UNDERGRADUATE BULLETIN	[ Previous Page | Table of Contents | Next Page ]

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

The College of Business Administration (CBA) is the undergraduate division of the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and awards the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree. The CBA offers full-time and part-time programs with majors in accounting, finance, general management, and marketing, and a dual major program in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences. CBA offers a certificate program in International Business for students in the BS/BA program. CBA also offers a certificate program in accounting in participation with the College of General Studies. CBA draws its faculty from the Katz School and is accredited by AACSB - The International Association for Management Education.

The CBA mission is to help undergraduate students of high potential and motivation develop as world citizens and acquire the knowledge, analytical capabilities, interpersonal skills, and personal qualities required for leadership excellence in organizations.

• College of Business Administration Course Listing
• College of Business Administration Faculty

CONTACT INFORMATION

College of Business Administration
Office of Admissions
1N01 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
(412) 383-9600
cba-admissions@katz.pitt.edu
http://www.cba.pitt.edu

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Freshman and transfer admissions to the CBA are handled through the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. Please refer to the Application for Admission section of this bulletin, for detailed information about application procedures for first-time freshmen, students transferring from other academic institutions, or for students transferring from other University of Pittsburgh colleges, schools, or regional campuses.

SPECIAL ADMISSIONS

Under certain circumstances, second degree, postbaccalaureate, and guest students may apply directly to the College of Business Administration for admission. Students applying under one of these statuses are considered for admission based on the strength of their academic records. See Second Degree Candidates and Special and Nondegree Admissions sections of this bulletin for more information. Contact the CBA's Office of Admissions for specifics on admission requirements and other procedures.

EVALUATION OF TRANSFER CREDITS

Students transferring from other colleges or universities are encouraged to apply to the College of Business Administration. See Transfer Student Admissions section of this bulletin for detailed information. Upon admission to CBA, transfer students will receive both a transfer credit evaluation and a BSBA degree sheet in the mail. The credit evaluation sheet lists the courses that have been accepted for transfer, as well as the total number of transfer credits awarded. The degree sheet shows how the transferred courses will apply to the student's BSBA degree from CBA. To transfer, a course must be completed with a grade of C or better. The University does not accept grades for transfer, only credits. Students who have questions about their credit evaluation should contact the CBA Admissions Office.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

The following section details the school's academic standards:

ACADEMIC STANDING POLICY

The undergraduate committee reviews the academic standing of all BSBA students at the end of each term. As a result of this review, students are assigned one of the following academic standing codes: good standing, academic probation, academic suspension, or academic dismissal.

Good Academic Standing

Students remain in good standing as long as they maintain a cumulative quality point average (QPA) of 2.00 in all courses applicable to the BSBA degree.

Academic Probation

Students whose cumulative QPA falls below 2.00 are placed on academic probation. For full-time students: If after one term of being placed on probation, the cumulative QPA of a full-time student on probation remains below 2.00, the student is subject to suspension or dismissal. For part-time students: If after attempting 15 additional credits, the cumulative QPA of a part-time student on probation remains below 2.00, the student is subject to suspension or dismissal. Students will not be awarded transfer credit for courses taken at other colleges or universities while on academic probation.

Academic Suspension

An academic suspension from CBA prohibits students from enrolling in courses as a CBA student for one calendar year. Students will not be awarded transfer credit for courses taken at other colleges or universities during a suspension. After one calendar year, suspended students are eligible to apply for reinstatement to the College of Business Administration. Reinstated students will be on academic probation.

For full-time students: If after one term of being reinstated, the cumulative QPA of a full-time student on probation remains below 2.00, the student is again subject to suspension or dismissal. A second suspension results in a suspension for a period of five years.

For part-time students: If after attempting 15 additional credits, the cumulative QPA of a part-time student on probation remains below 2.00, the student is again subject to suspension or dismissal. A second suspension results in a suspension for a period of five years.

Academic Dismissal

Dismissal from CBA is a permanent action, and dismissed students are not eligible for reinstatement.

QUALITY POINT AVERAGE STANDARDS

Overall QPA

A cumulative quality point average (QPA) of 2.00 is required in all courses applied toward the BSBA degree.

Major QPA

A minimum cumulative QPA of 2.25 (C+ average) is required in all courses applied toward a student's major. A C- or better must be earned in each course applied toward a student's major.

For full-time students: If a full-time student's major QPA drops below 2.25 for two consecutive terms, no new major courses may be taken until the major QPA is raised to 2.25 through course repeats.

For part-time students: If a part-time student's major QPA drops below 2.25 for 9 consecutive credits, no new major courses may be taken until the major QPA is raised to 2.25 through course repeats.

SATISFACTORY/AUDIT GRADE OPTION POLICY

All required BSBA core courses and all courses to be applied to a student's major must be taken on a letter grade basis. In addition, courses taken to fulfill the requirements in microeconomics, macroeconomics, calculus, statistics, and psychology must also be taken on a letter grade basis. Language classes, arts and sciences courses, and electives may be taken on a satisfactory/audit (S/N) grade basis.

Under the satisfactory/audit option, a student who does satisfactory work (C or better) receives the grade of "S" for the course and earns credit for the course. If a student does unsatisfactory work (defined as C- or lower), the student receives the grade of "N" and does not earn credit for the course.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All CBA students are responsible for adhering to CBA policies on academic integrity which are available on the CBA Web site (http://www.cba.pitt.edu). CBA academic integrity guidelines follow the University's guidelines with several procedural changes. Please see the guidelines for details.

