Cox School of Business
(2010 Undergraduate Catalog)
Programs of Study
The requirements summarized below must be satisfied to earn the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. A core of required fundamental courses has been designed by the faculty of the Cox School as specified below. Each core course must be passed for a student to be eligible for graduation. Generally, calculus, English and economics should be completed in the student’s first year; accounting, managerial statistics and information systems requirements in the sophomore year; finance, legal environment and ethics, marketing, management, and operations management requirements in the junior year; and the business strategy requirement (STRA 5370 or CISB 5397, also known as Capstone courses) in the senior year.
Students are responsible for designing their own degree programs with assistance from one of the Cox academic advisers. Coordination with the B.B.A. Career Services Office is highly advantageous for students who want to maximize major selection, course selection and their future careers. Close attention should be given to course and knowledge prerequisites as well as course content to maximize the value of each course and to avoid the possibility of enrolling in a course with insufficient preparatory background. It is expected that students will consult with faculty and academic advisers in determining their course selections.
Each student’s file, reflecting his or her total academic record, is located in the Undergraduate Office, 252 Maguire Building. Transcripts of the student’s official record should be requested from the Office of the Registrar.
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The undergraduate program of the Cox School of Business is strongly committed to the academic advising process and believes that advising is effective only if the adviser and the advisee assume equal responsibility. Cox academic advisers are available in 252 Maguire Building for student appointments. All students admitted to the Cox School are required to attend a two-part orientation session, which includes the B.B.A. Advising Office, B.B.A. Career Services and the Business Information Center. After the initial orientation, students are required to meet with a B.B.A. adviser every term until graduation.
Students are not assigned to a specific adviser. Many students prefer to meet with the same adviser; it is the student’s choice when scheduling his or her appointment to either express a preference for a particular adviser or schedule with the next available adviser.
Students must bring a current copy (no more than 24 hours old) of their electronic degree progress report to their advising appointments. This computerized degree plan should be carefully examined, as it is the student’s responsibility to help assure the eDPR’s accuracy. After meeting with an adviser, students enroll, swap and drop on ACCESS.smu. The director of B.B.A. Advising and Student Records will add students to a closed class only if the student is a graduating senior and there are no other course options for completing a degree requirement.
Cox faculty members provide assistance in the areas of their professional expertise, offering guidance in selecting and sequencing courses appropriate for meeting specific academic and career goals.
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In conjunction with the University’s Hegi Family Career Development Center, the Office of Undergraduate (B.B.A.) Career Services focuses on helping students learn lifelong career management skills, providing exposure to various careers and developing skills that will help them secure a job. B.B.A. Career Services educates students regarding planning for a career, gaining career-related work experience, creating job search communications, and improving job search techniques and interview skills.
These fundamentals are taught in the required BLI 3302 Business Communications and Leader Development course, where students create a career portfolio. Career advisers also meet with students one-on-one to develop individual career plans and assist them with their internship or job search. In addition, the Career Services Office provides opportunities for B.B.A. students to interact with employers at career-related events such as career fairs, Resumania, speed networking sessions and panels focused on specific industries or professions.
Career-related experience, often referred to as an internship, is encouraged and considered a key component of the undergraduate experience at Cox. SMU’s location in Dallas allows students to pursue both part-time internships during the academic year and part- and/or full-time internships during the summer worldwide.
Students are encouraged to make an appointment with a career counselor the term they are accepted to Cox. Since meeting with a career counselor is not required, taking the initiative to do so early is up to the student and also encouraged by faculty and staff. The three counselors available exclusively to Cox B.B.A. students are conveniently located in 254 Maguire Building.
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The Business Associates Program is a corporate mentoring experience that pairs business undergraduates one-on-one with executives in the Dallas-area business community. BAP enhances a student’s collegiate experience by providing firsthand insights into the business world while teaching the value of effective networking.
Eligibility for BAP requires a declared major in business, junior or senior status, and good academic standing. B.B.A. students on academic probation are not eligible to participate. After acceptance into the program, students are matched with a mentor for an academic year. Students are eligible to participate during their junior and senior years.
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The Cox B.B.A. Honors Program is designed to enable outstanding business students to participate in an enhanced curriculum that challenges their intellectual abilities and sharpens their professional skills. A smaller class size promotes greater interaction between students and professors which, in turn, leads to a more meaningful educational experience. The Cox School offers honors sections of the following business courses:
The sophomore sections of honors business courses are available to declared business and prebusiness students who have a minimum 3.6 cumulative GPA. Students who have a 3.6 cumulative SMU, all-college and business GPA by the spring of their sophomore year and have been officially admitted to the Cox School are eligible to enroll in Cox Honors classes (except senior practicums). Those in the program who achieve a 3.6 GPA in a minimum of four honors courses (three of which must be at the junior/senior level) and a 3.6 cumulative SMU GPA will receive an honors notation (“Honors in Business”) on the transcript and diploma. The Cox Honors distinction is separate from the cum laude distinctions awarded at graduation.
See the Course Descriptions section for further information about the courses.
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The BBA Scholars Program affords numerous special opportunities, including networking with Cox faculty and the Dallas business community, invitations to special events, and tailored academic advising and career services. Participation in this program enhances students’ educational experience and helps develop the skills and connections necessary for professional success. BBA Scholars are encouraged to participate in honors-level business courses to enhance their educational experience in the Cox School.
