The department offers the opportunity to take advanced courses in management, finance, marketing, international business, and public policy.
The department’s focus, and hence its name, is a general approach to economic and commercial activity.

The department emphasizes the study of business as concrete social and historical phenomena. An emphasis is also placed on the relationship between commercial activity and the social context which it creates and which influences it, and on the consequences of commercial and economic development in the modern world.

The department curriculum focuses upon how society is organized to produce goods and services. It is through this broader, more historical approach that the student gains a realistic perspective of modern business and the competitive global environment. The student gains the values, the principles, and the insight to weigh short-term versus longer-term profit, to weigh technical versus fundamental analyses.

Business majors are required to take courses in finance, accounting, quantitative analysis, marketing, and management. Economics majors study the major areas of economic theory and econometrics. Yet, rather than the simple acquisition of technical skills, majors are also required to take courses which place these issues in a historical and institutional context; thus, the student learns to understand why the issues and techniques are important.

Equipment/Facilities
The third floor of McMichael Academic Hall facilitates the central activity of the department. Here, the students may utilize the computer-aided Poling Lecture Room and several smaller classrooms. Additionally, students make extensive use of the college's computer network.

Off-Campus Programs
The department encourages and facilitates the participation of its students in a range of off-campus programs. In the past, students in economics and business administration have often participated in the ACM Washington Semester program which has permitted them to gain experience with groups such as the Federal Trade Commission, think tanks such as Heritage Foundation, trade organizations and congressional committees.

The Oak Ridge Science Semester offers an opportunity for economics students to tackle a major economic research project and gain insight about and credentials for graduate school.

The ACM Urban Studies program offers the opportunity for students in the department to gain experience in economic development, urban economics and the public policy side of business and economics. The department regularly offers a course entitled "Applied Business Strategy," in which teams of students work as consultants to area businesses. A number of students from each program have been involved in internships of various kinds.

Career Opportunities
The graduates of the department have entered careers in a number of fields and industries. The department's majors can be found in the manufacturing, service and government sectors of the economy, working in both line and staff positions.

The business major is the most general of the department's programs. Its emphasis on preparation for the long run means that students are less tied to specific occupations and can take advantage of opportunities when they arise. Some choose to receive further specialized training in graduate school, but most enter the job market after graduation.

Accounting is a more focused program. Its graduates are most likely to move into positions with public accounting firms (both small practices and "Big Six" firms have hired Monmouth graduates) as well as entry-level accounting positions in a range of businesses.

The economics program lies in the middle. More than half of the graduates of the program enter specialized professional or academic graduate programs, the others pursue the sorts of opportunities open to business majors.

Graduate School Opportunities
Graduate school is the other option for graduates of the department. A number of business majors and some accounting majors enter MBA programs each year. Accounting majors may also enter master's programs in accounting. A much higher percentage of economics majors enter graduate school, in economics, international public policy or business.

Graduates of the department frequently earn teaching or research assistantships in the graduate programs they enter.

ECONOMICS  

Economics Major
The major program in Economics consists of ECON 200; 300; 301; 371; 401; three courses (nine hours) in ECON at the 300 or 400 level; and MATH 106. Students planning on graduate study in economics are encouraged to complete a minor in mathematics or gain mastery of calculus.

Economics Minor
The following courses are required for the minor: ECON 200, 300, 301, and two courses (six hours) chosen from ECON at the 300 or 400 level.

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Business Administration Major
The following courses are required for the major: ACCT 213 and 214; BUSI 105, 211, 212, 218, 305, 306, 307, and 405 or 406; and ECON 200 and 300 or 301; MATH 106; and three additional 300+ level courses from the offerings in business administration, accounting and economics. Students are encouraged, but not required, to enroll in advanced writing or communication courses. Students planning to gain an MBA are encouraged to enroll in Calculus.

A student must earn at least a C- in all prerequisites before taking a required course.

Business Administration Minor
The following courses are required for the minor: ACCT 213 and 214; BUSI 105 and 211; ECON 200; and two courses chosen from BUSI 305, 306, or 307.

Honors Program in Business
By invitation and application, students prior to the Spring semester of their Junior year are selected for an honors program of participation, research, and presentation on contemporary management and economic policy issues. This program involves a sequence of one-credit courses offered each of the student’s last three semesters at Monmouth.

IMPORTANT DATES