Undergraduate Degree
	Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in six majors from the Henry B. Tippie College of Business
Minor
	Business Administration
Four-year Graduation Plan
	Yes
Selective Admission
Certificates:
	International Business, Entrepreneurial Management, Risk Management and Insurance
Links
	Web Site General Catalog

The undergraduate program in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business prepares students for a career and a full life beyond the first job. Upon completion of the program, students may enter corporations worldwide or embark on graduate study in business and related fields.

The undergraduate program takes full advantage of the University’s tradition in the liberal arts while giving students fundamental verbal and quantitative reasoning skills needed for today’s business careers. The resulting degree, the Bachelor of Business Administration, combines course work from various disciplines and an area of specialization in business.

• Why Study Business at Iowa?
• Students
• Faculty
• Facilities
• Admission to the College
• Direct Admission
• Accounting
• Economics
• Finance
• Management
• Management Information Systems
• Marketing
• Certificate in International Business
• Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management
• Certificate in Risk Management and Insurance
• Study Abroad
• Internships
• Careers
• Scholarships

Why Study Business at Iowa?
The Tippie College of Business is known for the strength of its academic departments and the community it builds among its students, staff, and faculty. U.S. News & World Report ranked Iowa's undergraduate business program 20th among public universities nationwide. Individually, the college’s six departments have earned praise in national rankings and studies of academic programs.

Students focus on a core academic discipline, but are able to supplement their degree with interdisciplinary certificates or a minor or major in another college. Academic pursuits are complemented by an array of leadership opportunities, internships, and study abroad programs.

The Direct Admission Program allows highly qualified high school students to enter the Tippie College of Business in the first year.

Students
Approximately 1,750 students are enrolled in the business program at Iowa. About 15 percent of incoming first-year students are classified “pre-business.”

Most business students at Iowa not only dedicate themselves to class work but also use other resources, including the University of Iowa Honors Program, internships and career preparation through the Pomerantz Career Center, and study abroad. They often participate in student organizations that provide valuable leadership opportunities.

Faculty
The college has more than 100 respected and dedicated faculty members who offer excellent classroom instruction and place an emphasis on experiential learning and technological expertise.

Facilities
The John Pappajohn Business Building, a state-of-the-art, $34 million resource designed for students, features 19 technology-equipped classrooms, multiple seminar and conference rooms, 543 seats of auditorium space, two computer classrooms, a management information systems lab, research lab, computer labs, and the business library.

Among the University’s other valued business facilities are the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, the Small Business Development Center, Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory, and the Frank Business Communications Center.

There are several institutes that provide a wealth of training, education, and research support. They include the Hawkinson Institute of Business Finance, the Institute for Economic Research, the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Risk Management and Insurance, the Institute for International Business, and the RSM McGladrey Institute of Accounting Education and Research.

Admission to the College
For most students, admission occurs during their sophomore or junior year, following successful completion of prerequisite courses.

Direct Admission
The college’s Direct Admission Program admits first-year students directly into the college as business majors. This program provides a variety of activities designed to enhance student development inside and outside the classroom.

Some additional opportunities and benefits include a seminar for first-year business students; honors seminars, courses, and discussion sections in both the Tippie College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; interaction with faculty research mentors; and housing in the Leadership Community in Business and Entrepreneurship, a living-learning community in the residence halls.

If you qualify for direct admission, your advisor will work with you to design a program that will make the most of your time.

Direct admission students also are eligible to apply for the Tippie Scholars Program, which provides programs of study that allow students to go beyond the basic degree requirements. An individualized plan might include accelerated eligibility for courses in your major, special honors seminars, research with a faculty mentor, or participating in leadership workshops that include networking with college alumni and business leaders. Individual attention and the small program size are some of the hallmarks of the program.

To be admitted to the Tippie College of Business through the Direct Admission Program, entering first-year students need an ACT composite score of 27 or higher and a high school grade-point average (GPA) of 3.70 or higher.

Accounting
Accounting is a dynamic field at the heart of every business.

Accountants are problem solvers and business advisors, frequently at the top levels of their companies. If you appreciate challenge and variety in your work, you will find that accounting offers great rewards and options for career change.

The program is designed to give you a strong base of accounting courses but also knowledge of information systems, written and oral communication skills, leadership ability, and teamwork skills.

