The Majors

The first two years of study emphasize general education by providing fundamental courses in the humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. In addition, basic courses in accounting, economics, management information systems, and the legal and social environment of business prepare the student for further work in the Isenberg School of Management. During the final two years, all students enroll in business courses in accounting, finance, operations and information management, marketing, management, and business communication. For B.B.A. degree candidates, the junior and senior years emphasize a greater degree of specialization in the student’s major as outlined below. For B.S. degree candidates, specialization begins in the freshman year. A total of at least 120 credits is required for graduation.

The B.B.A. Curriculum

The recommended sequence of courses for a student pursuing the B.B.A. degree is as follows:

Freshmen Year

ENGLWRIT 112 College Writing
DU or DG (Diversity U or Diversity G)
ECON 103 Introduction to Microeconomics
ECON 104 Introduction to Macroeconomics
MATH 127 Calculus for the Social Sciences
SCH-MGMT 191T Freshman Transitions and SCH-MGMT 192T Dean's Leadership Seminar

Students can “declare” one of five majors. Information about the declaration process is available in the Undergraduate Programs and Advising Office.

Sophomore Year

SCH-MGMT 200 Career and Professional Development
ACCOUNTG 221 Introduction to Accounting I
ACCOUNTG 222 Introduction to Accounting II
OIM 240 Business Data Analysis
OIM 210 Introduction to Business Information Systems
SCH-MGMT 260 (formerly MANAGMNT 260) Introduction to Law

All students must complete the required core of introductory courses:

FINANCE 301 Corporate Finance
OIM 301 Introduction to Operations Management
MANAGEMENT 301 Principles of Management
MARKETING 301 Fundamentals of Marketing
SCH-MGMT 310 Management Communications
MANAGMNT 494BI Business Policy and Strategy, the senior year capstone course

All except MANAGEMENT 494BI are typically taken by the end of the junior year.

Students must complete 21 credits (the Breadth Requirement) of non-business electives beyond the University’s required General Education credits. Only one Economics or one Resource Economics course may be used to satisfy credits for the breadth requirement.

Students must be enrolled in a departmental major in the Isenberg School for a minimum of one academic year to receive a B.B.A.

Courses and programs for the junior-senior years are listed under the departments of Accounting, Finance, Operations and Information Management, Management, and Marketing.

The B.S. Curriculum

B.S. degree students in the Hospitality and Tourism Management and Sport Management departments pursue major courses as early as freshman year. Detailed information on courses and programs for these majors is listed under the relevant departments.

Additional Guidelines

Course Availability

Not all courses are offered every semester, including some required courses. Students are urged to consult their Isenberg School academic advisor each semester to plan completion of their Isenberg School requirements.

Pass/Fail Limitation

No Isenberg School core or major requirement will be fulfilled by a course for which a grade of “P” is recorded. (This includes ECON 103 and 104, MATH 127, and OIM 240.) Students should not use the Pass/Fail grading option in any required course. The Pass/Fail option is best applied to courses fulfilling the Breadth Requirement.

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to consider spending one semester studying abroad. This experience offers a valuable opportunity to enrich students’ perspectives on their chosen field of concentration. The Isenberg School has exchange agreements with a number of international institutions in addition to several short-term (2-4 week) faculty led international study programs during semester interim periods. For further information, contact the International Programs Office, (413) 545-2710 for exchanges. For Isenberg short-term programs, click here.

Internships

The Isenberg School encourages students to take advantage of the opportunity to expand their educational experience with a summer or semester internship. Only students admitted to a departmental major within the Isenberg School may register for internship credits within that department. Departmental internships may be sponsored only by full-time faculty in that department, and may not generally exceed three credits. More information is available from the Director of Internships in the Chase Career Center, Kim Figueroa, (413) 577-0418.

Transferring from Off-Campus

The Isenberg School of Management welcomes transfer applications. With the appropriate qualifications and/or prerequisite coursework, students may qualify for transfer of credits and be able to enter the Isenberg School directly. For more information, contact a transfer admissions counselor in Undergraduate Admissions, (413) 545-0222.

Transferring into the Isenberg School from Other Majors

Students entering UMass Amherst in September 2022 or later are not able to change into a BBA major at Isenberg. The two Bachelor of Science majors, Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Sport Management majors have a competitive on-campus application process for current UMass students looking to change into those respective majors. Below are the requirements for students to apply to the two Bachelor of Science majors at Isenberg.

Students looking to change their major into Hospitality & Tourism Management should complete three predictor courses from the list below; one must be HT-MGT 100:

HT-MGT 100 Intro to Hospitality & Tourism Management
2. One of the following:

ECON 103 Intro to Microeconomics
RES-ECON 102 Intro to Resource Economics
ECON 104 Intro to Macroeconomics

One of the following:
- MATH 121 Linear Methods & Probability for Business or higher level math
- STAITSTC 111 Elementary Statistics
- STATISTC 240 Intro to Statistics
- RES-ECON 212 Intro to Statistics for Social Science

Students looking to change their major into Sport Management should complete four predictor courses from the list below:

SPORTMGT 210 Intro to Sport Management - Must have this course completed
Must have one of these two to apply
- SPORTMGT 200 Sociology of Sport & Physical Activity
- SPORTMGT 202 History of Sport
- MATH 121 Linear Methods & Probability for Business or higher level Math
One of the following:
- ECON 103 Intro to Microeconomics
- RES-ECON 102 Intro to Resource Economics
- ECON 104 Intro to Macroeconomics
- STATISTC 240 Intro to Statistics
- RES-ECON 212 Intro to Statistics for Social Sciences
- OIM 240