Online Bachelor’s in Business Administration Curriculum

Business administration involves managing the performance of business operations and decision-making. It requires the efficient organization of people and critical resources to achieve an organization’s goals and objectives. Apart from overseeing core business operations, business professionals may supervise other related functions, such as finance, accounting, and marketing.

An undergraduate business administration curriculum covers advanced principles in business ethics, leadership, and decision-making. This degree also provides a solid foundation to pursue career opportunities as an accountant, commercial loan officer, city manager, sales manager, or financial officer.

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Maryville University Online BS in Business Administration Curriculum

The online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program at Maryville University offers students the opportunity to explore the world of business administration.

The 128-credit curriculum includes general education courses (39 credits), business core courses (36 credits), business administration major courses and electives (27 credits), and general electives (26 credits).

Learn more about Maryville’s online BS in Business Administration curriculum here:

Business Core

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ISYS 100	Digital Foundations	3 Credits
This course covers commonly used software installed on PCs and laptops, web-based technologies, and applications (apps) used on digital devices. Information literacy and database concepts are also covered in this course.
BUS 150	Business Communications	3 Credits
In today’s business world, effective communication, whether it is delivered face-to-face or in a written format, is essential. This course increases the ability of students to express themselves effectively through various forms of communications channels. The course is designed to enhance the quality of student’s communication skills.
ACCT 210	Financial Accounting	3 Credits
This course focuses on how business events affect financial statements by acquiring a working knowledge of basic accounting theory and concepts. Topics include the role of accounting in decision making; the recording procedures that accountants use to organize information for financial statement preparation; and analytical tools and accounting principles to aid in reading and interpreting financial statements.
ACCT 211	Managerial Accounting	3 Credits
The concepts of managerial accounting are covered in this course. Emphasis is placed on the preparation and use of financial information for planning, decision making and control. The course will address cost classifications, product and service costing methods and systems, profit planning, measuring performance, and the new manufacturing environment.
ECON 203	Principles of Economics	3 Credits
This course introduces the economic perspective on decisions currently faced by individuals, businesses, and society. Basic economic principles and methods are used to address both microeconomic and macroeconomic topics, with a focus on the modern market economy. Essential content includes the laws of supply and demand; the behavior of consumers and firms; the function of resource markets; macroeconomic measures of economic growth, unemployment, and inflation; the use of fiscal and monetary policy to achieve macroeconomic goals; and an overview of international trade.
BUS 241	Business Statistics	3 Credits
This course develops business data analysis skills and statistical techniques using spreadsheets. Topics include data collection storage and analysis using descriptive statistics, tables and charts; probability and data distributions, statistical tests, correlation, regression, forecasting, and quality control analysis.

BUS 280	Business Law	3 Credits
This course examines legal rights and ethics, crimes, torts, contracts, personal property, bailments and sales.
MGMT 321	Principles of Management	3 Credits
This course studies the basic theories and concepts of management including the evolution of management, ethics, decision making, organizational structure, motivation, communication, group dynamics and team building, planning, job design, leadership and organizational change.
MKT 360	Principles of Marketing	3 Credits
An introduction to the concepts of marketing and their application to those engaged in marketing consumer and industrial goods and services; pricing, product planning, distribution and promotion.
FIN 312	Principles of Finance	3 Credits
Students examine basic financial management of business firms: a) procurement, b) allocation and c) control of funds; corporate financial behavior; financial instruments and markets; and the analysis and interpretation of investment and profit performance.
BUS 314	Operations Management	3 Credits
This course examines business operations as they relate to both product and service type components. The course provides techniques of production and operation, as well as techniques for service type organizations.
BUS 491	Business Policies (Capstone)	3 Credits
This course focuses on the tools and concepts of strategic management as applied within the business context. Students will develop both the understanding and analytical skills necessary for strategic analysis, formulation and implementation. The course will also involve integration of concepts from prior business core courses.

Business Administration Core

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MGMT 487	Leadership	3 Credits
This course studies the relationship of strategic leadership and decision making to organizational effectiveness.