Accounting major courses include:

• Accounting for Management Analysis and Control
• Income Measurement and Asset Valuation
• Valuation of Financial Claims
• Introduction to Taxation
• Auditing
• Business Law
• Applied Information Systems
• Professional Orientation Seminar

Electives include:

• Financial Statement Analysis
• Advanced Tax Topics
• Advanced Financial Accounting
• Experiential Learning

Total: 25 semester hours

An alternative fourth year is available for accounting students who plan to enter the Master of Accountancy program in their fifth year.

Economics
Economics is among the most applied, quantitative, and scientific of the social sciences, yet it’s the most theoretical of the business subjects. It uses mathematics, statistics, philosophy, law, psychology, and history to apply its principles to issues ranging from inflation and interest rates to crime, health care, and the environment.

As an economics major, you’ll learn analytical thinking skills. Economics majors frequently go on to graduate study in economics, law, or other fields.

In addition to the prerequisites for admission to the major, you will take:

• Microeconomic Theory
• Macroeconomic Theory

And four of the following:

• Labor Economics
• Health Economics
• Money, Banking, and Financial Markets
• Economics of the Government Sector
• International Economics
• Economic Growth and Development
• Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
• Regional and Urban Economics
• Economics of American Industries
• Introduction to the Economics of Transportation
• Economics of Families and Households
• Economies in Transition
• Antitrust: Legal and Economic Analysis
• Law and Economics
• Advanced International Economics
• Monetary Economics
• American Economic History
• Economic Analysis of Labor Markets
• Public Sector Economics
• Industrial Organization
• History of Economic Thought
• Introduction to Econometrics
• Introduction to Mathematical Economics

Total: 18 semester hours

Finance
As a finance major, you’ll be preparing for a career in one of the most dynamic sectors of the world’s economy. Global financial markets challenge analysts and strategists; extended market hours add to the demand for trained investment analysts.

In this new financial climate, finance professionals must interpret the flood of information and implement trading and financial strategies. Students preparing for this field must be grounded in theory but also have experience with hands-on market trading. At Iowa, your education will have a careful balance between theory and experience.

The program's philosophy of learning by doing is uniquely supported by strategic partnerships with industry, financial information technology, and access to real-time financial data, software, and real-world projects and cases.

In addition to the prerequisite courses for admission to the major, you will take:

• Financial Accounting Reporting
• Financial Information Technology
• Corporate Finance
• Investment Management

And three of the following:

• Financial Statement Analysis
• Principles of Risk Management and Insurance
• Applied Equity Valuation
• Fixed Income Securities
• Commercial Banking
• Investment Banking
• Futures and Options
• Advanced Corporate Finance
• Real Estate Process
• International Finance
• Property and Liability Insurance OR Employee Benefit Plans OR Corporate and Financial Risk Management OR Life and Health Insurance
• Wealth Management

Total: 20 semester hours

Management
Students earning a management degree take courses in human relations and behavior, employment law and ethics, leadership and personal development, training, negotiation, and design of organizations.

They not only absorb information on these topics but they also learn to apply it to real-life situations. You’ll learn both theoretical and practical aspects of the field.

In addition to the prerequisite courses for admission to the major, you will take:

• Entrepreneurial Strategy
• Individuals, Teams, and Organizations
• Strategic Human Resource Management
• Law and Ethics in Management
• Dynamics of Negotiations

And two of the following:

• Competitive Strategy
• Training and Developing Human Resources
• International Business Environment
• Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness I and II
• Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System
• Staffing Organizations
• Leadership and Personal Development
• Topics in Management
• Strategic Reward Systems
• Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting

Total: 21 semester hours

Management Information Systems
In this major you’ll learn about managerial decision-making systems and apply this knowledge by developing quantitative models, using computer technology, and creating database systems.

In addition to the prerequisite courses for admission to the major, you will take:

• Visual Basic Programming
• Applications of Database Management Systems
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Introduction to Data Communications
• Computer Science I
• MIS Capstone Project

And one of the following:

• Web and Multimedia
• Managerial Decision Models
• Applied Information Systems
• Database Management II
• Computer and Network Security
• E-Commerce Management
• Network Administration

Total: 22 semester hours

Marketing
As a marketing student, you’ll study the business, social, and economic roles of marketing. Several decades ago, this would have meant marketing consumer or business products. Now, the field has broadened to include the arts, sports, and social programs. In addition, marketers are not exclusively involved with sales and marketing decision making; your major courses will teach you communication, behavioral sciences, statistical analysis, and computer methods.

