Majoring in Business at a Top-Tier University
Management of even the ordinary ebb and flow of business requires disciplined and detailed planning. Professional-level plans are even more critical in the context of a business startup or expansion. So it’s fitting that considering a major in business at the undergraduate level also calls for careful planning.
The reason that we at IvySelect advise students to plan carefully for business school is that the majors and co-majors available at the top schools range from 19 at Indiana University’s Kelley School down to none at Ross (Michigan), Haas (Berkeley), and Kenan-Flagler (UNC-Chapel Hill). Whether you’re looking for a school with the most majors as options, schools with an uncommon major that appeals to you, or schools with no majors but that will allow flexibility in electives, it’s important to know exactly what schools offer before you apply. (The leading business schools and the majors that they offer are provided in the Table at the end of this post.)
The Kelley School at Indiana University offers 12 majors and 7 co-majors. Nevertheless, students who choose Finance, Accounting, or Marketing as their major comprise the majority of business undergrads at the school. Most other Kelley majors and co-majors are new. The school is constantly considering new ones based on demand and dropping those that don’t draw much interest. The Poets & Quants website quotes Kelley’s Dean Idalene Kessner as saying, “I think we’ve had really good receptivity from our students. I think they see the options, not as overwhelming, but as a great way to customize their degree. The fact that we have this versatility and variety is a plus for us, and speaks to the ability of the students to prepare themselves.”
There are, as you would expect, opposing views that maintain that focusing on too narrow a niche is potentially harmful to a student’s post-graduate employment. The dictionary definition of “business administration” as a body of knowledge is as follows; “A program of studies in a college or university providing general knowledge of business principles and practices.” In the opposing view’s line of reasoning, one should offer nothing more esoteric than accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, and management in business degree coursework. Anything else is just resume dressing.
If your goals involve a career in business, IvySelect will work with you to build a target list of colleges that includes schools with highly competitive BBA programs. With your preferences as our guide, we’ll identify the schools that are the best matches for you based on the majors available in the BBA programs, the nature of the student body and campus, faculty accessibility and mentorship programs, research and internship availability, and the opportunity to advance to a post-graduate MBA program of high repute. IvySelect will demystify admissions to assist you in gaining acceptance at the top-tier business schools that fit you best.
Table: Business Majors at Top Undergraduate Business Schools
School Majors
| 1. Washington Univ. in St. Louis
Olin Business School |
Accounting; Economics and Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Finance;
Healthcare Management; Marketing; Operations and Supply Chain Management |
|
|
2. University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business |
Accountancy; Finance; Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations; Management & Organization; Marketing |
|
| 3. University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of Business |
Business degree with concentrations in Accounting; Actuarial Science;
Business Analytics; Business Economics & Public Policy; Environmental Policy & Management; Finance; Global Analysis; Health Care Management & Policy; Legal Studies & Business Ethics; Management with specializations in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Multinational Management, Organizational Effectiveness, and Strategic Management; Managing Electronic Commerce; Marketing; Marketing & Communication; Marketing & Operational Management; Operations, Information & Decisions with Tracks in: Decision Processes, Information Systems, Operations Management/Management Science Real Estate; Retailing; Social Impact and Responsibility; Statistics; |
|
| 4. Georgetown University
McDonough School of Business |
Accounting; Finance; International Political Economy and Business;
International Business Regional Studies; Management, Leadership, and Innovation; Marketing; Operations & Information Management |
|
|
5. Univ. of California – Berkeley Haas School of Business |
One main business major/degree |
| 6. Cornell University
Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management |
Accounting; Agribusiness Management; Applied Economics; Business
Economics; Entrepreneurship; Environmental, Energy, and Resource Economics; Finance; Food Industry Management; International Trade and Development; Marketing; Strategy |
| 7. Indiana University
Kelley School of Business |
Accounting; Economic Consulting; Public Policy Analysis; Sustainable Business; Business Analytics (co-major); Law, Ethics & Decision-Making; Finance;
Real Estate; Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation; Management; International Business; Marketing; Professional Sales; Digital and Social Media Business Applications; Operations Management; Supply Chain Management; Information Systems; Technology Management; Business Analytics |
| 8. University of Virginia
McIntire School of Commerce |
McIntire offers students concentrations, rather than majors. Students must
complete at least one of these concentrations: Accounting; Finance; Information Technology; Management; Marketing |
| 9. New York University
Stern School of Business |
Stern offers a business degree with a variety of concentrations: Accounting;
Actuarial Science; Business Economics; Computing and Data Science; Economic Theory; Finance; Global Business (co-concentration only); Management and Organizations; Marketing; Operations; Statistics; Sustainable Business |
|
10. University of Michigan Ross School of Business |
One main business major/degree with the option to specialize via concentrations |
| 11. University of Texas at Austin
McCombs School of Business |
Accounting; BHP (business honors program); Finance; IMPA in accounting,
5-year program); International Business; Management; Management Information Systems; Marketing; Science and Technology Management; |
| 12. University of Minnesota
Carlson School of Management |
Accounting; Business Analytics (minor only); Business Law (minor only); Entrepreneurial Management; Finance; Finance Risk & Management Insurance;
Human Resources and Industrial Relations; International Business; Management Information Systems; Marketing; Public and Nonprofit Management; Supply Chain & Operations Management |
| 13. Univ. of Southern California Marshall School of Business | Accounting, Business Administration, World Bachelor’s in Business |
| 14. Wake Forest University
School of Business |
Accountancy; Business and Enterprise Management; Finance; Mathematical
Business |
| 15. Emory University
Goizueta Business School |
Accounting; Finance; Information Systems & Operations Management;
Marketing; Strategy & Management Consulting |
| 16. UNC – Chapel Hill
Kenan-Flagler Business School |
One main business major/degree |
| 17. Southern Methodist University
Cox School of Business |
Accounting; Finance (specialization in Alternative Asset Management available);
Financial Consulting; General Business; Marketing; Management; Real Estate Finance, with concentrations in Energy Management; Entrepreneurship; Real Estate Finance; Risk Management & Insurance |
| 18. Babson College | One business major/degree with option to concentrate in two of the following areas: Accounting; Business Analytics; Computational and Mathematical Finance;
Economics; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Finance; Global & Regional Studies; Global Business Management; Historical and Political Studies; Identity & Diversity; Information Technology Management; International Business Environment; Justice, Citizenship, and Social Responsibility; Leadership; Legal Studies; Literary and Visual Arts; Marketing; Operations Management; Planning Analysis & Control; Quantitative Methods; Real Estate; Retail Supply Chain Management; Social and Cultural Studies; Statistical Modeling; Strategic Management; Technology, Entrepreneurship, and Design
|
| 19. Northeastern University
McKim School of Business |
There are two-degree programs: Business Administration and International
Business. Students must also declare one of the following concentrations: Accounting; Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Finance; Management; Management Information Systems; Marketing; Supply Chain Management |
| 20. Brigham Young University
Marriott School of Management |
Entrepreneurship; Global Supply Chain; Marketing; OBHR; Strategy |
| 21. Texas Christian University
Neeley School of Business |
Accounting; Business Information Systems; Entrepreneurial Management;
Finance; Finance With Real Estate Concentration; Marketing; Supply and Value Chain Management; International Emphasis |
|
22. Lehigh University College of Business and Economics |
Accounting; Business Information Systems; Business Economics; Economics;
Finance; Management; Marketing; Supply Chain Management |
| 23. University of Illinois at
Urbana-Illinois College of Business |
Accountancy; Accountancy with 5th year master’s option; Marketing;
Management; Information Systems/Information Technology Management; Business Process Management; Supply Chain Management; Entrepreneurship (concentration); International Business (concentration); Finance |
| 24. Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper School of Business |
Business Administration and Computational Finance, with concentrations in: Accounting; Business Analytics; Business Technology; Entrepreneurship;
Finance; Graphic Media Management; International Business; Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness; Marketing; Operations Management |
| 25. Rutgers University
Rutgers Business School |
Accounting; Business Analytics and
Information Technology; Finance; Leadership & Management; Supply Chain Management;
|
Source: BMW Data
