Students wanting to major in business administration should indicate their interest in business upon applying to the UO and will be admitted to the UO as either first year direct admit or pre-business students. Both direct admit and pre-business students will need to complete lower division requirements. Pre-business students will then need to apply for admission to the business administration major during the term they take their final lower division requirements. Admission to the business administration major is required before students can begin taking their upper division requirements.

Current UO students may change their major to pre-business any time during their time as undergraduates. Accounting majors may request to switch to a business administration major using our change majors form.

Pre-Business (Lower Division) Requirements

• Complete 75 credits
• Earn 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 lower division business core GPA (includes both UO and transfer coursework).
• All requirements listed below must be taken for a letter grade; students must attain a minimum of C- or better.
• Supporting coursework:
  • WR 121Z and 122Z or 123Z: Writing Composition (HC 101H and HC 221H can substitute)
  • MATH 241: Business Calculus (MATH 251 can substitute)
  • STAT 243Z: Elementary Statistics (formerly MATH 243; PSY 302 can substitute)
  • BA 240: Spreadsheet Analysis and Visualization (formerly Managing Business Information)
  • International students only: AEIS courses or English language proficiency test score (TOEFL IBT: 89; IELTS: 7.0)
• Lower division core courses (3.0 GPA required):
  • BA 101Z: Introduction to Business
  • ECON 201: Micro Economics
  • ECON 202: Macro Economics
  • BA 211Z: Principles of Financial Accounting (formerly ACTG 211; sophomore standing required to enroll)
  • BA 213Z: Principles of Managerial Accounting (formerly ACTG 213; sophomore standing required to enroll)

Additional Information about Pre-Business Requirements

For information about applying to the major without having met the GPA requirement, learn more about admission by holistic review.

The UO prohibits retaking courses in which a C or P or better has been previously earned. A petition process is available. The Lundquist College further limits the repeating of lower division core courses to one time (including marks of W,N,F,D,C-). For more information, please visit the registrar's website.

University core education requirements do not need to be completed before admission to the Lundquist College of Business, but it is strongly advised that students finish as much core university coursework as possible in the first two years. For a full list of core education requirements, see the university catalog.

Apply to the Major

Pre-business students should apply to the business administration major during the term they take their final pre-business requirements. Students can gain admission to the full business administration major through one of two ways:

Standard Admission: Students who achieve a 3.0 cumulative GPA (including their transfer work) as well as a 3.0 in their lower division core will qualify for guaranteed admission, pending successful completion of the online application (essays, cover letter, resume, transcripts).

Holistic Review: Students who have demonstrated a strong academic record—but do not meet the 3.0 GPA requirements—may also submit an application to compete for admission. This is a competitive selection process and students should be strategic in developing their holistic qualifications. An admissions committee thoroughly reviews applications and considers the student’s academic record, as well as their strengths in the holistic review criteria.

Apply to the Major

Business Administration Major Requirements

The business administration major requires the eleven upper division business core courses and seven additional approved upper-division business electives courses from at least two different departments (accounting, operations and business analytics, finance, management, and marketing/sports business) in the Lundquist College of Business. Additionally, students have global context requirements outside the Lundquist College of Business.

Business administration majors are advised to complete the 300-level upper division core prior to taking 300-400 business electives. Majors should begin the upper-division core with BA 308 and should take BA 453 in their senior year. All upper division business courses must be taken graded and passed with a C- or better. See the schedule of classes for individual course prerequisites.

Upper-Division Core

• BA 308: Leadership and Communication
• MKTG 311: Marketing Management
• FIN 311: Economic Foundations of Competitive Analysis
• FIN 316: Financial Management
• MGMT 311: Managing People in Organizations
• BA 322: Fundamentals of Business Sustainability (required of students fully admitted to the Lundquist College of Business as of fall 2024)
• BA 325: Business Law and Ethics
• OBA 311: Business Analytics I
• OBA 312: Business Analytics II
• OBA 335: Operations Management
• BA 453: Business Strategy and Planning

Common Substitutions

• EC 311 can substitute for FIN 311 (not advised for honors students)
• EC 320 and 421 combined can substituted for OBA 312

Math minors, data science majors, and double majors: See an advisor about possible OBA 312 substitutions.

View Course Catalog

Upper Division Electives and Concentrations

Business administration majors are required to complete seven upper division business electives. It is possible to select elective courses in such a way that you earn a concentration in a specific area. Concentrations are available in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operations and business analytics, and sports business. Please note that concentrations are not documented by the University of Oregon and will not appear on a student's transcript or diploma. Students may indicate concentrations on their resume.

Explore Concentrations

Below is a list of the course offerings that can fulfill the upper-division elective requirement. Courses with a BA or BE prefix are considered interdisciplinary and therefore are NOT counted as a third department. Courses with the SBUS prefix are considered part of the marketing department. A maximum of one course from the "other" list may be applied towards the major requirements. Descriptions of these courses can be found in the class schedule.

BA 410 and all 406, 407, and 409 courses must be individually approved and taken for at least 4 credits to be eligible as business electives.

Global Context and Cultural Awareness for Business Decisions Requirements

Those admitted to the accounting or business administration major prior to fall 2024 are required to complete the global context for business decisions requirement. Those admitted to the accounting or business administration major fall 2024 or later are required to complete the cultural awareness for business decisions requirement.

View Global Context Requirements   View Cultural Awareness Requirements