Requirements for the Major
In addition to one prerequisite (Introduction to Economics), there are a minimum of 11 courses required for the major. The requirements are summarized below:
Prerequisite for Entry into Business Courses (one course)
Survey of Economics (Econ 2a) or Introduction to Microeconomics (Econ 10a) gives you the conceptual foundation that is critical to understanding business.
Core Courses
- Financial Accounting (BUS 6a)
- Business Fundamentals (BUS 10a)
- Organizational Behavior in Business (BUS 120a or PSYC 150b)
- Marketing Management (BUS 152a)
- Introduction to Finance (BUS 71a or ECON 171a)
Quantitative Course
- Introduction to Business Analytics with Excel (BUS 51a) (4 credit course)
- May be exempted by the following quantitative courses: BIOL 51a, ECON 83a, MATH 36a AND MATH 36b, or PSYC 51a or an appropriate score in AP Statistics.
Foundational Literacies
As a part of completing the Business major, students must:
- Fulfill the writing intensive requirement and oral communication requirement by successfully completing Business Communications, BUS 47a
- Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing one of the following: BUS 6a, BUS 10a, BUS 51a, or BUS 71a.
**Only students admitted Fall 2019 and after are required to complete these requirements. Students who entered Brandeis University prior to Fall 2019 should refer the University Bulletin of their entrance year for the proper requirements.**
Note: You MUST earn a grade of "C" or above to count toward your major in your core and all Business Administration courses. "C-minus" is the minimum grade you must earn in your Business and Society courses. No courses taken pass/fail will count towards the business major.
Thematic Electives in the Field of Business and Society
Two courses from arts and science departments covering themes such as:
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AMST 103b - Advertising and the Media
ANTH 26a - Communication and Media
ANTH 70a - Business, Culture, and Society
ANTH 163b - Production, Consumption, and Exchange
CHIN 106b - Business Chinese and Culture
CLAS 121b - Money, Markets, and Society
ENG 188b - Capitalism and Culture
ECON/FA 87a - Economics and the Arts
FREN 124a - French Cultural Perspectives on Work and Business
HBRW 124a - Hebrew for Business
HIST 118a - The History of American Advertising
NEJS 163a - Jews and American Capitalism
PHIL 25a - Business Ethics
PSYC 34b - Social Psychology
SOC 120b - Globalization and the Media
SOC 150b - Culture of Consumption
THA 138a - The Business of Show Business
ECON 57a - Environmental Economics
ECON 76b - Labor Economics
FA 181a - Housing and Social Justice
HS 104b - American Health Care
HS 110a - Wealth and Poverty
HSSP 104b - Health Economics
HSSP 106a - Managing Medicine
HSSP 107b - Health Care Technology
SOC 112b - Social Class and Social Change
SOC 117a - Sociology of Work and Gender
SOC 175b - Environmental Movements: Organizations, Networks, and Partnerships
AAAS 126b - Political Economy of the Third World
AMST 188b - Louis Brandeis: Law, Business, and Politics
ECON 20a - Introduction to Macroeconomics
ECON 35b - The History of Taxation
HIST 160b - American Legal History II
LGLS 114a - American Health Care: Law and Policy
LGLS 127b - International Economic Law
LGLS 138b - Science on Trial
POL 172b - International Political Economy
SOC 123b - The Welfare State and Nonprofit America
COSI 12b - Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
COSI 21a - Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing
MATH 15a - Applied Linear Algebra
MATH 37a - Differential Equations
MATH 126a - Intro to Stochastic Processes and Models
Thematic Electives in the Field of Business Administration
Three courses in advanced business studies, covering themes such as:
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BUS 113a - Intermediate Financial Accounting *
BUS 114a - Managerial Accounting *
BUS 117a/FIN 202a - Corporate Finance +
ECON/FIN 171a - Financial Economics (or FIN 201a) +
BUS 109a - Human Psychology and Financial Decision Making ~
BUS 135a - Introduction to Real Estate ~
BUS 180a - The Financial System ~
ECON 161a - International Finance ~
ECON 172b - Money and Banking ~
Note: In order to have a specialization in Accounting and Finance, students must complete at least one accounting course (*), plus at least one finance course (+), with other electives to choose from (~).
BUS 89a - Work in the Global Business Environment
BUS 125a - Leading in the Era of Diversity
BUS 222f - Global Dexterity (2 credits)
BUS 227a - Influence, Power, and Identity
BUS 275a - Introductions to Negotiations
BUS 297c - Leadership Internships in Social Impact Organizations (1 year course)
BUS 130a - Entrepreneurship and Innovation
BUS 140a - Sports Analytics
BUS 160a - Competitive Strategy
BUS 231a - Entrepreneurial Finance and Business Plans
BUS 232f - Digital Fabrication with Robotics
BUS 233a - Entrepreneurship and Rapid Prototyping
BUS/ECON 265a - Business and Economic Strategies in Emerging Markets
BUS 295a - Field Project: Social Impact Innovation
ECON 135a - Industrial Organization
ECON 141b - Economics of Innovation
BUS 111a - Business Analytics
BUS 114a - Managerial Accounting
BUS 172a - Operations Management
BUS 174a - Supply Chain Management
BUS 258f - Sales and Sales Management
LGLS 189a - Business Law
BUS 111a - Business Analytics
BUS 153a - Marketing Research
BUS 160a - Competitive Strategy
BUS 254a - Branding Strategy
BUS 255a - Consumer Behavior
BUS 257f - Social Media and Advertising
BUS 258f - Sales and Sales Management
BUS 259f - Digital Marketing
Important Items to Note for the Business Major
"Double Counting"
Students undertaking the economics major and the business major are subject to additional restrictions. Business majors may double count no more than two courses for the Economics major. Excluded in this calculation are: ECON 2a or ECON 10a, ECON 83a to exempt from BUS 51a, and ECON 171a to exempt from BUS 71a. Please note that ECON 171a cannot be counted as both a Business Administration elective and an upper-level Economics elective. PSYC 150b, which has several prerequisites, may be taken in place of BUS 120a.
For Business and Economics double majors, BUS 10a (required for the Business major) will count as a lower level elective for Economics and ECON 20a (required for the Economics major) will count as a Business and Society elective for Business. As a result, no further "double-counts" are allowed for the Business major, except as noted in the requirements for the Business Major.
Specializations
A specialization is achieved by taking three courses in one of the eight designated themes. Specializations do not appear on transcripts but may be reported on a resume.
200-Level Courses
Juniors and Seniors have the opportunity to take 200-level graduate courses at the Business School. Students need to request permission to register from the Business Administrator, Karen Muise (kmuise@brandeis.edu).