Business Administration: General Track (BA)

Program Description

This program develops a general management outlook toward organizations and the changing environment they face. A General concentration allows students the flexibility to choose their own senior electives.

New Majors Onboarding

All newly admitted majors must attend this onboarding as an introduction to the School of Business, Government, and Economics. Please make note that there are no substitutions for this degree requirement.

Entering and Completing the Major

Formal application and admission to the Business Administration major is required prior to enrollment in most Upper Division courses.

To meet the minimum requirements for admission, you must:
- Have attained at least sophomore standing (45 or more college credits).
- Complete at least 15 credits in BUS, ACCT, and ECN at SPU (10 credits for transfer juniors and seniors).
- Have either a 2.50 cumulative GPA and 2.50 major GPA at SPU, or a 3.0 major GPA. Major GPA does not include transfer work, only courses completed in program at SPU. Attainment of the minimum GPA standards does not guarantee admission, as the total number of students admitted is limited by capacity.
Submit an online major application by following these instructions by Friday of the third week of Autumn, Winter, or Spring quarter, before 5:00 p.m. PST. SBGE does not accept major applications outside this window.
Decisions will be sent to applicants via their SPU email address by Friday of the fifth week of the term, before 5:00 p.m PST. All applicants should be prepared to meet with their faculty advisor in case they are denied admission. All students are eligible to apply to this major up to three times.
The University requires a grade of C- or better in all classes that apply to a major or minor; however, programs may require higher minimum grades in specific courses. You may repeat an SPU course only once for a higher grade.
To advance in this program, you should meet with your faculty advisor regularly to discuss your grades, course progression, and other indicators of satisfactory academic progress. If your grades or other factors indicate that you may not be able to successfully complete the major, your faculty advisor can work with you to explore options, which may include choosing a different major.
You must complete the major requirements in effect in the SPU Undergraduate Catalog for the year of admittance to the major.

Signature Experience Requirement

We require everyone who earns a Business Administration degree at SPU to take a deeper dive in one of the areas SBGE considers central to the practice of business: entrepreneurship, international experience, and spirituality in business. The Signature Experience Requirement guides students in first selecting and then completing one of the following options before graduation:

Entrepreneurship

Students who select entrepreneurship must: Participate in SPU’s Social Venture Plan Competition (“SVPC”). Those who wish to participate in the competition may (but are not required to) enroll in BUS 3680 Social Enterprise (Autumn) and BUS 3682 Social Venture Planning (Winter).

International Experience

Students who select international experience must: Participate in an approved study abroad program or other approved international engagement opportunity for which they receive academic credit.

Spirituality in Business

Students who select spirituality in business must: Complete 3 credits of BUS 3950 Special Topics in Spirituality and Business. Each quarter, SBGE offers two or three sections of this (upper division, typically one-credit) seminar-style course meant to provide an in-depth study of some issue related to Christian faith and business. Topics and instructors change quarterly, and courses are scheduled either over the course of one weekend (usually Friday evening and all day Saturday) or for short weekly or bi-weekly sessions. Enrolling in the course once per quarter is ideal, but students who wish to enroll in multiple sections of BUS 3950 Special Topics in Spirituality and Business can do so with the approval of their faculty advisor.

Honors

Students who participate in the University Honors Program may complete an honors project to satisfy the Signature Experience requirement.
Students who wish to substitute some appropriate option which fulfills the spirit of the requirement should work with their faculty advisor to submit a substitution petition for approval by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students. Such petitions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Once a student selects and completes a Signature Experience, they must provide documentation and obtain final approval from their faculty advisor.