The Business Administration major at The Paul Merage School of Business offers a traditional business curriculum similar to those at other top business schools in the country. The major is broad, drawing on the social sciences more generally to study organizations, interpersonal communication skills, individual and group behavior, leadership, strategy, financial and accounting issues, ethics, information technology, marketing, and a variety of other topics in the context of a rapidly changing global environment.

The faculty strongly encourages majors to create an educational program composed of courses within and outside the Merage School that provide substance and focus to their careers and enable them to pursue their own personal interests. While preparing students for careers in management, the Merage School, through academic advising, will help students fashion an undergraduate program that they can tailor to their own unique career objectives. Examples of programs of study that allow Business Administration majors to blend management education with specific industry areas include (but are not limited to) bioscience business, government service, international commerce, arts management, entrepreneurship in computer gaming, and other combinations. Through appropriate choice of courses, students can prepare to pursue a law degree, a master’s degree in a variety of areas including accounting, or a doctoral program in business or related disciplines.

Students are required to complete 11 business courses that provide a foundation in essential core business competencies, followed by a minimum of 5 business electives to include one emphasis. Students select a minimum of one of six emphases in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Marketing, Operations and Decision Technologies, or Organization and Management. This program of study enables students to develop areas of focus as they pursue the Business Administration major. Because much business is conducted on a global scale, students are required to either participate in the University’s Education Abroad Program or to take one of a number of designated courses that stresses the international dimension of a business area. Students interested in learning more about the full array of requirements for professional licensing in Accounting are encouraged to visit the California Board of Accountancy and American Institute of CPAs websites.

While academic course content is crucial to an undergraduate business major, auxiliary noncurricular programs also are important to students’ academic experience. The Merage School incorporates a cocurricular element into the classroom experience. Drawing from Merage School and University resources, students are exposed to opportunities to enhance communication and presentations skills, attend formal speaker events, and engage in mentoring. The Merage faculty is committed to ensuring that undergraduate majors have ample opportunity to enhance their writing and presentation skills through class assignments and a business communication course.

Students are strongly encouraged to become involved with the Merage Undergraduate Student Association and with the many affiliated business clubs. These high-profile student groups promote interaction between students and the surrounding business community through their Corporate Speaker Series, social activities, and student/employer receptions. Students with an entrepreneurial interest are invited to participate in the annual Merage School New Venture Competition offered by the Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Work experience is an important way to learn about business and management. UCI’s Internship Program, sponsored by the UCI Division of Career Pathways, can assist students in finding opportunities to work in either voluntary or paid positions in business, nonprofit, or industrial settings. Students who plan to enter business or apply to a graduate school of business or management in the future will find it necessary to supplement their academic work with a variety of practical experiences.

Another opportunity is UCI’s Undergraduate Administrative Intern Program, which offers selected students the opportunity to assume one-year positions under the guidance of University administrators. Students can choose from a range of offices in which they will be asked to undertake special projects specifically related to the management and administration of UCI and higher education in general. These internships are supplemented by a two-quarter management seminar and by field trips to administrative conferences such as meetings of The Regents of the University of California.

In the event that the number of students who elect Business Administration as a major exceeds the number of positions available, applicants may be subject to screening beyond minimum University of California admissions requirements.

Freshmen: Preference will be given to those who rank the highest using the selection criteria as stated in the Undergraduate Admissions section of the Catalogue.

Transfer students: Junior-level applicants with the highest grades overall (minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0) and who satisfactorily complete lower-division courses equivalent to UCI’s calculus (MATH 2A-MATH 2B), economics (ECON 20A-ECON 20B or MGMT 4A-MGMT 4B), and statistics and accounting (MGMT 7, MGMT 30A, MGMT 30B) will be given preference for admission. MGMT 1 may be completed at UCI. Admission to the major will be competitive due to limited space availability.