3. Red McCombs School of Business

General Information

Objectives

The undergraduate program of the Red McCombs School of Business seeks to transform the lives of its students through a well-rounded professional education. The challenging curriculum is designed to provide a balanced perspective of business disciplines and a foundation for the lifelong development of an appreciation of the social, technological, and global economic forces shaping the future; the ability to recognize and promote ethical behavior; interpersonal and leadership skills; and the quantitative and analytical skills necessary for professional progress and advanced study.

History and Facilities

The School of Business Administration was created in 1922, the outgrowth of the work in business administration first offered in the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall of 1912. In 1945, the school was reorganized as a college; in 2000, the college was renamed in honor of university alumnus and benefactor Red McCombs. The degree of Bachelor of Business Administration was first offered in 1916–1917. The Bureau of Business Research, organized in 1926 as one of the Extramural Divisions of the University, became the research division of the school in September, 1945. In addition to the Bureau of Business Research, the school includes the Departments of Accounting; Finance; Information, Risk, and Operations Management; Management; and Marketing. Coursework in business may lead to the degrees of Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration, Master in Professional Accounting, and Doctor of Philosophy.

The Red McCombs School of Business is housed in the George Kozmetsky Center for Business Education. This three-building complex includes modern classrooms and offices, lecture rooms with sophisticated multimedia equipment, and conference and study rooms, as well as lounges for informal student and teacher interaction. Computer and computer-access facilities are also available to students, faculty members, and staff members.

Financial Assistance Available through the School

Students who are enrolled in the McCombs School of Business are eligible for scholarships and awards funded by industry, foundations, and individuals. Some of these awards are available school-wide, while others are restricted to students in one department. Since funds are limited, students selected to receive an award must demonstrate outstanding academic aptitude and a firm commitment to a business education.

Most scholarships for continuing students are reserved for students who have declared a business major. Generally, seventy to eighty school scholarships are awarded annually, in amounts of $500 to $2,500; some are renewable. Criteria for awarding scholarships vary to meet the wishes of the donors but often include financial need, academic performance, major area of study, and hometown. Descriptions of school scholarships and applications for them are available on the Undergraduate Programs Office Web site in March of each year. The deadline for submission is the end of May for scholarships for the following academic year. Recipients are selected by the Undergraduate Student Affairs Committee of the school and are usually notified during the summer.

Departmental scholarships are generally reserved for juniors and seniors majoring in a program of the department. Because departmental scholarships are normally funded by annual contributions, the number of scholarships and the amounts awarded vary among departments and over time. Criteria for departmental awards are specified by the donors and include the same kinds of characteristics as those established for school-wide awards; deadlines and other elements of the selection process also vary among departments. Interested students should contact the major department for further information.

Student Services and Academic Advising

The Undergraduate Programs Office provides administrative support and student services for the school. Student services include maintenance of student academic records, academic counseling by appointment, development of official degree audits for students, and graduation certification.

In addition, every undergraduate student enrolled in the McCombs School of Business is assigned to a professional academic adviser. Academic advisers in the Undergraduate Programs Office are available to assist all students with questions about scholastic progress, degree requirements, rules and regulations, and other available campus services such as career or personal counseling. Faculty advisers are also available in each department to help students explore educational and career goals.

Self-Advising

Although all students are encouraged to meet regularly with their assigned advisers, those who have been enrolled in the McCombs School of Business for at least one semester are permitted to self-advise and therefore to register without consulting an academic adviser. To be eligible to self-advise, the student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.00. Like all other students, those who self-advise are responsible for knowing the requirements of the degree program they have chosen, for enrolling in courses appropriate to that degree program, for meeting the prerequisites of the courses selected, and for taking courses in the proper sequence to ensure orderly and timely progress toward the degree.

Ford Career Center

The Ford Career Center offers job search assistance to business students and alumni. The purpose of the center is to help students determine their career goals, develop a plan for achieving these goals, and select and obtain employment commensurate with their goals, interests, and training. To help students prepare for their career search, the office presents workshops on résumé writing, interviewing, conducting a job search, evaluating offers, and other career interest areas.

In addition to the career-related workshops, the Undergraduate Career Advising team also teaches the required courses Business Administration 101S and 101T to freshman and transfer students. The purpose of these courses is to assist business students with planning, implementing, and evaluating their careers. These courses are designed to provide students with the foundations for executing a successful job search and focus on career management as a lifelong process. After completing these courses, students can implement job search strategies and interviewing techniques in pursuing internship and full-time employment opportunities.