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BUS 325	International Business	3 Credits
This course introduces the field of international business. Topics include national economic and cultural differences, international trade policies and institutions, foreign direct investment, regional economic integration, global investment and competition, and current international business developments.

ECON 470	International Trade and Finance	3 Credits
This course studies the economic principles involved in international trade and finance. It is designed to provide the student with the conceptual tools needed to analyze such international economic issues as import tariffs and quotas, import liberalization, loss of jobs to foreign countries, free-trade agreements, customs unions, monetary unions, and exchange-rate fluctuations. The general topics to be covered in this course include the pure theory of trade, the theory of trade policy (such as trade restrictions and economic integration), foreign-exchange markets and exchange rates, the international monetary system, and international economic institutions.

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MGMT 330	Human Resource Management	3 Credits
This course provides an overview of the policies and procedures on personnel administration including the role of human resource professionals in organizations. It focuses on such topics as equal employment, job design, recruitment, selection, training, performance management, retention, termination and compensation.

MGMT 472	Organizational Behavior	3 Credits
Students in this course will study the behavior of people in work situations and learn major theories and concepts pertaining to organizational behavior, applying these theories and concepts to organizational problems. The enhancement of the effectiveness of an organization’s human resources is the primary focus of the course.

Business Administration Electives

Choose six online courses from at least two different areas of business, maximum of four in one area (two courses at 200 level, remaining at 300 level or above): ACCT, BUS, selected COMM, ECON, FIN, ISYS, MGMT, MKT, SPTM with internship also as an option.

To ensure the best possible educational experience for our students, we may update our curriculum to reflect emerging and changing employer and industry trends. Undergraduate programs and certificates are designed to be taken at a part-time pace. Please speak to your advisor for more details.

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Skills, Concepts, and Opportunities Gained with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration Program

Students in this degree program can gain skills based on the following concepts:

Understanding business principles. The general understanding of business principles is called business acumen. This is the ability to make decisions that lead to profit. Business principles are universal, which means they apply to enterprises of any size. While no business can thrive without customers, students may learn the importance of cash generation, return on investment, and growth for the success of any business venture.
Recognizing differences among business areas. A business area is a unit within an organization that can be identified as a specific segment or area of responsibility in that company. Each business area is treated as a separate business unit in financial accounting and assigned its own responsibility for profit and loss generation.
Leadership and decision-making. Decision-making is an essential part of a leadership role. Some decisions affect individuals only, while others have an impact on the entire organization. While leaders may adopt one of several styles of leadership, they must all conform to business ethics.

Using ethical principles in business operations. Business ethics are the standards that define what constitutes good or bad conduct by both companies and individuals. To protect brand identity and foster good public relations, organizations attempt to instill good business ethics in all their employees.
Applying interdisciplinary knowledge in business operations. An individual’s ability to apply knowledge across boundaries between traditional academic disciplines is often called interdisciplinarity. Employers value this skill because it enables individuals to use their knowledge to consider the impact a business decision has on two or more disciplines within an organization.

Common Courses for Bachelor’s in Business Administration

The typical business administration curriculum for a bachelor’s degree may include these courses:

Business Communications. The fast pace and competitive nature of today’s business world requires effective communication, whether oral or written. This course is designed to improve students’ communication skills. It can also help improve their ability to communicate effectively through various communication channels.
Financial Accounting. This financial accounting course focuses on how business events affect financial statements. Students may acquire a working knowledge of basic accounting theory and concepts. The course covers the role of accounting in decision-making and the recording procedures that accountants use to organize information for financial statement preparation. Other topics typically include the analytical tools used by accountants, as well as the accounting principles that aid in the reading and interpreting of financial statements.

Business Law. In this course, students can learn about the laws that govern all aspects of business. These include contract law, legal rights, and ethics, as well as the legislation covering torts, crimes, personal property, bailments, and sales.
Principles of Management. This course provides an extensive study of the basic theories and concepts of management. Topics can include the evolution of management, ethics, decision-making, organizational structure, motivation, communication, group dynamics and team building, planning, job design, leadership, and organizational change.