Helpful Advising Tips

Pre-Business Students

Focus on completing the pre-business classes first and foremost. They are designated by bold type on the bingo sheet. Fill in with other general education courses when you can’t fill your schedule with the bolded courses. Having some general education courses left to take toward the end of your college career is a good thing. It will provide you with flexibility in scheduling your junior and senior semesters.

As a Freshman you can take: ENG W131, COM 114, PSY 120 or SOC S161, BUS J100, BUS K200-K213, MA 153 and MA 229 (as well as some general education electives). The rest of the pre-business courses can be completed as a sophomore. If you enter the university testing into higher level Math and English, you may be able to proceed through these courses more quickly – see your advisor.

Know your prerequisites! ECON E201 is a prerequisite for ECON E202 and BUS W204. MA 229 is a prerequisite for ECON E270. Plan accordingly so you are not delayed in completing your pre-business courses beyond the end of your sophomore year. Remember pre-business courses are to be completed as a prerequisite to admission to the bachelor’s program. Please refer to admission requirements for more information.

In the semester that you are completing your pre-business courses, you must enroll in BUS J200 Business Degree Seminar.  This is a one time event you must attend (not a semester long class) and it must be completed before you can be admitted to the upper level program.

Students Officially Admitted to BSB with Declared Majors

You should complete M301, P301, F301, and Z302 during your junior year as they are prerequisites for most advanced courses. J401 is a capstone course and should be taken during your last semester.

• Many of the upper-level courses are only offered in certain semesters. Make sure you know when they are usually offered and know what the prerequisites are for the course so that you will be ready to take it when it is offered.

Accounting Major

Your first semester as a business major should focus on taking A317 and A311 as they are prerequisites for other accounting courses.

Marketing, Management or Finance Major

Be sure to take the 301 course that corresponds to your major of choice right away because it will be a prerequisite for future required course.

Business Majors

• Business majors cannot use BUS or ECON courses towards General Education credits.
• OLS courses cannot be used towards the business degree with the exception of OLS 454 which will be accepted as an Area 6 course.
• When choosing courses for the General Education Electives you may select any course from the list of approved courses for Areas 1-6 (except BUS, ECON or OLS). In addition any courses in foreign language, or from the following departments are acceptable: Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Communication, English, Film, Fine Arts, Folklore, Geography, History, Math, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Theater, Visual Communication & Design, & Women’s Studies.
• Beware of overlapping course content!  If courses are considered to have overlapping content, you cannot use credit for both toward your degree.  Example: ETCS 106 overlaps with the BUS K200 series.  You are required to take the BUS K200 series, we cannot use credit for ETCS 106, so the ETCS 106 course would be wasted credits.
• Additional important information about the Business degree program such as time limits, pass/fail options, transfer credit, etc., can be found on the DSB Policies page. Every student is responsible for knowing these policies.