School of Business
BSBA Programs in Accounting, Business and Management, Finance, Marketing and the Prince Program in Retail Management
Faculty
Michel Delorme, Director, School of Business and Professor of Practice
Stacy Blake-Beard, Professor
Julie Yao Cooper, Director, Graduate Programs and Visiting Professor
Robert F. Coulam, Professor of Practice and Director, Center for Health Policy
Erin DeCurtis, Lecturer
Patricia H. Deyton, Professor of Practice, Director, Center for Gender in Organizations
Gary Gaumer, Associate Professor
Indra J. Guertler, Professor of Practice
Todd Herrmann, Lecturer
Jane Hughes, Professor of Practice
Cynthia A. Ingols, Professor of Practice
Yulong Li, Associate Professor
John Lowe, Associate Professor and Director, Undergraduate Program
Teresa Nelson, Professor and Director, Entrepreneurship Program
Mindell Reiss Nitkin, Associate Professor
Catherine J. Robbins, Professor of Practice, Program Director, MBA in Health Care
Susan D. Sampson, Associate Professor, Director, Prince Program in Retail Management
Mary Shapiro, Professor of Practice
Charlene Spiceland, Assistant Professor
Špela Trefalt, Associate Professor
Edward Vieira, Professor
Bruce Warren, Professor Emeritus
Overview
The Simmons Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) is a rigorous undergraduate business program that prepares students for successful business careers and leadership roles across a wide range of industries. Through relevant and diverse majors and minors, the program offers students the opportunity to focus on functional areas, such as accounting, finance, marketing, or entrepreneurship, or target a specific industry, such as health care, retail, or information technology. Students tailor their learning to explore interests and pursue their goals.
Through their coursework, students develop the critical thinking, decision-making and project management skills needed in today’s workplace. Through class projects and presentations, they learn to be effective communicators and become strong team members and leaders. Through a required internship, students pursuing a BSBA major apply what they have learned to real-world business challenges and gain marketable experience.
Beyond critical business skills, organizations are seeking college graduates with the education and experience to succeed as creative, ethical and versatile problem solvers. They want team members who are globally aware and sensitive to the value of a diverse workforce. We integrate these topics throughout the BSBA curriculum using experiential and service learning, case studies and practical, hands-on class projects. Students graduate with a portfolio of learning experiences that demonstrate their business skills and competencies.
Five majors lead to the BSBA degree:
- Accounting
- Business and Management
- Finance
- Marketing
- Retail Management
BSBA majors can apply to an accelerated MBA program, which is offered online.
Additionally, there are minors in:
- Accounting
- Business
- Finance
- Marketing
- Organizational Studies
- Principled Leadership
- Retail Management
- Entrepreneurship
- Health Care Management
Students may elect to complete a major, a minor or both. The BSBA Program allows both double majors and double minors.
The School of Business participates as a sponsor in the following interdisciplinary majors and departments:
- Arts Administration (with Department of Art and Music)
- Data Science and Analytics (with Departments of Math and Computer Science)
- Financial Math (with Economics and Mathematics Departments)
- Chemistry-Management (with Department of Chemistry)
- Public Relations and Marketing Communications (with Department of Communications)
See the sponsoring department for the following interdisciplinary minors:
- Arts Administration (Art and Music)
- Public Relations and Marketing Communications (Communications)
- Sustainability (Chemistry)
Students can combine business coursework with a wide variety of majors and minors in departments across Simmons to fit students’ individual career and educational goals. For example, economics majors may find a business minor a great practical complement for the job search. Marketing majors may look to communications as a minor to develop a complementary knowledge set in public relations and advertising.
The options are many and we encourage you to see your undergraduate advisor to find out more.
Learning Outcomes
As part of its accreditation from AACSB, Simmons’ BSBA Program identified six overall program goals and learning objectives.
Program Goal 1: Leadership
Simmons graduates, as members of a team or as individuals, are prepared to provide strategic and principled leadership within organizations.
Learning objectives for Leadership
- Understand and apply norms of high performing team dynamics.
- Understand and apply principles of team project management.
- Understand and apply strategic and principled leadership.
Program Goal 2: Knowledge of the Disciplines
Simmons students understand the theory and practice of the various management disciplines, and can apply appropriate vocabulary, models and frameworks to multiple functional areas in the context of organizations.
Learning Objectives for Discipline Knowledge
- Understand the underlying management theories in the various functional areas within an organization.
- Demonstrate a variety of analytical tools in various functional disciplines.
- Use appropriate discipline specific vocabulary to describe organizational structures, processes and behaviors.
Program Goal 3: Problem Solving/Analytical Thinking
Simmons graduates can analyze, think critically and reason quantitatively in response to complex professional issues in global and technologically sophisticated environments.
Learning Objectives for Analytical Thinking
- Use analytical skills to identify and diagnose specific organizational problem(s).
- Generate and evaluate alternative solutions using creative and innovative problem-solving skills.
- Make concrete recommendations supported by a detailed implementation plan.
Program Goal 4: Gender and Cultural Diversity
Simmons graduates understand and appreciate the strategic and behavioral roles of gender and cultural diversity in organizations and are prepared to manage their careers in context effectively.
Learning Objectives for Diversity
- Recognize and articulate the role of diversity and its impact on organizational effectiveness.
- Identify and analyze personal and organizational issues and solutions
- Develop personal career strategies to respond to a complex work environment.
Program Goal 5: Communication
Simmons graduates can communicate effectively and professionally, choosing appropriately from a portfolio of written, oral and visual techniques and styles to best convey a desired message to a selected audience.
Learning Objectives for Communication
- Demonstrate effective oral communication skills.
- Demonstrate professional written communication skills.
- Develop visual aids that support written communication and oral presentations.
Program Goal 6: Ethics and Social Responsibility
Simmons graduates bring integrity and ethics to organizations and are adept at applying a socially responsible lens to evaluate situations and implement solutions to complex societal and managerial issues.
Learning Objectives for Ethics / Social Responsibility
- Reflect on the role and impact of personal social responsibility in community and organizations.
- Identify and understand the ethical implications of organizational issues and managerial decisions.
Departmental Honors in Business
A student in one of the five BSBA majors qualifies for Departmental Recognition with a GPA of 3.5 or higher in all business (MGMT) and accounting (ACCT) courses. Departmental Honors are offered to qualified students (3.5 or higher GPA in all MGMT and ACCT courses) subject to the Simmons requirements.
Honor Societies: Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Delta Sigma
Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) is the premier honor society for students enrolled in business and management programs accredited by AACBS International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the world’s top accreditation distinction for business schools. The Society’s membership comprises the brightest and best of the world’s business leaders and draws from students in the top academic ranks of their class. Juniors and seniors are selected based on ranking by GPA.
The Society’s mission defines this lifelong commitment to its members’ academic and professional success: to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to foster personal and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members.
Alpha Delta Sigma is the honor society that is part of the American Advertising Federation for marketing and communications students. The requirements are that the student must be current in dues membership, be a senior or rising senior, have taken at least two advertising or marketing courses, and have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.25.
School of Business Majors
Interdisciplinary Majors
School of Business Minors
Accelerated Program
School of Business Course Descriptions