Business Management & Leadership Major & Minor

This major involves students in the fundamental principles, theories, and practices that comprise successful leadership and management in the modern business world. It enables them to effectively compete and contribute in the worlds of commerce and organizational leadership; it prepares them for entry to world-class graduate programs in business and public administration; and it develops their ability to fully lead and serve society in general through virtuous, intelligent, and effective participation and decision-making.

Learning Objectives

In addition to achieving competency in careful writing, critical thinking, and analytic reasoning in the Southern Virginia Core curriculum, students completing Southern Virginia’s business major are expected to attain a knowledge of the fundamental theories, practices, and environments of the core fields of economics and business, specifically,

1. Accounting: theory and practice of measuring, classifying, and reporting economic data.
2. Economics: theory and models of economic behavior at the micro- and macroeconomic levels.
3. Management: theory and models of organizational behavior pertaining to organizational leadership, development, and maintenance.
4. Finance: principles and analytical methods of corporate financial analysis and management.
5. Marketing: principles and methods involved in marketing goods and services.
6. Legal and Social Environment: sources of law, the legal system, agency, and organizational structure as they apply to business.
7. International Issues: cultural, political, legal and economic environments relating to global trade and investment.

Program Coordinator: Professor W. Todd Brotherson

Major Requirements (40 Credit Hours)

Foundation Courses: 16 credit hours to be taken during the freshman and sophomore years:

• BUS 201 Principles of Accounting (3)
• BUS 208 Introduction to Business Careers (1)
• BUS 221 or MAT 221 Statistics (GE) (3)
• BUS 250 Business Analysis Using Excel (3)
• ECN 210 Principles of Microeconomics (GE) (3)
• ECN 215 Principles of Macroeconomics (GE) (3)

Upper Division Courses: 18 credit hours to be taken during the junior and senior years:

• BUS 333 Principles of Marketing (3)
• BUS 343 Principles of Organization & Leadership (3)
• BUS 350 Business analytics or BUS 355 Data Science (3)
• BUS 363 Managerial Finance (3)
• BUS 370 Operations Managements or BUS 407 Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship (3)
• BUS 498 Strategic Management (3)

Major Electives: an additional 6 credit hours or more from the following:

• BUS 207 Introduction to Business (3)
• BUS 275R Topics in Business (Var.) as approved by program coordinator
• BUS 323 Professional and Organizational Communication (3)
• BUS 336 E-tailing and Retailing (3)
• BUS 345 Human Resource Management (3)
• BUS 350 Business analytics (3)
• BUS 355 Data Science (3)
• BUS 367 Risk Management and Insurance (3)
• BUS 375R Topics in Business (Var.)
• BUS 385R Directed Study in Business (Var.)
• BUS 404 International Business (3)
• BUS 407 Entrepreneurship & Intrapreneurship (3)
• BUS 408 Investments: Securities & Markets (3)
• BUS 414 Leadership & Influence (3)
• BUS 432 Persuasion: Sales and Promotion (3)
• BUS 433 Strategic Marketing Management (3)
• BUS 434 Consumer Behavior (3)
• BUS 437 Marketing Research (3)
• BUS 463 Advanced Financial Management (3)
• ECN 275R Topics in Economics (Var.) as approved by program coordinator
• ECN 310 Intermediate Microeconomics (3)
• ECN 315 Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
• ECN 375R Topics in Economics (Var.)
• PHI 340 Ethics (3)

Download the Business Management & Leadership Major Checklist

Minor Requirements (16 credit hours)

Minor Core (10 credit hours):

• BUS 201 Principles of Accounting (3)
• BUS 208 Introduction to Business (1)
• ECN 210 Principles of Microeconomics (GE) (3)
• ECN 215 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)

Minor Electives: 6 credit hours from among these courses:

• BUS 301 Business Law (3)
• BUS 333 Principles of Marketing (3)
• BUS 343 Principles of Organization and Leadership (3)
• BUS 363 Managerial Finance (3)

Download the Business Management & Leadership Minor Checklist