Course Requirements for Special Concentration in Business Management

The Special Concentration in Business Management is not a stand-alone concentration: it is intended to serve as a complement to the disciplinary specialization and methodological training inherent in a major. In addition to the requirements of the special concentration, students still must complete a major or a full concentration. Visit the Columbia College page for the Special Concentration in Business Management for course descriptions and meeting times (Note: Corporate Finance is listed under the Economics department).

Download a printable PDF version of the requirements.

Courses

Prerequisites (three courses) - higher or equivalent courses may be acceptable, consult BusinessManagement@gsb.columbia.edu

• One of the following:
  • STAT W1001 Introduction to Statistical Reasoning
  • STAT W1111 Introduction to Statistics (without calculus)
  • STAT W1211 Introduction to Statistics (with calculus)
  • PSYC W1610 Introduction to Statistics for Behavioral Scientists
  • SOCI W3020 Social Statistics
• ECON W1105 Principles of Economics
• One of the following:
  • PSYC W1001 The Science of Psychology
  • PSYC W1010 Mind, Brain, and Behavior
  • SOCI W1000 The Social World

Core (three courses)

• One of the following Financial Core courses:
  • BUSI W3013 Financial Accounting
  • ECON W4280 Corporate Finance
• Two of the following Managerial Core courses:
  • BUSI W3021 Marketing Management
  • BUSI W3701 Strategy Formulation
  • BUSI W3703 Leadership in Organizations

Electives (two courses chosen from the following)

• ECON BC3014 Entrepreneurship
• ECON V3025 Financial Economics
• ECON V3265 Economics of Money and Banking
• ECON W4505 International Monetary Theory and Policy
• POLS V3615  Globalization and International Politics

• PSYC BC 1136/1138 Social Psychology^
• PSYC BC2151  Organizational Psychology
• PSYC W2235 Thinking and Decision Making
• PSYC W2630 Social Psychology^
• PSYC W2640 Introduction to Social Cognition
• PSYC W2650 Introduction to Cultural Psychology
• SOCI W2240 Economy and Society
• SOCI W3490 Mistake, Misconduct, Disaster: How Organizations Fail
• SOCI W3670 Culture, Markets, & Consumpution
• SOCI W3675 Organizing Innovation
• SOCI G4032 Sociology of Labor Markets
• URBS V3550  Community Building & Economic Development

^ Students cannot receive credit for two or more of PSYC BC1136/1138 and PSYC W2630
 

Students may receive the Special Concentration in Business Management if they meet all requirements, even without formal admission to the program.

Grading Requirements

• All courses must be taken for a letter grade.
• Students who matriculated at Columbia University in Fall 2012 and beyond must earn a minimum average GPA of 3.0 in all courses counted for Business Management (prerequisite, core, and elective classes) 
• Students who matriculated at Columbia University before Fall 2012 must EITHER: 1) earn a B+ or higher in at least two of the prerequisites and earn a minimum average GPA of 3.0 in core and elective classes OR 2) earn a minimum average GPA of 3.0 in all courses counted for Business Management
• Students who do not meet course prerequisites or who do not receive a passing grade will not receive credit for a class towards the Special Concentration.
• Only the prerequisites may be double counted for other majors or concentrations. The core and elective courses cannot be double counted (i.e., core and elective courses must be counted separately from your major and/or concentration requirements).

Advanced Placement (AP) or Transfer Credit

• AP and transfer credits are only accepted for the prerequisite courses and only according to the policies of Columbia’s respective department. Core and elective courses must be taken at Columbia (or Barnard).
• Specifically, the only AP credits accepted are the following:
  • For the ECON W1105 requirement, students must have received at least one four and one five on the AP Intermediate Micro and Intermediate Macro halves of the exam.
  • For the statistics requirement, students must have received a score of five on the AP Statistics exam.

Contact BusinessManagement@gsb.columbia.edu regarding other acceptable courses.

Barnard College students should consult Dean Aaron Schneider (ASchneider@barnard.edu)  before registering for courses — this is not a Barnard concentration and not all courses may count towards the Barnard degree.

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