What majors and minors are offered in the Business Department?
What are the admission requirements?
Why should I choose Western’s Business program?
As a high school student, how should I prepare for a Business degree?
What is the typical class size?
How do students work together with faculty?
What student organizations are available?
What special facilities does the Western Business Department have?
What types of awards have your faculty and students received?
What type of graduate schools and programs are your graduates attending?
What majors and minors are offered?
The Business degree program is the most popular on campus with approximately 900 majors. The department offers four Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degrees:
- Accounting - Accountants prepare and manage the financial records of a business to help managers in the decision-making process, file tax documents on time, and ensure that all financial laws are being followed.
- Finance – Financial managers advise both individuals and corporate leaders on all matters dealing with money. Personal investment advisors help individuals make decisions about retirement planning, stock purchases, and borrowing funds. Corporate financial managers advise top managers on financial matters such as acquiring funds, cash flow issues, and budgets.
- Management – Managers accomplish organizational goals through planning, organizing, leading, training and guiding employees, and supervising the operations of a business.
- Marketing - Marketers determine customer wants and needs and provide products or services to meet these needs. This process includes marketing research, developing marketing strategy, new product development, pricing, sales, and marketing communication (advertising, promotion, and public relations).
Students may earn an Associate of Science in Business or obtain a minor in International Studies, Finance (Accounting majors only), or General Business (non-Business majors only).
What are the admission requirements for the program?
Students must have an ACT composite score of 21 or have earned at least a 2.5 GPA in six specified courses: ACC201, ACC202, ECO260, ECO261, GBA210 or MAT 116 or MAT132, and GBA211.
Why should I choose Western’s Business program?
Students in Western’s Business program are provided opportunities to develop their business skills and knowledge of the business environment both in and out of the classroom. These experiences are designed to better prepare our students to enter the world of work or graduate school.
All of Western’s business classes are taught by highly qualified faculty. Thirteen of the 19 full-time faculty have the highest degree in their fields; the remaining have at least a master’s degree combined with professional work experience. Faculty members work very closely with students in the classroom, on research projects, and with career planning.
In a 2005 survey, employers placed a high value on experience gained through internships and other work experiences.
All business students must complete an Applied Learning experience through internship or practicum participation, faculty directed research, or completion of the international travel course. These hands-on experiences, combined with business coursework, offer students the opportunity to develop the skills employers are seeking.
As a high school student, how should I prepare for a Business degree?
Students graduating from Missouri high schools who are interested in pursuing a business degree should complete the 16-unit Missouri core curriculum. Additional coursework in algebra, statistics, economics, and writing are also helpful.
What is the typical class size?
The typical business class averages 24 students. This smaller class size allows for more interaction between professors and students.
How do students work together with faculty?
Business students have opportunities to interact and get involved with faculty members both in and out of the typical classroom setting. Students who are members of the department’s student organizations have opportunities to interact with faculty sponsors in meetings and social outings.
Several of the courses in the department provide opportunities for students to engage in research with faculty direction. For example, in the Directed Student Research course (GBA480), students work with a professor on a research project resulting in an opportunity to present the findings at a national conference. In the Business Practicum course (GBA345), student consulting teams work with small business owners with guidance from the course instructor. Global Viewpoint (GBA370) offers students the opportunity to study the business environment of a foreign country on campus during the spring semester. Immediately following the end of the semester, students and faculty travel to the country and tour businesses they studied during the class (and, yes, there is time for fun!).
What student organizations are available?
Students can get involved in one or more organizations sponsored by the Department of Business. Participation in departmental organizations helps students develop business skills and meet other students with similar career interests. These organizations are Alpha Kappa Psi, an international business coed fraternity; American Marketing Association (AMA); Institute of Management Accountants (IMA); and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE).
What special facilities does the Western Business Department have?
The new Business Advising and Career Center provides a variety of services to business students including help with scheduling courses, selecting a major, applying for business internships, career planning, including résumé development and interviewing skills; and applying for business scholarships. Resources include computer software to help in the career planning area and for preparing students taking graduate program entrance exams. After graduation, Business Department alumni will continue to have access to career counseling services.
What types of awards have your faculty and students received?
- Two professors were named 2005 Distinguished Professors by the MWSU Board of Governors.
- A department member was awarded the Student Organization Advisor of the Year for the department’s student business fraternity.
- A faculty member co-authored a paper that was chosen as one of the top four papers in information systems by the International Communication Association.
- For the second year in a row, two business majors placed second and fourth in the 2005 National Writing Contest sponsored by the Association for Business Communication.
- A professor and student in marketing co-authored an article in the Journal of Business & Economics Research.
- A student in business earned the Student Achievement Award from the Wall Street Journal.
What type of graduate schools are your graduates attending?
The business program at Western prepares graduates for advanced studies in business and other disciplines at both public and private universities. For example, our graduates completed advanced degrees at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; University of Missouri, Columbia; University of Missouri, Kansas City; and Rockhurst University, Kansas City.
The most commonly completed graduate programs by our students are the Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and the Master’s in Accounting. Others have completed advanced degrees in law, communication studies, education, and journalism.