Most students obtain their internship, which is a requirement for the undergraduate business curriculum, at the end of their junior year. However, the Ford Career Center encourages freshman and sophomores to attend its recruiting activities and events, which can help them obtain various internships prior to the required internship. These experiences can help students develop excellent résumés and job search skills.

The office maintains a career resource library of company literature, videotapes, employment information, and general business publications for students' use. About fourteen thousand individual interviews for internships and full-time opportunities are arranged annually with employers in business, industry, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Several hundred firms conduct on-campus interviews at the school each year.

To assist employers, the office provides résumé searches among graduating seniors for full-time positions and among participating juniors for internships; these are sent to organizations nationwide that request them. The office also coordinates about three hundred receptions and information sessions each year.

Another resource for employers, students, and alumni is the online McCombs Job Board. The Job Board helps recruiters reach business alumni and current students. It compliments the on-campus recruiting program by allowing companies to recruit candidates for a wider variety of roles in their organizations throughout the calendar year.

Additional information about the Ford Career Center is published by the center.

As a complement to the assistance available from the school, the Career Exploration Center provides comprehensive career services to all University students. The center offers professional assistance to students in choosing or changing their majors or careers, seeking an internship, and planning for the job search or for graduate study.

The University makes no promise to secure employment for each graduate, but rather provides the tools and resources to ensure that students have access to employment opportunities.

Student Organizations

Student organizations play an important role in the educational experience offered by the school. Becoming involved in extracurricular organizations helps students gain experience in teamwork, time management, and other practical areas. This experience, when combined with the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom, allows students to develop a well-rounded set of skills for use academically, professionally, and personally.

The Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) is the governing body for student activities in the school. It comprises representatives from each business student organization, an executive board, representatives elected by the student body, and members appointed by the executive board. The UBC acts as a representative of all undergraduate business students and sponsors such programs as Parents' Day and the VIP Lecture Series.

Business student organizations sponsor professional activities such as guest lectures, field trips, and faculty "fireside chats;" many offer social activities as well. Undergraduate business organizations are American Marketing Association, Asian Business Students Association, International Association of Students in Economics and Commerce (AIESEC), Alpha Kappa Psi (professional business fraternity for men and women), Beta Alpha Psi, Business Mentors Association, Business Students Abroad, CBA Today Newsgroup, Delta Sigma Pi, Engineering Route to Business Association, Freshman Business Association, Honors Business Association, Hispanic Business Students Association, Management Information Systems Association, MIS Connex, National Association of Black Accountants, National Student Business League, Net Impact, Phi Beta Chi (professional business fraternity for men and women), Phi Chi Theta (professional business fraternity for men and women), Students in Free Enterprise, University Accounting Association, Undergraduate Business Career Association, University Finance Association, Undergraduate Management Consulting Association, University Investor's Association, and University of Texas Management Association.

Admission and Registration

Requirements for Admission to the McCombs School of Business

Admission and readmission of all students to the University is the responsibility of the University director of admissions. Information about admission to the University is given in General Information.

Each year there are more qualified applicants to the McCombs School of Business than can adequately be instructed by the faculty or accommodated within existing facilities. To provide students with the best educational experience possible, the school must limit undergraduate admission. Therefore, admission to the school is extremely competitive and admission requirements are more stringent than those of the University. As a result, a student may be admitted to the University but denied admission to the school. The student must be admitted to the school to pursue a degree program described in this chapter.

Admission to the school is granted for the fall semester only. Admitted students are expected to attend Orientation the summer before they enter the school.

Freshman Admission Requirements for Texas Residents

To be considered for admission to the school, Texas-resident high school students must be granted regular admission to the University. However, because enrollment is limited by the availability of instructional resources, admission requirements for business degree programs are more restrictive than those of the University. High school rank and SAT Reasoning Test or American College Testing Program (ACT) scores are among the factors used in making admission decisions. Students may be placed in a deferred decision category until they submit additional information. A student who is admitted to the University but denied admission to the school may seek admission to another academic program at the University.

Freshman Admission Requirements for Nonresidents

Because of enrollment restrictions dictated by the availability of faculty and facilities in the school and limitations on nonresident enrollment imposed by the Board of Regents, nonresident applicants are considered individually.

Application Procedures for Freshman Admission

Students may apply for admission online through the Office of Admissions Web site. To be considered for admission to the McCombs School of Business, the student should specify business as his or her intended major. All application materials must be submitted to the Office of Admissions by the deadline to apply for admission to the University for the fall semester; this date is given in General Information.