ADVISING

Students pursuing the BSBA degree receive academic advising from full-time professional academic advisors in the College of Business Administration. Each new BSBA student is assigned an academic advisor, establishing a relationship that will continue through graduation unless the student requests an advisor assignment change.

Academic advisors are information resources. Advisors meet with BSBA students several times each year to help students create academic plans and register for classes; to review general information about degree requirements; to discuss career-related work experiences, internships, resume development, and study abroad plans; and to address any other issues that may affect a student's academic performance and career goals. BSBA students are required to meet with their academic advisors each term to register for classes, but are encouraged to meet at least twice per term.

Students enrolled in the CAS/Business dual major are encouraged to consult with CBA's dual major advisor who specializes in issues specific to the dual major program, in addition to their CAS advisor.

Advisors do not make decisions for students, but work with students to help them make wise choices by providing the necessary information about academic options. Students who proactively plan their education and set career goals with help from their advisors are likely to benefit most from CBA academic advising services.

BSBA PROGRAM GOALS

The BSBA program has three major goals:

1. The program seeks to provide students with key basic skills in written and oral communication and mathematics.
2. The program seeks to provide students with a broad education that establishes the foundation for their development as world citizens. To meet these goals, the program draws upon the broad range of general education courses offered by the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies.
3. The program seeks to develop expertise in the disciplines of the arts and sciences and management that are especially relevant in preparing students for management careers. In meeting this third goal, the program focuses on

• developing an understanding of the mathematical and social science foundations of management theory and practice;

• developing an understanding of how organizations function internally and how they adapt to external forces in a global context;

• developing skills in managing an organization's financial, physical, human, and information resources.

BSBA DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The following sections describe the general requirements for all majors within the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree program:

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

120 credits are required for graduation with a BSBA degree. A minimum of 57 credits and a maximum of 66 credits in business courses may count toward the degree. A minimum of 54 credits must be taken in the arts and sciences.

A student may use one course to fulfill two arts and sciences requirements (e.g., AFRCNA 1004 Africana World Literature would fulfill both literature and foreign culture requirements), thus permitting the student to take additional electives. These electives may be taken in the arts and sciences or in business provided that the 66 credit limit on business credits (out of 120) is not exceeded. Credits taken in excess of 120 may be taken in either arts and sciences or business courses.

ARTS AND SCIENCES FOUNDATIONS: BASIC SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

There are seven basic skills that all BSBA students must master; these basic skills prepare students for future classes. The basic skills requirements include:

English Composition

Placement in English Composition is determined by:

1. Results of the University of Pittsburgh English Composition placement test (administered before a student's first registration appointment). English Placement Test results are interpreted as follows:

2. Students with AP English scores of 4 or 5 should take the English Composition placement test; provided these students score at least a 3 on this placement test, they will also be awarded six advanced standing English credits and be exempted from General Writing.

Foreign Language

Any one of the following fulfills the language requirement:

• Three years of study of a single foreign language in high school, passed with an average of C or better over the three years.
• A score of 450+ on a CEEB foreign language achievement test.
• Placement into Level III of a foreign language on a University of Pittsburgh language placement test.
• Placement into Level II of a foreign language on a University of Pittsburgh language placement test and completion of the appropriate course from the Second Course list below.
• Completion of one of the two-course sequences listed below:
  

Other foreign language sequences will be considered upon request.

Algebra

Any one of the following fulfills the requirement:

• A score of 600+ on the mathematical reasoning section of the SAT I.

• Successful completion of the Algebra Placement Test.

• MATH 0010 Algebra 1* and MATH 0020 Algebra 2*

• MATH 0031 Algebra*

• MATH 0100 Preparation for Business Calculus

(* not counted toward the 120 credits required for graduation)

Calculus

Taking one course from the following list fulfills this requirement:

• MATH 0120 Business Calculus
• MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1

Statistics

• STAT 1100 Statistics and Probability for Business Management fulfills this requirement.

Economics

Both of the following courses must be taken to fulfill this requirement:

• ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
• ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory

(The University Honors College course, ECON 0120 Introductory Economic Theory, fulfills both the microeconomics and macroeconomics requirements. This course is not offered every term.)

Psychology

• PSY 0010 Introduction to Psychology fulfills this requirement.

ARTS AND SCIENCES GENERAL EDUCATION ELECTIVES

In addition to fulfilling the basic skills requirements, students further supplement their business curriculum by taking courses from six general education categories including:

• Literature (one course)
• Music/Art (one course)
• Philosophy (one course)
• Social Sciences (two courses, each from a different discipline)
• Natural Sciences (two courses in a sequence)
• Foreign Culture (two courses or participation in an approved Study Abroad Program or the University's Semester at Sea Program)

Note: All students, including international students and U.S. citizens who have lived abroad for any length of time, must complete the Foreign Culture requirement.

Contact the school for a listing of approved courses that meet these elective requirements.

BUSINESS CORE CURRICULUM

The following courses (39 credits) are required of all CBA students:

Prerequisite:

ECON	0100	Introductory Microeconomic Theory
-or-
ECON	0110	Introductory Macroeconomic Theory

Prerequisite:

BUSACC

0030

Financial Accounting

Prerequisite:

STAT

1100

Statistics & Probability for Bus. Mgmt

Prerequisite: One social science course

Prerequisites:

MATH	0120	Business Calculus
ECON	0100	Introductory Microeconomic Theory
ECON	0110	Introductory Macroeconomic Theory

Prerequisite:

PSY	0010	Introduction to Psychology
BUSORG	1101	Fundamentals of Business Communications