Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Nature of the Program
The General Business program is for students who may desire an “individualized” (i.e. less prescriptive) business major. For instance, a student interested in working for a market research firm may want to combine courses from both management information systems (MIS) and marketing.
Under the program, the major in General Business is comprised of twenty-four semester hours of upper‐division business core course work (required of all candidates for the degree of B.S. in Business Administration) and thirty semester hours of upper division business and economics electives. The thirty semester hours of course work must be approved by the academic advisor and should not exceed more than nine semester hours in one academic discipline (e.g. MTKG).
Students interested in pursuing the General Business major should contact an academic advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Programs and Advising, 3rd Floor, Business and Economics Building to prepare a matriculation plan that satisfies the requirements for the degree and academic major and that compliments their professional career interests.
Admissions for 2025-2026
For specific information regarding the admissions requirements for First Time Freshmen to the John Chambers College of Business and Economics, please visit Chambers Admissions.
Students who are direct admitted to the major as first-time freshmen must possess an overall university GPA of at least 2.0 and have completed the course prerequisites listed in the table below with minimum grade of C-, unless otherwise noted, to be eligible to enroll in upper-division course work.
Students who are not direct admitted to the major (i.e. Business) will declare the major at the beginning of the semester in which they satisfy the course prerequisites listed below. Applicants also must possess an overall GPA of at least 2.0 to be considered for admission to the major.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 201 | Principles of Accounting 1 | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | Introduction to Business Applications | 2 |
| ECON 201 & ECON 202 | Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics | 6 |
| ECON 225 | Elementary Business and Economics Statistics | 3 |
| or STAT 211 | Elementary Statistical Inference | |
| Choose one of the following: | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
| Accelerated Academic Writing | ||
| MATH 124 | Algebra with Applications | 3 |
| Total Hours | 20-23 | |
Major Code: 2160
Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
To qualify for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-General Business students must meet the following criteria:
- Complete a minimum of 120 credit hours.
- Possess an overall GPA of 2.0.
- Possess a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all major courses, calculated using all attempted GPA hours unless excluded by the D/F repeat policy.
-
The John Chambers College of Business and Economics accepts all baccalaureate transferable course work completed at public and private colleges in West Virginia and other regionally accredited institutions. Since the College is AACSB accredited, upper-division courses (courses equivalent to 300/400 level at WVU) must be evaluated by the Dean or designee before they may count toward business core, major core and major restricted electives in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration or Bachelor of Science in Economics program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 34 | |
| Program Requirements | 23 | |
| Business Core Requirements | 33 | |
| General Business Major Requirements | 30 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 | 16 | |
| BCOR 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 17 | |
| Total Hours | 34 | |
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 201 | Principles of Accounting 1 (Minimum grade of C-) | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | Introduction to Business Applications (Minimum grade of C-) | 2 |
| ECON 201 | Principles of Microeconomics (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 4) | 3 |
| ECON 202 | Principles of Macroeconomics (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 8) | 3 |
| Select one of the following (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 8): | 3 | |
| Elementary Business and Economics Statistics | ||
| Elementary Statistical Inference | ||
| Select one of the following (Minimum Grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 1): | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
| Accelerated Academic Writing | ||
| MATH 124 | Algebra with Applications (Minimum grade of C-; may fulfill GEF 3) | 3 |
| Total Hours | 23 | |
Business Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ENTR 102 | Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| BCOR 199 | Introduction to Business (Fulfills First Year Seminar requirement) | 3 |
| BCOR 299 | Business Communication (Fulfills Writing and Communication Skills Requirement) | 3 |
| BCOR 320 | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| BCOR 330 | Information Systems and Technology | 3 |
| BCOR 340 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
| BCOR 350 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
| BCOR 360 | Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| BCOR 370 | Principles of Management | 3 |
| BCOR 380 | Business Ethics | 3 |
| BCOR 460 | Contemporary Business Strategy | 3 |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
General Business Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Possess a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all major courses, calculated using all attempted GPA hours unless excluded by the D/F repeat policy. | ||
| Major Electives * | 30 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- *
The thirty semester hours of major electives that form the General Business major must consist of upper-division business and economics courses in disciplines such as Accounting (ACCT), Economics (ECON), Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ENTR), Finance (FIN), Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM), Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTOR), Management (MANG), Management Information Systems (MIST), Marketing (MKTG) and Organizational Leadership (ORGL). No more than nine semester hours in one of the aforementioned disciplines may apply toward the major. General Business majors may apply for up three credit hours of Professional Field Experience toward the major electives and the remaining three credit hours toward unrestricted electives.
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BCOR 199 | 3 | ACCT 201 | 3 |
| BCOR 191 | 1 | ECON 201 (GEF 8) | 3 |
| BCOR 121 | 2 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| ENTR 102 | 3 | GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 |
| MATH 124 | 3 | Minor or General Electives | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ECON 202 (GEF 8) | 3 | BCOR 299 | 3 |
| Select one of the following (GEF 8): | 3 | BCOR 320 | 3 |
| BCOR 330 | 3 | ||
| BCOR 350 | 3 | ||
| ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 | BCOR 370 | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 6 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| BCOR 340 | 3 | BCOR 380 | 3 |
| BCOR 360 | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 | GEF (Choose from F2, F5, F6, F7 or F8) | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| Major Elective | 3 | BCOR 460 | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Major Elective | 3 | Major Elective | 3 |
| Minor or General Electives | 6 | Minor or General Electives | 6 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
Major Learning Outcomes
General Business
The objective of providing a foundational education in general business at the undergraduate level cannot be realized without appropriate curricula content, effective teaching, and ultimately, learning. Within the undergraduate general business major, we subscribe to the following learning goals for each of our undergraduate students
- Graduates will be able to think critically and solve problems in business settings.
- Graduates will be able to deal with the dynamics of individuals and teams within organizations and to motivate, lead, and inspire employees toward achieving organizational goals.
- Graduates will be able to use computer and information technology in solving problems and perform functions commonly seen in managing businesses and other organizations.
- Graduates will recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with the global marketplace.
- Graduates will have an appreciation of the ethical, legal, and regulatory issues impacting the decision-making process.
- Graduates will be able to communicate recommendations to management and other constituencies, orally and in writing.