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/entrepreneurship concentration empowers students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and complementary skill set needed to provide creative solutions for new ventures and existing organizations. Students gain knowledge of entrepreneurial and design concepts useful for questioning assumptions, exploring alternatives and developing creative solutions.

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.

  1. General management competencies
    Graduates will develop skills in managing people and other resources to help achieve organizational goals.
  2. Analytical competencies
    Graduates will have quantitative and analytical skills that can be applied to the solution of managerial problems.
  3. Entrepreneurship competencies
    Graduates will understand issues facing entrepreneurial firms and the skills needed to work with, work in or develop their own new ventures.                                                                                        

Student learning outcomes

Upon completing this program, students will know and know how to do the following:

  1. Depth of knowledge
    Demonstrate an understanding fundamental concepts of management that relate to the shaping of employee behaviors toward the achievement of organizational goals 
  2. Communication skills
    Communicate a personal leadership vision that reflects self-awareness, knowledge of leadership theories and concepts, and appropriate oral communication skills
  3. Analytic skills
    Use knowledge of human resource management concepts and data to suggest solutions to management problems
  4. Quantitative skills
    Identify and use relevant data to help make informed decisions about management issues
  5. Entrepreneurship concentration-specific skills
    Develop an individual belief, or self-efficacy, that he or she is capable of successfully performing the roles and tasks of an entrepreneur

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, BUSN 212 or MATH 200, BUSN 225, ECON 210, ECON 211, UNIV 111, UNIV 112 and UNIV 200.

The School of Business has special academic policiesincluding 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/entrepreneurship

Course Title Hours
General education
Select 30 credits of general education courses in consultation with an adviser.30
Major requirements
• Major core requirements
MGMT 319Leadership3
SCMA 302Business Statistics II3
• Concentration requirements
MGMT 313Entrepreneurial Finance3
MGMT 321Survey of Entrepreneurship3
MGMT 331Human Resource Management3
MGMT 405Negotiation, Influence and Conflict Management3
MGMT 423Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation3
MGMT 437New Venture Strategy3
• Major electives
Entrepreneuership electives (select from list below)6
Ancillary requirements
• Ancillary core requirements
ACCT 203
ACCT 204
Introduction to Accounting I
and Introduction to Accounting II
6
BUSN 225Winning Presentations3
BUSN 301Career and Professional Development 1
BUSN 323Legal Environment of Business3
BUSN 499Business Knowledge Exam0
ECON 210Principles of Microeconomics (satisfies general education BOK for social/behavioral sciences and/or AOI for global perspectives)3
ECON 211Principles of Macroeconomics3
FIRE 311Financial Management3
INFO 360Business Information Systems3
MGMT 303Creativity and Ideation3
MGMT 310Managing People in Organizations3
MGMT 434Strategic Management3
MKTG 301Marketing Principles3
SCMA 301Business Statistics I3
SCMA 320Production/Operations Management3
• Additional ancillary requirements
BUSN 201Foundations of Business 13
or BUSN 205 Introduction to the World of Business
BUSN 212Business Problem Solving and Analysis (either satisfies general education quantitative foundations) 24
or MATH 200 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
Open electives
Select any course. 216
Total Hours120
1

BUSN 205 satisfies general education AOI for global perspectives.

2

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 entrepreneurship electives

Course Title Hours
BUSN 400Principles of Consulting3
BUSN 401International Consulting Practicum3
MGMT 389Managerial Skills Development3
FIRE 305Principles of Real Estate3
INFO 320Business Intelligence and Data Mining3
INFO 361Systems Analysis and Design3
MKTG 315Buyer Behavior3
MKTG 330Integrated Marketing Communications3
MKTG 335Introduction to Personal Selling3
MKTG 450Product Development and Management3
SCMA 386Global Supply Chain Management3

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 semesterHours
UNIV 111 Play VideoPlay 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 VideoPlay 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
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
SCMA 301 Business Statistics I 3
Open elective 3
 Term Hours: 16
Junior year
Fall semester
FIRE 311 Financial Management 3
MGMT 303 Creativity and Ideation 3
MGMT 310 Managing People in Organizations 3
MGMT 321 Survey of Entrepreneurship 3
SCMA 302 Business Statistics II 3
 Term Hours: 15
Spring semester
INFO 360 Business Information Systems 3
MGMT 319 Leadership 3
MGMT 331 Human Resource Management 3
MKTG 301 Marketing Principles 3
SCMA 320 Production/Operations Management 3
 Term Hours: 15
Senior year
Fall semester
MGMT 313 Entrepreneurial Finance 3
MGMT 405 Negotiation, Influence and Conflict Management 3
MGMT 423 Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation 3
Entrepreneurship elective 3
Open elective 3
 Term Hours: 15
Spring semester
BUSN 499 Business Knowledge Exam 0
MGMT 434 Strategic Management 3
MGMT 437 New Venture Strategy 3
Entrepreneuership elective 3
Open electives 4
 Term Hours: 13
 Total Hours: 120

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.