Business administration major overview and career pathways

Business Administration Major

The oversize manila envelope just delivered to your mailbox generates a surge of excitement coursing through your veins. You realize immediately that the enclosed contents contain an admission acceptance from the University of Pennsylvania, the number one rated undergraduate and number seven rated graduate business school in the country (U.S. News and World Report. 2011). Prior to applying you scoured the U.S. News rankings to determine which school offered the best education for a prospective undergraduate business administration major. Business, particularly finance and investments have long been your passion, and as you pour over the U. Penn admission material your thoughts turn to what exactly does an undergraduate business degree entail?

Most students are familiar with the graduate program resulting in the award of a Master's of Business Administration however; very few realize that an undergraduate business major is an option that is available to them. The surge in popularity of the undergraduate business program began after the "dot-com bust, and students have been drawn to college business programs" (Bloomberg-Businessweek. May 8, 2006). Schools such as U. Penn and other top institutions "have revamped their offerings, putting more emphasis on specialized classes, real world experience, and soft skills such as leadership" (Bloomberg-Businessweek. May 8, 2006).

The top business schools in the annual rankings: U. Penn, Harvard, Notre Dame and others have changed the curriculum considerably over the last decade. "Once a refuge for students with poor grades and modest ambitions, many undergraduate business programs now get MBA- like respect" (Bloomberg-Businessweek. May 8, 2006). At the core of the curriculum for the top business schools is "a rigorous academic model, with heavy emphasis on economics, statistics, finance, and accounting" (Bloomberg-Businessweek. May 8, 2006).

The undergraduate business major at U. Penn is handled through the Wharton School, which also administers the graduate MBA program. Students take an intensive course load of business fundamentals, as well as credits devoted to traditional liberal arts degrees. That course load is indicative of the standard four- year degree which is standard for other academic disciplines. That said the emphasis for the undergraduate business major is clearly designed to provide students with an education that is valuable to employers from day one.

"Driven by the recession and one of the largest incoming freshman classes in the nation's history, the business major is experiencing a surge in popularity among students" (Damast. a. September 24, 2009). Yet, the increased popularity of the business administration major underscores the long-term trend of the business degree.

Business has always been a popular major among undergraduates. In academic

year 2006-07, the largest number of bachelor's degrees conferred was in business (21%), followed by social sciences and history (11%), education (7%), and health sciences (7%), according to the most recent figures available from the Education Dept.'s National Center for Education Statistics. (Damast. a. September 24, 2009).