"Business Administration" is published as several files. Use the links above to see the table of contents for the whole chapter, or other files within the chapter.

Academic Policies and Procedures

The Honors Program in business is available to outstanding students who have distinguished themselves by superior performance during high school or their first year(s) at the University and in other ways. The program is described in this chapter.

University Honors

The designation University Honors, awarded at the end of each long-session semester, gives official recognition and commendation to students whose grades for the semester indicate distinguished academic accomplishment. Both the quality and the quantity of work done are considered. Criteria for University Honors are given in chapter 1.

Graduation with University Honors

Students who, upon graduation, have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement are eligible to graduate with University Honors. Criteria for graduation with University Honors are given in chapter 1.

Beta Gamma Sigma

The Alpha of Texas chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the national scholastic honor society in the field of business and administration, was chartered in 1922. Membership, based on outstanding scholarship, is restricted to the top 5 percent of the junior class, top 10 percent of the senior class, and top 20 percent of graduate students. The objectives of Beta Gamma Sigma are "to encourage and reward scholarship and accomplishment among students of business and administration, to promote the advancement of education in the art and science of business, and to foster integrity in the conduct of business operations."

The Business Foundations Program

The Business Foundations Program (BFP) is designed to provide a foundation in business concepts and practice for students in other majors. Any nonbusiness student with a University grade point average of at least 2.00 may take any BFP courses for which he or she meets the prerequisite.

Nonbusiness students who wish to build a business course concentration may apply for admission to the Business Foundations Certification Program. Upon completion of the program requirements, students receive a certificate and letter verifying completion of the Business Foundations Program.

Admission to the Certification Program

Eligibility

To be considered for admission the student must meet all of the following criteria.

The applicant must have credit for the following prerequisite courses:
1. Economics 302 or 303 or the equivalent.
2. Mathematics 303D or 305G or the equivalent.
The applicant must have credit for Accounting 310F and Management Information Systems 311F.
The applicant must complete at least two long-session semesters or the equivalent in residence.

Admission Criteria

Students apply to the BFP through the College of Business Administration. Admission to the BFP is limited and students are chosen on a competitive basis. The final decisions are made by the BFP Admissions Review Committee. The committee considers the student's University grade point average and SAT I or American College Testing Program score. The satisfactory completion of the BFP prerequisites and completed BFP courses are also considered, as well as other relevant examples of academic ability and leadership.

Business Foundations Certification Program Requirements

The requirements of this program are

The following prerequisite courses:
1. Economics 302 or 303.
2. Mathematics 303D or 305G.
The following courses, completed in residence:
1. Accounting 310F.
2. Management Information Systems 311F.
3. Finance 320F.
4. Legal Environment of Business 320F.
5. Management 320F.
6. Marketing 320F.

Graduation

Special Requirements of the College of Business Administration

All students must fulfill the general requirements for graduation given in chapter 1. Students in the College of Business Administration must also fulfill the following requirements.

All University students must have a grade point average of at least 2.00 to graduate. Students in the College of Business Administration must also have a grade point average in business courses of at least 2.00. Students in the Honors Program must have a University grade point average and a grade point average in business courses of at least 3.00. Students in the Professional Program in Accounting must have a grade point average of at least 3.00 in all coursework taken as part of the minimum thirty-six-hour MPA program; they must also have a grade point average of at least 3.00 in graduate accounting coursework.
The University requires that at least six semester hours of advanced coursework in the major field of study be completed in residence. For additional requirements of the College of Business Administration, see "Bachelor of Business Administration Degree Requirements" in this chapter and the requirements for the major in accounting, also in this chapter.
If a student has been given permission by the dean to take correspondence work along with residence coursework during his or her last semester, the correspondence work (including examination and grading) must be completed at least fifteen days before the end of the semester or summer session. If the student has been given permission to take correspondence work to complete requirements during the last semester but is not also enrolled in residence coursework, the student must complete correspondence work by the deadline for registering in absentia.
A candidate for a degree must be registered in the College of Business Administration either in residence or in absentia the semester or summer session the degree is to be awarded and must apply to the dean for the degree no later than the date specified in the official academic calendar.

