2023-24 Edition

Business Administration, B.A.

Undergraduate Major
Office of Admissions and Relations with Schools
Phone: 949-824-6703
Fax: 949-824-2951

The undergraduate Business Administration program at The Paul Merage School of Business educates students to understand and apply the theories and concepts of effective business and management and prepares students for a wide variety of careers and life experiences. Business Administration majors can pursue careers in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors or can proceed on to graduate school in several disciplines including business, economics, and law. The program provides a broad learning experience in a multidisciplinary and global context and focuses on the development of essential managerial skills, especially critical thinking, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and effective communication skills.

Program Information

The Business Administration major at The Paul Merage School of Business offers a traditional business curriculum similar to those at other top business schools in the country. The major is broad, drawing on the social sciences more generally to study organizations, interpersonal communication skills, individual and group behavior, leadership, strategy, financial and accounting issues, ethics, information technology, marketing, and a variety of other topics in the context of a rapidly changing global environment.

The faculty strongly encourages majors to create an educational program composed of courses within and outside the Merage School that provide substance and focus to their careers and enable them to pursue their own personal interests. While preparing students for careers in management, the Merage School, through academic advising, will help students fashion an undergraduate program that they can tailor to their own unique career objectives. Examples of programs of study that allow Business Administration majors to blend management education with specific industry areas include (but are not limited to) bioscience business, government service, international commerce, arts management, entrepreneurship in computer gaming, and other combinations. Through appropriate choice of courses, students can prepare to pursue a law degree, a master’s degree in a variety of areas including accounting, or a doctoral program in business or related disciplines.

Students are required to complete 11 business courses that provide a foundation in essential core business competencies, followed by a minimum of 5 business electives to include one emphasis. Students select a minimum of one of six emphases in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Marketing, Operations and Decision Technologies, or Organization and Management. This program of study enables students to develop areas of focus as they pursue the Business Administration major. Because much business is conducted on a global scale, students are required to either participate in the University’s Education Abroad Program or to take one of a number of designated courses that stresses the international dimension of a business area. Students interested in learning more about the full array of requirements for professional licensing in Accounting are encouraged to visit the California Board of Accountancy and American Institute of CPAs websites.

While academic course content is crucial to an undergraduate business major, auxiliary noncurricular programs also are important to students’ academic experience. The Merage School incorporates a cocurricular element into the classroom experience. Drawing from Merage School and University resources, students are exposed to opportunities to enhance communication and presentations skills, attend formal speaker events, and engage in mentoring. The Merage faculty is committed to ensuring that undergraduate majors have ample opportunity to enhance their writing and presentation skills through class assignments and a business communication course.

Students are strongly encouraged to become involved with the Merage Undergraduate Student Association and with the many affiliated business clubs. These high-profile student groups promote interaction between students and the surrounding business community through their Corporate Speaker Series, social activities, and student/employer receptions. Students with an entrepreneurial interest are invited to participate in the annual Merage School New Venture Competition offered by the Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Work experience is an important way to learn about business and management. UCI’s Internship Program, sponsored by the UCI Division of Career Pathways, can assist students in finding opportunities to work in either voluntary or paid positions in business, nonprofit, or industrial settings. Students who plan to enter business or apply to a graduate school of business or management in the future will find it necessary to supplement their academic work with a variety of practical experiences.

Another opportunity is UCI’s Undergraduate Administrative Intern Program, which offers selected students the opportunity to assume one-year positions under the guidance of University administrators. Students can choose from a range of offices in which they will be asked to undertake special projects specifically related to the management and administration of UCI and higher education in general. These internships are supplemented by a two-quarter management seminar and by field trips to administrative conferences such as meetings of The Regents of the University of California.

Admission to the Major in Business Administration

In the event that the number of students who elect Business Administration as a major exceeds the number of positions available, applicants may be subject to screening beyond minimum University of California admissions requirements.

Freshmen: Preference will be given to those who rank the highest using the selection criteria as stated in the Undergraduate Admissions section of the Catalogue.

Transfer students: Junior-level applicants with the highest grades overall (minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0) and who satisfactorily complete lower-division courses equivalent to UCI’s calculus (MATH 2A-MATH 2B), economics (ECON 20A-ECON 20B or MGMT 4A-MGMT 4B), and statistics and accounting (MGMT 7, MGMT 30A, MGMT 30B) will be given preference for admission. MGMT 1 may be completed at UCI. Admission to the major will be competitive due to limited space availability.

Change of Major

Students who wish to declare the Business Administration major should contact The Paul Merage School of Business Undergraduate Programs Office, SB2 202, for information about change-of-major requirements, procedures, and policies. Students should carefully review criteria for each major they are considering on the UCI Change of Major Criteria website. Review of applications and selection to the major is governed by the Undergraduate Programs Committee. Admission to the major is very competitive due to limited space availability. Completion of the prerequisite courses does not guarantee admission into the major.

All students must meet the University Requirements.

Business Administration Major Requirements
A. Lower-Division:
MATH 2A Single-Variable Calculus I
MATH 2B Single-Variable Calculus II
MGMT 1 Introduction to Business and Management
MGMT 4A Basic Economics for Managers I
or ECON 20A Basic Economics I
MGMT 4B Basic Economics for Managers II
or ECON 20B Basic Economics II
MGMT 7 Statistics for Business Decision Making
MGMT 30A Principles of Accounting I
MGMT 30B Principles of Accounting II
B. Upper-Division Core:
MGMT 101 Management Science
MGMT 102 Managing Organizational Behavior
MGMT 105 Introduction to Marketing
MGMT 107 Introduction to Management Information Systems
MGMT 109 Introduction to Managerial Finance
MGMT 110 Strategic Management
MGMT 191W Business Communication
C. Business Electives: Select 5 upper-division Merage School electives numbered 111-196, to include completion of one of the defined emphases below: 1
Emphasis in Accounting:
Intermediate Accounting I
and select two of the following:
Intermediate Accounting II
Intermediate Accounting III
Individual Taxation
Corporate and Partnership Taxation
Data Analytics in Accounting
Advanced Accounting
Auditing
Financial Statement Analysis
Emphasis in Finance:
Investments
and select two of the following:
Multinational Finance
Cases in Corporate Financial Management
Derivatives
Emphasis in Information Systems:
Select three of the following:
Social Media
Business Intelligence for Analytical Decisions
Business Data Management
Management of Information Technology
Emphasis in Marketing:
Select three of the following:
Consumer Behavior
Marketing Research
Global Marketing
Brand Management
Emphasis in Operations and Decision Technologies:
Operations Management
and complete the following:
Supply Chain Management
Decision Analysis
Emphasis in Organization and Management:
Select three of the following:
Negotiations
Foundations of Teams
International Management
Leadership
D. International Business Requirement: Fulfillment of the International Business requirement by:
1. Selecting one of the following (which may also be used for specified category C requirements above): 1
International Management
Multinational Finance
Global Marketing
2. or, participating in select UC Education Abroad Program options, with prior approval of the Associate Dean.
1

By exception, students may petition the Associate Dean to accept an upper-division elective that has business content equivalent to a stated Merage elective.

NOTE: Students majoring in Business Administration may not minor in Management, Accounting, or Innovation and Entrepreneurship or double major in Business Information Management. Students may pursue more than one Merage School emphasis via the Business Electives in the category C requirements above. Students are strongly advised to work closely with faculty, staff, and career advisors to tailor a course of study optimal for their educational and career plans. Pairing of particular emphases could be beneficial; examples include Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Information Systems, or Operations and Decision Technologies and Information Systems. Students are permitted to pursue additional courses within an area of emphasis to exceed the required three.