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All candidates for the B.B.A. degree must satisfy the following requirements:
* Management science/business double majors are expected to take ITOM 2308 and either STRA 5370 or CISB 5397; however, they take EMIS 3360 and EMIS 5362 instead of ITOM 3306.
The applicable requirements for each Cox major are those in effect during the academic year in which the student matriculates to SMU.
The Cox School offers the following majors:
Major in General Business
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in general business, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Major in Accounting
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Completion of 36 credit hours of accounting is required to sit for the CPA exam in Texas.
Major in Finance
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in finance, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Eighteen credit hours in finance and accounting, in addition to FINA 3320, plus six additional hours of finance electives to be composed of the following:
NOTE: Transfer students entering in fall 2009 or fall 2010 follow the finance major requirements of the 2008–2009 catalog.
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Major in Financial Consulting
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in financial consulting, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Note: Transfer students entering in fall 2009 or fall 2010 follow the financial consulting major requirements of the 2008–2009 catalog.
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Major in Marketing
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in marketing, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Sixteen credit hours in marketing, beyond the three-hour core requirement of MKTG 3340 or ADV 3362, and three hours of electives, to be composed of the following:
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Major in Management
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in management, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Twelve credit hours in management (MNO), strategy (STRA) or entrepreneurship (CISB) beyond the six-hour core requirements of MNO 3370 and STRA 5370 (may be substituted by CISB 5397), and six hours of electives, to be composed of the following:
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Major in Risk Management and Insurance
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in risk management and insurance, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
Major in Real Estate Finance
To earn the B.B.A. degree with a major in real estate finance, students must comply with the core B.B.A. degree requirements and satisfy the following additional requirements:
* Must be taken through enrollment at SMU
Directed Studies
Business students may pursue independent studies, a research-based project, in a specified department under the sponsorship of a full-time Cox faculty member. This project may involve further study by the student in some aspect not covered in regularly scheduled business courses. B.B.A. students must first complete the basic required course in the field of study.
Business elective or free elective credit will be granted to a maximum of six hours (no more than three hours in one term) and cannot be used to fulfill major requirements. Directed studies courses may be taken pass/fail without completion of the business major. Independent studies will be exempted from the maximum credit hour limit. Students on academic probation may not register for independent studies.
Internships
Business students can take up to three hours of internship credit for work experience. The credit cannot be used towards the B.B.A. major or minor requirements. Internships are for pass/fail credit only.
Concurrent Degrees
B.B.A. students may simultaneously complete a second baccalaureate degree in a major outside of business. Students interested in a double major should contact the Undergraduate Office in the Cox School in 252 Maguire Building and the appropriate representative of the dean of the school in which the second degree will be earned.
B.B.A. students are encouraged to complete a minor in other schools on campus: Dedman College, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts, and Simmons School of Education and Human Development.
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Undergraduates with majors outside the Cox School may complete the Minor in Business Administration program.
Admission Requirements
See Admission of SMU Students to a Business Major/B.B.A. Degree Program in the admission section of this catalog.
Course Requirements
Matriculated students must complete all hours toward the Minor in Business Administration program through enrollment at SMU. Transfer students must complete 21 hours in business through enrollment at SMU or SMU-approved international programs. The following seven courses (21 hours) are required for the Minor in Business Administration program:
- ACCT 2301 Fundamentals of Accounting I
- ACCT 2302 Fundamentals of Accounting II
- FINA 3320 Financial Management
- ITOM 2308 Information Systems for Management*
- ITOM 3306 Operations Management*
- MNO 3370 Management of Organizations
- MKTG 3340 Fundamentals of Marketing (or ADV 3362)
* Management science majors in the Minor in Business Administration program are expected to take ITOM 2308; however, they take EMIS 3360 and 5362 instead of ITOM 3306.
Grading
Regular grading standards will be used. None of the 21 hours may be completed pass/fail for the Minor in Business Administration program. A minimum 2.00 GPA on all business courses attempted is required for satisfactory completion of the Minor in Business Administration program.
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Undergraduates with majors outside the Cox School may complete an 18-hour Minor in Business program. This minor is an open-enrollment program for all non-Cox majors or students enrolled in the Minor in Business Administration program. It has no grade-based admission requirements.
Course Requirements
Students must complete all hours toward the Minor in Business program in courses offered by the faculty of the Cox School of Business (or a minimum of nine hours for transfer students). These courses are offered in summer only.
With the exception of ITOM 3310 Business Processes and Decisions, FINA 3311 Markets and Freedom, and FINA 3312 Personal Finance, the courses offered as part of the Minor in Business program may not be taken by students in the Cox B.B.A. program or in the Minor in Business Administration program. Cox B.B.A. majors and students enrolled in the Minor in Business Administration program may take ITOM 3310, FINA 3311 and/or FINA 3312 as free elective credit; these courses will not count as business hours toward any B.B.A. degree.
The following core courses (15 hours) are required for the minor in business:
- ACCT 2310 Accounting Concepts (or ACCT 2301 or 2311)
- FINA 3310 Finance Concepts
- FINA 3311 Markets and Freedom
- MNO 3310 Management Concepts
- MKTG 3310 Marketing Concepts (or ADV 3362)
One elective (3 hours) chosen from the following courses is required:
- BL 3310 Legal Perspectives and Business Law
- FINA 3312 Personal Finance
- ITOM 3310 Business Processes and Decisions
Grading
Regular grading standards will be used. None of the courses may be completed pass/fail. A minimum 2.00 GPA on all business courses attempted is required for satisfactory completion of the Minor in Business program.
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