The Business Administration program emphasizes a quantitative, analytical approach, training students in accounting, finance, economics, marketing, operations, management information systems and business communications. Problem-solving is developed in a series of mathematics courses, including calculus, statistics and forecasting. At the same time, liberal arts electives provide a balanced, well-rounded education.

In addition to the core course requirements, eight concentration areas allow students to study an area of business practice in depth. Each area has an array of courses that focus on current practices, while providing the tools and skills to adapt for the future.

Students also complete a minor in a different discipline to obtain intellectual breadth, flexibility, and general problem-solving skills. The minor promotes students’ intellectual confidence and leads to the broad knowledge that can last a lifetime.

Through a variety of projects, project courses, internships, and leadership development activities, students learn to put into practice the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom. This gives them the confidence they need to begin and develop their careers.

The CMU-Q Business Administration program curriculum has a central core of courses in the functional areas of business—economics, mathematics, computing, and communications—as well as breadth courses in liberal arts and science.

Students also complete an in-depth study in at least one of the functional business areas:

Accounting

Accounting is an essential subject of study in top business programs. Students who choose the accounting concentration area will expand on the required Introduction to Accounting course to gain mastery in analytics, decision-making and strategy.

Business Analytics

This area provides students with the knowledge and skills to apply analytics to improve operation performance and strategic decision making. Students will learn practical research skills through applied mathematics and statistics in order to report meaningful information and insights from datasets.

Business Technology

Technology is rapidly changing business practices. This concentration area prepares students for careers where business and technology intersect. Students pursuing this area benefit from Carnegie Mellon’s reputation as a leader in computing and analytic applications of technology.

Entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurship concentration uses experiential learning so students can lead change, innovation and growth in start-ups, emerging companies and mature organizations. Student learn how to use cutting edge research to create economic value through commercialization of ideas.

Finance

The finance concentration prepares students to work in a variety of financial institutions, including asset management and commercial and investment banking, to supply the analysis to make profitable decisions.

International Business

Students completing this concentration gain an understanding of management issues faced by multinational companies in creating and exploiting their global presence. Culture, languages and local customs and how they influence strategic management decision-making are explored in an integrated, international framework.

Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness

This area of study delves into negotiation and conflict management, social networks within and between organizations and organization learning and management. Within the framework of analytical decision making, this area introduces models and techniques that build leadership skills for organizational success.

Marketing

Students pursuing the marketing concentration area learn how to apply the latest in research and data analytics to create and sustain customer engagement through brand development, advertising and marketing communication strategies.

Operations Management

Students completing this concentration gain an understanding of the management issues in designing, producing and distributing goods and services. Operations management provides the tools to analyze, improve and position a firm’s operations to achieve competitive advantage.

View a sample four year plan for the Business Administration degree.