In addition to the prerequisite courses for admission to the major, you will take:

• Professional Preparation in Marketing
• Marketing Research
• Consumer Behavior
• Marketing Management

And two of the following:

• Web Business Strategy
• Retail Strategies
• Direct Marketing Strategies
• Advertising Theory
• Sales Management
• International Marketing
• Contemporary Topics in Marketing
• Field Studies in Marketing

Total: 17 semester hours

Certificate in International Business
The Certificate in International Business combines a business or liberal arts and sciences major with electives focused around international issues in order to develop an understanding of the complexities of international business. Foreign language majors find that international business course work adds an interesting dimension to their studies.

The program of study is concentrated in four areas: international business, international relations and institutions, foreign language, and area studies. You’ll take three international business courses, two international relations and institutions courses, a foreign language sequence, and 6 semester hours (s.h.) of area studies from the geographic area of the language you selected to study.

This interdisciplinary program draws on the strengths of more than 80 departments of the Tippie College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Many of the classes that satisfy international business certificate requirements also may apply to General Education Program credit and to your major or minor.

Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management
The Tippie College of Business and Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center offer the Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management, which students may earn while pursuing undergraduate degrees. The College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the health sciences colleges also collaborate in this program.

The program helps prepare students to start and lead their own companies and expands understanding of how entrepreneurial firms operate. Course work encourages innovation and creativity and develops the skill of recognizing opportunity—traits that will help you succeed in any career field.

Students also enjoy networking opportunities with entrepreneurs and other business leaders.

To earn the certificate, students complete a minimum of 18 s.h. of course work that must include these courses:

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Entrepreneurial Finance
• Entrepreneurial Marketing
• Managing the Growth Business

Nonbusiness students also take:

• Foundations of Entrepreneurship

You may choose electives from this list (or, with approval, use other courses to fulfill the requirement):

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship
• Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation
• Seminar in Entrepreneurship—Real Estate
• Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting
• Entrepreneurship: Advanced Business Planning
• Dynamics of Negotiations
• Academic Internship
• E-Commerce Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Certificate in Risk Management and Insurance
Business organizations succeed not only by creating value, but also by protecting value. While traditional business programs focus on value creation, the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute offers a Certificate in Risk Management and Insurance (RMI), which emphasizes asset protection through effective use of insurance and corporate and financial risk management.

The RMI certificate is ideal for several types of students:

• Finance majors can concentrate in risk management and insurance, or complement their corporate finance and investment courses with one or more RMI courses.

• Tippie College of Business students in majors other than finance and students from other colleges at the University can take RMI courses to gain an understanding of the important issues in this area of financial services, as well as the exceptional employment opportunities in the industry.

• Actuarial science students can take insurance courses to help prepare for their actuarial exams, and math students may choose the RMI certificate to complement their major.

To earn the certificate, students complete a minimum of 24 s.h. of course work that must include the following three courses:

• Introductory Financial Management
• Principles of Risk Management and Insurance
• Corporate and Financial Risk Management

And two of the following:

• Property and Liability Insurance
• Life and Health Insurance
• Employee Benefit Plans

To complete the certificate requirements, students select 9 s.h. of courses from a list of approved electives in finance, management, marketing, actuarial science, or engineering.

Study Abroad
The Tippie College of Business offers the opportunity to participate in a two-week session course in international business over the summer or winter break. The courses focus on the differences between international and domestic business, as well as the political and legal issues facing American businesses operating in the international marketplace.

Prime locations for business study abroad include Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan.

Students may also study abroad during the fall or spring semesters, or during the summer session.

Internships
Many students choose to participate in internship programs as part of their academic experience at Iowa. The college has contacts with internship programs connected with major corporations such as IBM, 3M, Deere & Company, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, Ford Motor Company, Merrill Lynch, Principal Financial Group, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Procter & Gamble. The accounting program alone has internships available at more than 70 public accounting firms and private companies around the country.

Careers
Iowa’s business graduates enjoy the benefits of the program's high placement rate. More than 90 percent find permanent employment or go on to graduate school within six months of graduation.

Many internships with the corporations listed above can lead to full-time employment opportunities. Recent graduates also have found jobs in international accounting firms, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, public policy groups, banking, market research, commodity analysis, securities sales, employee relations, business consulting, transportation planning, education, and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Scholarships
More than 200 scholarships are available to business students. Refer to the College of Business scholarship page or the Office of Student Financial Aid for a complete list of available scholarships.