The Degree Audit and Graduation Application

A degree audit is produced in the Undergraduate Dean's Office for each student when the student enters a major in the college. The degree audit is prepared by comparing the degree requirements of the student's major and the student's University record, including transferred work. It shows the coursework required for the major, the courses completed that fulfill requirements, the hours of designated coursework that are still needed, grade point averages, and the residency requirements that have been fulfilled. In preparing the degree audit, every effort is made to avoid errors, but it is the student's responsibility to be aware of and to fulfill all graduation requirements.

A degree candidate must apply for the degree in the Undergraduate Dean's Office no later than the date given in the official academic calendar. No degree will be conferred unless the diploma application form has been properly filed.

Degrees

Degree requirements are listed in "Bachelor of Business Administration Degree Requirements" in this chapter and in "Program Degree Requirements." For a complete list of requirements for a degree, the student should combine the requirements in these two sections with the University-wide graduation requirements in chapter 1 and the college graduation requirements given in this chapter.

Applicability of Certain Courses

Physical Activity Courses

Physical activity (PED) courses are offered by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. They may not be counted toward the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. However, they are counted among courses for which the student is enrolled, and the grades are included in the grade point average.

ROTC Courses

No more than twelve semester hours of air force science, military science, or naval science coursework may be counted toward the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Three semester hours may be substituted for the required coursework in applied communications. The remaining hours may be used only as lower-division electives. ROTC courses may be counted toward the degree only by students who complete the third and fourth years of the ROTC program and accept a commission in the service.

Courses Taken on the Pass/Fail Basis

A business student other than an accounting major may count toward the degree up to five one-semester courses in elective subjects outside the major taken on the pass/fail basis; only electives, nonbusiness electives, and upper-division nonbusiness electives may be taken on the pass/fail basis. Accounting majors are limited to six semester hours of coursework taken pass/fail. The student may also take examinations for credit on the pass/fail basis; credit earned by examination is not counted toward the total of five courses that the student may take pass/fail. If a student chooses to major in a subject in which he or she has taken a course pass/fail, the major department decides whether the course may be counted toward the student's major requirements. Complete rules on registration on the pass/fail basis are given in General Information.

Correspondence and Extension Courses

Students planning to take correspondence or extension courses should consult with the Undergraduate Dean's Office before doing so to ensure compliance with the following restrictions.

Credit that a University student in residence earns simultaneously by correspondence or extension from the University or elsewhere will not be counted toward a degree in the College of Business Administration unless it is specifically approved in advance by the dean.
Correspondence instruction in the required business core courses may not be counted toward the degree unless specifically approved in advance by the dean.
No more than 30 percent of the semester hours required for any degree may be completed by correspondence or extension.
With regard to registration on the pass/fail basis, correspondence and extension courses are subject to the same restrictions as courses taken in residence; these restrictions are given above under "Courses Taken on the Pass/Fail Basis."

Concurrent Enrollment

Although a student may earn credit in residence at another institution while enrolled in residence at the University, this credit will not be counted toward a degree unless it is approved in advance by the dean.

Internships

The University does not award academic credit for work experience. However, departments in the College of Business Administration may offer internship courses if they have a substantial academic component. Only one internship course may be counted toward the BBA degree. It may be used as an upper-division business elective; it may not be counted toward the major requirement. Internship courses are offered on the pass/fail basis only.

