require successful completion of the business knowledge exam as administered in BUSN 499.
Students may need to take additional mathematics courses as prerequisites to BUSN 212 or MATH 200. These credits will count as open electives in the degree program.
No more than six credits from the BUSN 16x Digital Literacy courses may be applied to the degree.
INTL 493 may not be counted toward a business degree.
Credit for SPCH 121 or SPCH 321 will substitute for BUSN 225, and no more than three credits of these courses may be applied toward a business degree. Students who earned a minimum grade of B in either ECON 203 or ECON 205 at VCU may substitute that credit for ECON 210.
The pass/fail grading policy may not be used for many course requirements. Please check with your academic adviser before taking the pass/fail grading option.
Degree requirements for Business, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a concentration in management/business administration
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General education | ||
| Select 30 credits of general education courses in consultation with an adviser. | 30 | |
| Major requirements | ||
| • Major core requirements | ||
| MGMT 319 | Leadership | 3 |
| SCMA 302 | Business Statistics II | 3 |
| • Concentration requirements | ||
| MGMT 321 | Survey of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MGMT 331 | Human Resource Management | 3 |
| MGMT 405 | Negotiation, Influence and Conflict Management | 3 |
| • Major electives | ||
| Financial markets elective (select from list below) | 3 | |
| Global elective (select from list below) | 3 | |
| Management elective (select from list below) | 3 | |
| Supply chain and analytics elective (select from list below) | 3 | |
| Systems and marketing elective (select from list below) | 3 | |
| Ancillary requirements | ||
| • Ancillary core requirements | ||
| ACCT 203 & ACCT 204 | Introduction to Accounting I and Introduction to Accounting II | 6 |
| BUSN 225 | Winning Presentations | 3 |
| BUSN 301 | Career and Professional Development | 1 |
| BUSN 323 | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| BUSN 499 | Business Knowledge Exam | 0 |
| ECON 210 | Principles of Microeconomics (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and/or AOI for global perspectives) | 3 |
| ECON 211 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| FIRE 311 | Financial Management | 3 |
| INFO 360 | Business Information Systems | 3 |
| MGMT 303 | Creativity and Ideation | 3 |
| MGMT 310 | Managing People in Organizations | 3 |
| MGMT 434 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| MKTG 301 | Marketing Principles | 3 |
| SCMA 301 | Business Statistics I | 3 |
| SCMA 320 | Production/Operations Management | 3 |
| • Additional ancillary requirements | ||
| BUSN 201 | Foundations of Business 1 | 3 |
| or BUSN 205 | Introduction to the World of Business | |
| BUSN 212 | Business Problem Solving and Analysis (either satisfies general education quantitative foundations) 2 | 4 |
| or MATH 200 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | |
| Open electives | ||
| Select any course. 2 | 16 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
BUSN 205 satisfies general education AOI for global perspectives.
Students may choose electives to reach the minimum total of 120 credits.
The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.
Approved financial markets electives
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 303 | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| ECON 307 | Money and Banking | 3 |
| FIRE 305 | Principles of Real Estate | 3 |
| FIRE 309 | Risk Management and Insurance | 3 |
| FIRE 317 | Investments | 3 |
Approved global electives
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BUSN 329 | Introduction to Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| or INTL 327 | Introduction to Intercultural Communication | |
| BUSN 401 | International Consulting Practicum | 3 |
| ECON/INTL 329 | International Economics | 3 |
| FIRE 316 | International Financial Management | 3 |
| MGMT/INTL 418 | International Management | 3 |
| MKTG/INTL 320 | International Marketing | 3 |
Approved management electives
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BUSN 400 | Principles of Consulting | 3 |
| MGMT 332 | Staffing Organizations | 3 |
| MGMT 333 | Compensation Management | 3 |
| MGMT 389 | Managerial Skills Development | 3 |
| MGMT 423 | Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation | 3 |
| MGMT 491 | Topics in Management (variable, with no more than six credits total) | 1-3 |
| MGMT 493 | Internship in Management | 3 |
Approved supply chain and analytics electives
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SCMA 303 | Business Analytics | 3 |
| SCMA 339 | Quantitative Solutions for Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| SCMA 350 | Introduction to Project Management | 3 |
| SCMA 386 | Global Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| SCMA 410 | Logistics and Distribution Strategy | 3 |
| SCMA 420 | Strategic Sourcing | 3 |
Approved systems and marketing electives
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| INFO 361 | Systems Analysis and Design | 3 |
| INNO 460 | Product Innovation: da Vinci Project | 3 |
| MKTG 315 | Buyer Behavior | 3 |
| MKTG 442 | Services Marketing | 3 |
| MKTG 450 | Product Development and Management | 3 |
| MKTG 330 | Integrated Marketing Communications | 3 |
What follows is a sample plan that meets the prescribed requirements within a four-year course of study at VCU. Please contact your adviser before beginning course work toward a degree.
| Freshman year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall semester | Hours | |
UNIV 111  Play course video for Focused Inquiry I | Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| General education course | 3 | |
| General education course | 3 | |
| General education course | 3 | |
| Open elective (prerequisite to BUSN 212 suggested) | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| BUSN 212 | Business Problem Solving and Analysis (satisfies general education quantitative foundations) | 4 |
| BUSN 225 | Winning Presentations | 3 |
| UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II | Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| General education course | 3 | |
| Open elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 16 | |
| Sophomore year | ||
| Fall semester | ||
| ACCT 203 | Introduction to Accounting I | 3 |
| BUSN 201 or BUSN 205 | Foundations of Business or Introduction to the World of Business | 3 |
| ECON 210 | Principles of Microeconomics (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and/or AOI for global perspectives) | 3 |
| UNIV 200 | Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations) | 3 |
| General education course | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| ACCT 204 | Introduction to Accounting II | 3 |
| BUSN 301 | Career and Professional Development | 1 |
| BUSN 323 | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| ECON 211 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| MKTG 301 | Marketing Principles | 3 |
| SCMA 301 | Business Statistics I | 3 |
| Term Hours: | 16 | |
| Junior year | ||
| Fall semester | ||
| MGMT 303 | Creativity and Ideation | 3 |
| MGMT 310 | Managing People in Organizations | 3 |
| MGMT 321 | Survey of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| MGMT 331 | Human Resource Management | 3 |
| SCMA 302 | Business Statistics II | 3 |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| FIRE 311 | Financial Management | 3 |
| INFO 360 | Business Information Systems | 3 |
| MGMT 319 | Leadership | 3 |
| SCMA 320 | Production/Operations Management | 3 |
| Open elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Senior year | ||
| Fall semester | ||
| BUSN 499 | Business Knowledge Exam | 0 |
| MGMT 405 | Negotiation, Influence and Conflict Management | 3 |
| Global elective | 3 | |
| Open electives | 4 | |
| Supply chain and analytics elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 13 | |
| Spring semester | ||
| MGMT 434 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| Financial market elective | 3 | |
| Management elective | 3 | |
| Open elective | 3 | |
| Systems and marketing elective | 3 | |
| Term Hours: | 15 | |
| Total Hours: | 120 | |
The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.