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School of Management Curriculum

The School of Management curriculum is balanced between a core of requirements and a broad variety of electives. Our aim is to develop competence with flexibility. It is important to understand that, in the School of Management, we do not solely count credits towards the degree; instead, we count courses. Students must complete 33 courses. Summer coursework or outside credits may alter the number of courses students need to take or the length of time necessary to complete requirements. Enrolled students should seek advising regarding these issues. This curriculum was designed to allow flexibility for students who take coursework outside of Management in areas of specific interest to them. There is a strong focus on writing skills, which are developed through required composition courses.

Please Note: The curriculum is subject to change by the faculty of the School of Management.

Curriculum in Depth

The program requires students to complete 33 courses, usually over four years. Students take SM411 in tandem with OB221; SM411, a half-credit course, is generally taken as a fifth course during one of the sophomore semesters. Listed below are the categories of courses students are required to take and some specific information regarding them. Please bear in mind that students who have external credits (from Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, another college, etc) may be able to satisfy some of these requirements, thus decreasing the actual number of courses to be completed over the four years of the program.

I. The School of Management Core
(denoted in red on the Curriculum Synopsis below)

The required core of the curriculum consists of fourteen courses. The freshman year is made up of the introductory management course "Management as a System" (SMG SM121 and SMG SM122). In the second year, courses are taken in both financial and managerial accounting (SMG AC221 and SMG AC222), business statistics (SMG SM221 and SMG SM222), organizational behavior (SMG OB221), introduction to law (SMG LA245) and charting your career path (SMG SM411). The junior-year Cross Functional Core (SMG SM323) consists of four closely linked courses in finance (SMG FE323), management information systems (SMG IS323), operations & technology management (SMG OM323), and marketing (SMG MK323). This program of courses, (entitled the "Cross-Functional Core"), is team-taught by faculty members from these four different departments. Finally, in the senior year, students complete the strategy and policy course (SMG SI422, formerly MG422 ).

II. School of Management Electives
(denoted in orange on the Curriculum Synopsis below)

A minimum of four School of Management (SMG) electives must be completed in residence. These are defined as any four-credit courses offered by the School of Management that are not one of the fourteen required courses. Only courses listed in the Boston University Undergraduate Programs Bulletin with an SMG prefix (e.g. SMG FE442) will be accepted to fulfill this requirement. The SMG electives are used to fulfill concentration requirements.

III. Level C Electives
(denoted in green on the Curriculum Synopsis below)

There are three Level C electives in the curriculum that can be taken at any other school or college within the University. These electives are defined as any four-credit academic electives taken in addition to the required eight College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) electives and four SMG electives. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the variety of courses available at any of Boston University's other Schools and Colleges. Effective September '04, one of the three Level C electives may be taken at the School of Management. Physical Development Program (PDP), Officers Training Program (OTP), and College of Fine Arts (CFA) musical instrument courses do not count toward degree credit. Please see the Elective Requirements for further details.

IV. Liberal Arts Electives
(denoted in blue on the Curriculum Synopsis below)

Students take a minimum of twelve liberal arts electives towards their degree requirements. The liberal arts requirements are comprised of the following categories:

• Writing Requirements: Students must satisfy writing composition through the CAS WR150 level. Students must take the Boston University Writing Assessment (BUWA) to determine the appropriate level writing course in which to begin. Any course that is needed in writing, which is below the CAS WR150 level, will satisfy other liberal arts and/or Level C elective credits.
• Math Requirement:
  • For students entering Boston University before September 2009:
    Students must take a calculus-based math course at the CAS MA120 level or higher. An on-line math diagnostic exam is available to aid in determining placement. Most students place above the MA120 level.
  • For students entering Boston University in September 2009 and beyond:
    Students must take CAS MA121 (Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences I) or CAS MA123 (Calculus I). An on-line math diagnostic exam is available to aid in determining placement. Depending on their placement score and background in mathematics, some students will take CAS MA120 (Applied Mathematics for Social and Management Sciences) before taking MA121 or MA123. These students can use MA120 to fulfill a Level A Natural Sciences/Mathematics and Computer Science Elective (see below).
    
• Economics: All School of Management students must take both CAS EC101 (Microeconomics) and CAS EC102 (Macroeconomics) in the freshman year.
• Level A Liberal Arts Electives: There are four courses in this category. Students must take one of each of the following:
  • For students entering Boston University before September 2009:
    • One of the following philosophy courses: CAS PH100, PH110, PH150, PH155, PH160 or PH350.
    • a College of Arts and Sciences Divisional Studies Social Science,
    • a College of Arts and Sciences Divisional Studies Natural Science,
    • an additional English Language skills course (this class can be satisfied by a writing course that precedes the WR150 requirement, or if a student begins at the CAS WR150 level, then a literature or advanced creative writing course will satisfy this requirement).
    • Please see the Elective Requirements for further details.
  • For students entering Boston University in September 2009 and beyond:
    • Level A English Language Skills
      All students fulfill this requirement with CAS WR100 or its equivalent
    • Level A Humanities - See the Elective Requirements page for a list of courses that will satisfy the Level A Humanities Elective Requirement
    • Level A Social Sciences - See the Elective Requirements page for a list of courses that will satisfy the Level A Social Sciences Elective Requirement
    • Level A Natural Sciences/Mathematics and Computer Science - See the Elective Requirements page for a list of courses that will satisfy the Level A Natural Sciences/Mathematics and Computer Science Elective Requirement
• Level B Liberal Arts Electives: These are four courses that can be taken from any department within the College of Arts and Sciences. Please see the Elective Requirements for further details.

Curriculum Synopsis

(For students entering Boston University before September 2009: )

	Fall Semester	Spring Semester
First Year	SM 121 Management as a System EC 101 Introductory Microeconomics WR 100 Writing Seminar or WR 150(1) Writing and Research Seminar MA 120 Applied Math for Social & Management Science	SM 122 Management as a System EC 102 Introductory Macroeconomics WR 150(1) Writing Seminar or WR 150(1) Writing and Research Seminar PH xxx Philosophy course or CAS Elective
Second Year	AC 221 Financial Accounting SM 221 Probabilistic and Statistical Decision Making for Management LA 245 Introduction to Law CAS Elective	AC 222 Managerial Accounting SM 222 Modeling Business Decisions and Market Outcomes OB 221 The Dynamics of Leading Organizations SM 411 Charting Your Career Path CAS Elective
Third Year	SM 323 Cross Functional Core: FE 323 Financial Management IS 323 Introduction to Information Systems MK 323 Marketing Management OM 323 Operations & Technology Management	Four Courses - Students may choose from SMG electives, remaining CAS electives, and/or level C electives
Fourth Year	Four Courses - Students may choose from SMG electives, remaining CAS electives, and/or level C electives	SI 422 Strategy and Policy (formerly MG422 ) Three Courses - Students may choose from SMG electives, remaining CAS electives, and/or level C electives

CAS = College of Arts and Sciences (liberal arts courses)
SMG = School of Management

(1) Students will be required to complete writing composition through the WR 150 level. All students will take the Boston University Writing Assessment (BUWA) to determine the appropriate course level. Students who need to start below the WR 150 level will satisfy their English Language Skills requirement and then move onto the WR 150 course as appropriate.

This is only a sample curriculum of a student entering SMG as a Freshman. Your actual path will depend on your concentration, as well as other academic opportunities such as a minor or study abroad. This outline doesn't include advanced placement (AP, IB, etc.) or other transfer credit. Students who transfer from within BU, or from another institution, will take SM299, Management as a System (Intensive), in place of SM121/122 and typically follow a modified version of the course progression outlined above.

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