Students in Other Divisions of the University

Students enrolled in other degree programs at the University who wish to enter a degree program described in this chapter must submit an application for a change of major to the Undergraduate Programs Office by the end of May to be considered for admission in the following fall semester. The following minimum requirements for consideration are in addition to those for transfer from one division to another that are given in General Information.

1. Completion of twenty-four semester hours of coursework in residence on the letter-grade basis by the end of the preceding spring semester.
2. Completion of Mathematics 408K, 408C, or the equivalent.
3. A passing score on the Computer Proficiency Test.
4. Completion of at least one of the following courses: Mathematics 408L or 408D, Economics 304K, 304L.
5. Students who have sixty hours or more of college credit must have completed the following courses: Mathematics 408K or 408C, 408L or 408D, Economics 304K, 304L.
6. Completion of the foreign language proficiency requirement of two years of a single foreign language in high school or one year of a single foreign language in college.

Admission is granted on a space-available basis and may not be possible if instructional resources are not compatible with enrollment demands. A student with a grade point average of less than 3.30 is unlikely to be admitted to the school.

Transfer Admission

A student seeking to transfer to the McCombs School of Business from another university should list business as his or her intended major on the admission application. Because students are not admitted to the school for the spring or summer, application materials must be submitted to the Office of Admissions by the appropriate deadline for the student to be considered for admission in the following fall semester. The minimum requirements for consideration are

1. Completion of at least twenty-four semester hours of transferable college coursework. Thirty semester hours are preferred.
2. Completion of Mathematics 408K, 408C, or the equivalent, and Management Information Systems 310 or the equivalent. [1]
3. Completion of at least one of the following courses: Mathematics 408L, 408D, or the equivalent; Economics 304K; 304L.
4. Students who have sixty hours or more of college credit must have completed the following courses: Mathematics 408K or 408C, Mathematics 408L or 408D or the equivalent, Economics 304K and 304L, and Management Information Systems 310 or the equivalent. [1]
5. Completion of the foreign language proficiency requirement of two years of a single foreign language in high school or one year of a single foreign language in college.
6. A grade point average of at least 3.00 on transferable college credit.

Because of enrollment restrictions dictated by the availability of faculty and facilities in the school and limitations on nonresident enrollment imposed by the Board of Regents, an applicant may be denied admission to the McCombs School even though he or she meets University transfer requirements. Such an applicant may seek admission to another academic program at the University. A student with a grade point average of less than 3.30 is unlikely to be admitted to the McCombs School.

Claiming a Major

The student is admitted to the McCombs School as an unspecified major. The student may claim a specific business major when he or she has completed thirty semester hours of coursework, including Business Administration 101H, 101S, or 101T, Economics 304K and 304L, Mathematics 408K or 408C, and Mathematics 408L or 408D; has registered with the Ford Career Center; and has fulfilled the foreign language requirement for the BBA degree. All students are required to claim a major before completing seventy-five semester hours. Students may claim their majors online. A student seeking admission to the Professional Program in Accounting or the Business Honors Program must complete a separate application; requirements for admission to these programs are given in this chapter in the section Degrees.

Admission with Deficiencies

Students who were admitted to the University with deficiencies in high school units must remove them by the means prescribed in General Information. Credit used to remove a deficiency may not be counted toward the degree. It may be earned on the pass/fail basis. Students may not claim a major until high school unit deficiencies have been removed.

Foreign Language Proficiency

Each student must provide evidence that he or she has fulfilled the foreign language proficiency requirement for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Students may not claim a major until the foreign language proficiency requirement has been met.

Admission-to-Major Requirements for Students Previously Enrolled in the School

A former student who was most recently enrolled in the McCombs School of Business and who is readmitted to the University reenters the major in which he or she was last enrolled. However, a former business student who has earned a BBA degree at the University is readmitted with the classification "degree holder but nondegree seeker."

A former student who was most recently classified as a prebusiness student or an unspecified business student will be readmitted to the transitional student classification. The student may then apply for admission to a business major according to the procedures given in the section Students in Other Divisions of the University.

Registration

General Information gives information about registration, adding and dropping courses, transfer from one division of the University to another, and auditing a course. The Course Schedule, published before registration each semester and summer session, includes registration instructions, advising locations, and the times, places, and instructors of classes. The Course Schedule and General Information are published on the World Wide Web and are accessible through the registrar's Web site. General Information is also sold at campus-area bookstores.