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Potential Business Administration Majors

Recommended Course Sequence for First Years and Sophomores

You are attending one of the finest liberal arts institutions in the country. Accordingly, prospective business administration majors should fully immerse themselves in the liberal arts upon enrollment and continue to take these courses during their time at W&L. Many upper-level liberal arts courses count as elective credits in the new Business Administration major, as listed here.

During Orientation Week, First-Year students with interests in majoring in Accounting, Business Administration, or Economics are provided with a recommended first-term course of study in which it is suggested that students complete.

  • ECON 101 - Principles of Microeconomics
  • WRIT 101 - Writing Seminar for First-Years
  • Foreign Language into the tested level
  • A Math or Computer Science course, if not exempt, with the reminder that MATH 101 is required for the Economics major and recommended for majors in Business and Accounting.

For those students who subsequently decide to major in Business Administration, most will complete the following preparatory courses by the end of sophomore year.  ECON 101 - Principles of Microeconomics

  • ECON 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ACCT 201 - Intro to Financial Accounting
  • ACCT 202 - Introduction to Managerial Accounting
  • INTR 201 - Information Technology Literacy
  • INTR 202 - Elementary Applied Statistics

Many will do so by mid-year of the sophomore year (see example below).The Business Administration Department offers workshops during the academic year which provide substantive information regarding the requirements of the Business Administration major. Students considering the Business Administration major are expected to attend these workshops in their first and second years of study.

As students make academic progress during their course of study at WLU, in the second semester of their second year some take one initial course in the area of business that most interests them.

  • BUS 211 - Marketing Management
  • BUS 217 - Management and Organizational Behavior
  • BUS 221 - Managerial Finance
  • BUS 310 - Management Information Systems

As many of these courses have prerequisites, students must pay close attention to completing the prerequisite courses needed to enroll in the business course of their interest.

For example, students with known and specific interests in finance and banking should complete the following.

  • ECON 101 - Principles of Microeconomics in the Fall term or Winter term of their first year
  • ECON 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics in the Winter term of their first year or Fall term of their sophomore year
  • ACCT 201 - Introduction to Financial Accounting in the Winter term of their first year
  • ACCT 202 - Introduction to Managerial Accounting in the Fall term of their sophomore year
  • INTR 201 - Information Technology Literacy in the Winter term of their first year
  • INTR 202 - Elementary Applied Statistics in the Fall term of their sophomore year

Completion of these pre-requisite courses in these terms prepares students to take BUS 221 -Managerial Finance in the Winter term of their sophomore year, and then upper-level finance and/or accounting courses in their junior and senior years. Other areas of business interests (Marketing, Management, Information Systems) would have similar sequences.

Thus, a very general and basic schedule of courses for students interested in the Business major would look like this:

First Year (consider study abroad opportunities for the sophomore year)

Fall

  • WRIT 100
  • Foreign Language
  • Math (MATH 101 recommended)
  • ECON 101 (if space is available)

Winter

  • ECON 101 (if not taken in Fall) or Econ 102
  • ACCT 201
  • INTR 201
  • Foreign Language
  • FDR or elective course

Spring

  • Spring term course of interest

Sophomore Year (consider studying abroad for the junior year)

Fall

  • ACCT 202
  • INTR 201 (if not taken in the first year) or INTR 202
  • ECON 102 (if not completed in the first year), FDR or elective course
  • FDR or elective course

Winter

  • BUS 211, 217, 221, or 310 (depending on primary interest)
  • INTR 202 (if not taken previously), FDR or elective course
  • FDR or elective course
  • FDR or elective course

Spring

  • Spring term course of interest

Students are strongly encouraged to complete their FDR lab science requirement by the end of the sophomore year.