Bachelor of Business Administration Degree Requirements

At least 120 semester hours of credit are required for the Bachelor of Business Administration, with a grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work undertaken at the University for which a grade or symbol other than Q, W, X, or CR is recorded. In addition, a grade point average of at least 2.00 in business courses is required. If a student repeats a course in which he or she earned a grade lower than C, all grades are included in the average just as if the work were in different courses; however, the official grade in a course is the last one made, and only the last grade is included in the 120 semester hours. A student may not repeat for credit or grade points any course in which he or she has earned a grade of C or higher (or of CR in a course taken on the pass/fail basis) without special approval of the dean. The approval, if granted, will be attached to the student's record in the Undergraduate Dean's Office.
A candidate for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree must be enrolled in the College of Business Administration in the semester or summer session in which the degree is awarded, unless the student is simultaneously receiving a degree from another college or school of the University.
Each student is expected to follow the course sequence prescribed for the student's degree plan, and to meet the curriculum requirements described in items 4 and 5 below in the year specified.
Required work of thirty-four semester hours should be taken in the first year:
1. English 306.
2. Economics 302 and 303.
3. Mathematics 403K and 403L, or Mathematics 408C and 408D.
4. Six hours in natural science, to be taken in one of the following fields: astronomy, biological sciences (biology, botany, microbiology, zoology), chemistry, geology, physics. Biology may be taken in combination with botany, microbiology, or zoology; no other combination of disciplines is acceptable.
5. Three hours of psychology or sociology; courses dealing primarily with statistics or data processing may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
6. Six hours in fine arts or humanities, to be chosen from the following areas: archaeology, architecture, art (including art history, design, studio art, visual art studies), classics (including classical civilization, Greek, Latin), fine arts, humanities, music (including music, instruments, ensemble), philosophy (excluding courses in logic), theatre and dance.
7. Business Administration 101 and 102.
Required work of thirty semester hours should be taken in the second year:[1]
1. Accounting 311 and 312.
2. English 316K.
3. Management Information Systems 310.
4. Statistics 309.
5. Six hours of American government, including Texas government.
6. Six hours of American history.
7. Three hours in applied communications, chosen from courses approved by the College of Business Administration that are concerned with oral communication skills and that require the student's active participation in the development and application of these skills.
Eighteen semester hours beyond the first two years are specified as follows:[1]
1. Legal Environment of Business 323.
2. Finance 354.
3. Marketing 337.
4. Finance 357.
5. Management 335 or 336.
6. Management Information Systems 324.
The following requirements apply in addition to those listed in items 4, 5, and 6 above:
1. Additional coursework to provide a total of at least sixty semester hours outside the College of Business Administration. At least six of these hours must be at the upper-division level. Suggested areas of study are architecture appreciation, anthropology, economic theory and history, education, fine arts, foreign languages, geography, government, journalism, literature, logic, natural sciences, psychology, and sociology. Students should consult the requirements of their majors for additional information about coursework to be taken outside the college.
2. Completion of the requirements of one of the majors listed in the section "Program Degree Requirements" that begins below. In no event is a degree of Bachelor of Business Administration awarded to a student with fewer than forty-eight semester hours in business, at least twenty-four of which have been completed in residence on the letter-grade basis at the University. At least twelve semester hours of upper-division coursework in the major must be completed in residence at the University on the letter-grade basis.[2] For additional residence requirements, see the general requirements for graduation in chapter 1.
Proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to that shown by the completion of the first two semesters taught at the University. This requirement may be fulfilled either by completion of the two high school units in a single foreign language that are required for admission to the University as a freshman or by the demonstration of proficiency at the second-semester level. Credit earned at the college level to achieve the proficiency may not be counted toward the degree. It may be earned on the pass/fail basis.
Any two courses certified as having a substantial writing component; one of these courses must be upper-division. Courses with a substantial writing component are identified in the Course Schedule. They must be taken on the letter-grade basis to fulfill this requirement. They may be used simultaneously to fulfill other requirements.

Program Degree Requirements

Accounting

Two programs are available to students who wish to study accounting at the University. The first is the four-year major in accounting leading to the Bachelor of Business Administration degree. The second is the five-year Professional Program in Accounting, which leads to the simultaneous award of the BBA and the Master in Professional Accounting degrees. The objective of the BBA accounting curriculum is to provide students with a broad overall education, solid grounding in the common body of knowledge of business administration, and exposure to accounting in sufficient depth to help them achieve entry-level competence for pursuit of a career in government or industry. The Professional Program in Accounting is designed for students who wish to concentrate in accounting and obtain education in an accounting specialization.

