Business Administration

The Business Administration Program at Carnegie Mellon prepares students for a future fueled by data, powered by technology, and unleashed by human intelligence.

Business Administration at Carnegie Mellon

The Carnegie Mellon Bachelor of Science in Business Administration prepares students for leadership in a data-driven world. With a curriculum grounded in analytics, economics, and management, the program emphasizes problem-solving, teamwork, and innovation.

Students gain hands-on experience through research, experiential learning, and campus-wide collaboration, equipping them for careers in an AI-driven business landscape, including consulting, finance, technology, and beyond.

Business Administration students have identical graduation requirements as students at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. Graduates have CMU degrees, conferred from the U.S. campus.

Program at a Glance

With an emphasis on analytics and leadership development, students are prepared for the challenges of the AI-driven global business landscape.

Students explore five main areas during their degree programs:

Foundational courses in quantitative analysis
Business core courses in finance, accounting, communications, marketing, organizational behavior and operations management
Concentration courses in focused areas of business practice
A required minor in a second field
University core courses in general education

Through experiential learning opportunities, including project courses and leadership development activities, students put into practice the knowledge they learn in the classroom.

Most students pursue internships in organizations around Qatar, applying the knowledge they learn in the classroom to real-world scenarios.

CMUQ business faculty with students in the classroom

Degree Program Details

Curriculum

Courses build on leading business practices while being informed by the innovative research of our faculty. The business curriculum is designed around core courses covering business, economics, mathematics, and statistics. Concentrations allow students to go deep in their specific business area of interest.

The first-year curriculum is devoted to building foundational analysis, communication, and context skills through courses in economics, math, and the liberal arts. First-year students also enroll in Business Science, a course that sets the foundation for their business education.

During sophomore and junior years, students concentrate on business core classes, electives, and general education while also selecting a minor.

Senior year includes a capstone course and is flexible so students can finish their degree requirements according to the pathway that suits their interests and ambitions.

College Honors

College Honors offers an opportunity for students to conduct an independent project and to prepare a formal thesis. College Honors is excellent preparation for graduate studies.

Business Administration Degree Breakdown

Standard Completion Time: 4 Years
Minimum units required for degree: 364 units
- Mathematics: 38
- Economics: 27
- Statistics: 18
- Business Core: 111
- Business Electives: 18
- Concentration: 36
- University Core and Minor: 113
- Core@CM: 3

See the CMU Undergraduate Catalog for more information about the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Learn more about the courses at CMU.

Minors and Concentrations

Business Administration students must complete a minor and a business concentration.

Required minor

The minor must be in a second field of study, and students can choose from several options delivered at the Qatar campus. Students are encouraged to explore their interests, and to develop an understanding of the world beyond business administration.

Concentrations

Students in Business Administration gain knowledge and expertise through a concentration in a specific area of business practice. Concentrations provide more focused preparation for career pursuits.

Concentration areas include:

AI in Business
Business analytics and technologies
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Global economics and business
Islamic business management
Marketing management
Operations management*
Product management*
Strategic management

*This concentration has some requirements that must be completed at the Pittsburgh campus.

AI in Business

The Business Administration Program is built on the philosophy that artificial intelligence should complement and enhance human innovation. This core principle is woven into the curriculum to prepare students to lead in a world driven by data and AI.

Students learn to apply AI to complex business challenges, from improving productivity to optimizing processes. Students who would like a deeper study of AI in business can pursue several options.

AI in Business
AI + Finance certificate
Computer Science minor
Individual AI-related courses, both within the BA program and in other disciplinary areas

Student Projects and Research

Research at Carnegie Mellon

At Carnegie Mellon, our mission is to investigate questions that will have a real impact on the world.

As our undergraduates engage in research, we encourage them to think about the question, “why does this research matter?” This is a hallmark of Carnegie Mellon’s approach.

Students in every major can engage in faculty-guided projects in their early years and pursue independent studies and senior thesis projects as they gain knowledge and experience.

What kind of projects do CMU-Q students do?

Would you buy that? Review variance and emotions
The impact of country-level factors (culture, corruption) on firm investment: A comparative analysis of shariah-compliant and non-compliant firms
The impacts of US tariff policies on Chinese industries: An analysis using input-output tables
Strategic adjustments in figure skating: Analyzing changes in technical difficulty based on short program rankings
National champion strategy: Strategic analysis of Baladna
Does access to digital financial services promote women’s economic empowerment: Evidence from rural Ethiopia
What is the effect of Dutch disease on Kazakhstan?
Educational inequality in the college admissions: The role of high school type in elite university access
Operational agility in times of disruption: Entrepreneurial approaches to process adaptation and performance resilience
Digital transformation in SMEs: A sector-wise comparative analysis in OECD countries
Psychological safety and employee voice: The role of hierarchical norms and voice appropriateness
Startup readiness assessment in Qatar’s incubation ecosystem
Can options market activities predict earnings outcomes? A machine learning approach
Challenging the efficient market hypothesis: Evidence from the Qatar stock market
Building a sustainable foundation: Replicating sustainability research in marketing

The Educational Experience

Humanit i es and Sciences

Academic Support and Resources

Student Research and Innovation

Career Pathways

Graduates in business administration are highly sought after and pursue careers such as financial reporting analyst, management consultant, executive director, economics researcher, markets and clients executive, and corporate and markets analyst.

Qatar

Aamal Company Vice Chairman and Managing Director
Boston Consulting Group Consultant
Generation Amazing Foundation Executive Director
GWC Official Chief Financial Officer
Malomatia Senior Manager, Strategy and Transformation
Microsoft Account Technology Strategist

Ministry of Commerce and Industry Deputy Undersecretary for Industry and Business Development
Ministry of Education and Higher Education Secretary General, Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science
Nakilat Chief Commercial and Business Development Officer
National Museum of Qatar Chief of Museum and Heritage Development
QAPCO Head of Business Performance

Qatar Airways Corporate Planning Manager
Qatar Development Bank Executive Director Finance
Qatar Foundation Head of Student Engagement
Alumni Engagement Manager
Director of Operational Excellence
Director, Marketing
Qatar Investment Authority Head of Technology, Media and Telecom Investments
Qatar Museums Director, Digital Experience

Qatar Shell Senior Finance Advisor, Pearl GTL
Qatar University Vice President of Administration and Financial Affairs
QatarEnergy LNG Head of Corporate Planning
Roland Berger Senior Consultant
Whoop Labs Qatar Director

International

Abu Dhabi

Bain and Company Senior Manager

Belgrade

Ministry of Finance – Republic of Serbia Assistant Minister, Financial System Department

Berlin

Ebay Head of M&A Business Integration

Dubai

Bain and Company Associate Partner
Baker Hughes Global Commercial Finance Leader
Monki Box Founder and CEO
Swing Capital Founder, Managing Partner

Houston

EY AI Enabled Automation Manager

London

Citi Citi Social Finance, Senior Vice President

Melbourne

Cricket Australia Men’s Team and Operations Lead

Muscat

Energy Development Oman Associate – Valuation and Planning
Petroleum Development Oman Pension Fund Analyst

New York

Bain and Company Associate Partner
BlackRock Vice President, Financial Institutions Group
Meta Product Strategy and Central Operations Manager
Spotify Principal Product Manager

Singapore

Qatar Investment Authority Head of Industrials

Sydney

Whale Logistics Senior Financial Accountant

Toronto

BMO Capital Markets Tech Lead, Generative AI and Machine Learning
Google Public Sector Marketing Manager
RBC Director, Corporate Banking

Further studies

Business Administration grads have furthered their studies at elite institutions, including:

Brown University
Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Harvard University

HEC Paris
Imperial College London
London School of Economics and Political Science

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York University
Stanford University

University College London
University of Oxford

“Being a part of the Carnegie Mellon experience has been a privilege for me for so many different reasons. Thanks to CMU-Q and QF, I had access to a world-class education, the best resources, the best professors, the best peers, and a beautiful space in which to study.”

Nofe Al Suwaidi, Business Administration 2011, Secretary General, Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science, Ministry of Education and Higher Education

“The strong alumni network not only allows me to connect with alums in similar positions and learn from their experiences, but I can gain insights from alums in different positions and different industries and learn about their professional ecosystems.”

Farha Khan, Business Administration 2018, Engagement Manager, Mercor, MBA, Stanford University

“CMU-Q has pushed me to be where I am today. The quality of the faculty and staff, best in the world, the warm community between these walls, and the culture of diversity transforms your inner potential to tangible reality.”

Saleh Al-Raisi, Business Administration 2014, Chief Commercial Officer, Nakilat

“The environment here fosters a sense of curiosity and innovation, encouraging us to think critically and embrace the unknown. We were taught the foundation to navigate the complexities of our interconnected world.”

Abdulrahman Darwish Fakhroo, Business Administration 2024, Financial analyst, Qatar National Bank

Meet the Faculty

Faculty members include experts in fintech, algorithmic trading, mathematical/statistical modeling, Islamic finance, entrepreneurship, political economy, revenue management, supply chain, business applications of AI, machine learning and deep learning.