Bachelor of Business Administration

The requirements of this program are

The Bachelor of Business Administration degree requirements above. To fulfill the requirement of three semester hours in applied communications, accounting majors must take three hours of speech.
Twenty-one semester hours of accounting: Accounting 311, 312, 326, 327, 329, 362, and 364. At least four of the upper-division courses included in this requirement must be completed in residence at the University.
Economics 320K.
Management 335 and 336.
Additional elective coursework if necessary to provide a total of at least 120 semester hours.

Professional Program in Accounting

The Professional Program in Accounting (PPA) is a three-year curriculum of undergraduate and graduate coursework. The professional curriculum, which begins in the student's junior year, includes specially designed accounting courses taught in relatively small classes by full-time faculty members.

The accounting faculty has designed three concentrations within the PPA: auditing/financial reporting, taxation, and managerial accounting/control. Each concentration is a sequence of courses that offers strong preparation for a particular career path. In addition, the student may choose a generalist curriculum.

Because PPA students are expected to become leaders in the accounting profession, highly motivated students with the personal qualities and intellectual capacity to establish successful careers in public accounting, industry, not-for-profit organizations, and higher education are encouraged to apply.

Admission

Students are admitted to the PPA according to the following requirements. Admission is granted only for the fall semester; June 1 is the application deadline for those who wish to begin the program the following fall. Students interested in the PPA must have met the foreign language requirement for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree and must have completed at least sixty semester hours of coursework, including Accounting 311 and 312.

Admission is based on the applicant's University grade point average and SAT I or American College Testing Program score, as well as other relevant examples of academic ability and leadership. An applicant with a University grade point average of less than 3.00 is unlikely to be admitted to the PPA. Admission may be restricted by the availability of instructional resources.

Before beginning the fifth year, PPA students must be admitted to the Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) program. Application forms are available from the Graduate School of Business and must be completed and returned by April 15 of the student's fourth year. Students must earn an acceptable score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and have their test scores sent to the University's Office of Admissions. Students usually take the GMAT in the fall or winter of their fourth year.

Continuance

Students in the PPA are expected to maintain a University grade point average of at least 3.00. A student whose grade point average falls below 3.00 is placed on probation for one semester. If the student's grade point average is still below 3.00 at the end of the probationary semester, the student may be dropped from the program. A student with extremely poor academic performance may be dismissed from the program without a semester on probation. A PPA student who does not make satisfactory progress is usually encouraged to complete work toward the bachelor's degree under the major program in accounting.

Graduation

To receive an MPA degree, a PPA student must have a grade point average of at least 3.00 in all coursework taken as part of the minimum thirty-six-hour MPA program. He or she must also have a grade point average in graduate accounting coursework of at least 3.00.

Degree Requirements

The requirements of this program are

Undergraduate coursework
1. The Bachelor of Business Administration degree requirements above. To fulfill the requirement of three semester hours in applied communications, PPA majors must take three hours of speech.
2. Economics 320K.
3. Management 335 and 336.
4. The following courses: Accounting 151, 152, 455, 456, and 459.
5. For students in the auditing/financial reporting, managerial accounting/control, or generalist concentration, Statistics 376 and either Finance 367 or 377L; for students in the taxation concentration, six semester hours of coursework in legal environment of business approved by the PPA adviser.
Graduate coursework
1. The following courses: Accounting 380K (Topic 1: Financial Accounting Standards and Analysis I), 380K (Topic 4: Introduction to Auditing), and 382K (Topic 1: Principles of Systems Analysis).
2. b. Twenty-seven additional semester hours of graduate coursework, including at least twelve hours in accounting and no more than six hours outside the Graduate School of Business. Coursework in the student's concentration must be approved in advance by the PPA adviser.

More information about the graduate work included in the PPA is given in The Graduate Catalog.

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28 August 1996. Registrar's Web Team
Comments to rgcat@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu