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Elective Requirements

Click here for the Curriculum Overview to see how these Elective Requirements fit into the School of Management curriculum. Printable versions of this information can be found in the Index.

Table of Contents

• Level A Liberal Arts Electives
for students entering Boston University before September 2009
• Level A Liberal Arts Electives
for students entering Boston University in September 2009 and beyond
• Level B Liberal Arts Electives
• Level C Electives  
• Metropolitan College Guidelines and Policy
• Cross-listed CAS Courses

Level A Liberal Arts Electives
for students entering Boston University before September 2009:

Students must complete four four-credit Level A Electives, one from each of the following categories
  • Level A English:
    Any English course offered through the College of Arts and Sciences (other than WR150, which is used to fulfill SMG’s English Composition requirement effective Fall 2005).  Once a student has successfully completed a course among WR097, WR098, WR099, WR100, and WR150, he/she cannot subsequently take a lower-numbered course from this sequence.
    Click here for a list of English Course Descriptions
  • Level A Philosophy:
    PH100, PH110, PH150, PH155, PH160, PH350
    Click here for Philosophy Course Descriptions
  • Level A Social Sciences:
    Click on the subjects below for links to course descriptions
  • Level A Natural Sciences/Mathematics and Computer Science:
    Click on the subjects below for links to course descriptions
    • Anthropology: AN102
    • Astronomy: AS100, AS101, AS102, AS109, AS117, AS202, AS203
    • Biology: BI105, BI106, BI107, BI108, BI111, BI112, BI114, BI117, BI118, BI119
    • Chemistry: CH101, CH102, CH109, CH110, CH111, CH112, CH131, CH171, CH172 (Students may only take one of CH101, 109, 111, 131 and 171 for credit.)
    • Computer Science: CS101, CS103, CS105, CS107, CS108, CS109, CS111, CS112
    • Earth Science: ES101, ES105, ES140, ES142, ES144
    • Geography: GE101, GE104, GE110
    • Mathematics: MA109, MA121, MA122, MA123, MA124, MA127, MA129
      (Students may only take one of MA121 and 123 for credit.  Also, students may only take one of MA122, MA124, MA127, and MA129 for credit.)
    • Physics: PY100, PY103, PY105, PY106, PY211, PY212, PY231, PY241, PY242, PY251, PY252

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Level A Liberal Arts Electives
for students entering Boston University in September 2009 and beyond:

Students must complete three four-credit Level A Electives, one from each of the following categories
  • Level A Humanities:
    Any four-credit course from the following departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, with restrictions or exceptions as noted:
    • African American Studies (CAS AA 304, 316, 501, 502, 504, 507, 510, 537, 538, and 571 only)
    • American Studies (CAS AM 200, 250, 301, 367, and 502 only)
    • Archaeology (CAS AR 100, 208, 222, 230, 310, 330, 331, 335, 480, 510, 530, and 532 only)
    • Art History
    • Classical Studies (Ancient Greek courses beyond CAS CL 262, Modern Greek courses beyond CAS CG 212, Latin courses beyond CAS CL 212, all classical civilization courses)
  • Level A Social Sciences:
    Any four-credit course from the following departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, with restrictions or exceptions as noted:
    • African American Studies (CAS AA 207, 310, 363, 371, 385, 395, 396, 408, 489, 490, 505, 514, 559, 563, 564, 569, 580, 583, 586, 588, and 590 only)
    • American Studies (CAS AM 546 and 553 only)
    • Anthropology (CAS AN 101, 220, 240, 250, 252, 260, 280, 285, 290, 307, 308, 310, 312, 317, 318, 319, 320, 326, 340, 344, 345, 347, 350, 351, 355, 360, 362, 371, 372, 375, 379, 382, 384, 461, 462, 505, 515, 520, 521, 525, 538, 548, 568, 570, 585, 590, 593, 594, and 596 only)
    • Archaeology (CAS AR 101, 205, 210, 215, 221, 232, 240, 251, 252, 261, 262, 270, 273, 280, 341, 342, 343, 351, 352, 370, 371, 375, 404, 450, 511, 513, 551, 556, 560, and 570 only)
  • Level A Natural Sciences/Mathematics and Computer Science:
    Any four-credit course from the following departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, with restrictions or exceptions as noted:

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Level B Liberal Arts Electives

Students must complete four four-credit Level B Electives from any department within the College of Arts and Sciences, with a few exceptions:

  • Students should not duplicate any credit they’ve received elsewhere, such as transfer credit, AP or IB credit, or equivalent credit from another school.
  • Students should not take CAS Statistics courses (MA113, MA115, MA116, MA213, MA214, EC305, PS211), as the material in these courses is covered in SMG SM221 and SM222.
  • Students should not take courses at a lower level than that for which they’ve already received credit (e.g. taking LF112, French 2, after completing LF211, French 3).

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Level C Electives

Level C electives are any electives (at least four credits each) taken at any school or college within the University.  Only ONE of these courses may be a School of Management elective. Physical Education (PDP), ROTC, Musical Group/Class and All-University Musical Organizations credit cannot be counted as Level Cs as they do not count towards the BSBA degree.  The number of required Level C electives can vary.  Traditionally students who enter SMG as freshmen must complete three Level C electives and transfer students (both intra-university and external transfer students) must complete four Level C electives (this is because they take SM299, which is a one-semester intensive version of the two-semester course freshmen take).  Of note, students who transfer in courses from a university that grants other than four semester credits may need to take additional Level C electives to compensate for credit conversion. Such students should consult with a UPO academic advisor.

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Metropolitan College Guidelines and Policy

The Provost has asked all Schools and Colleges within Boston University to review their policies regarding their students enrolling in MET courses. The review is necessary because of the excessive enrollment of non-MET students who are degree candidates in other BU schools/colleges. This trend has moved MET College away from its original charge, which is to educate non-traditional students from the surrounding community. In order to assist MET with its charge, SMG has modified its policy for the approval of MET courses. 
  • Enrollment by SMG students in MET courses is limited to the junior and senior years and to no more than one MET course per semester, for a total of four courses.
  • SMG students must have all courses they intend to take through MET pre-approved at the SMG Undergraduate Program Office by emailing upoforum@management.bu.edu.  Students may also have to go to Metropolitan College (755 Commonwealth Avenue) to get stamped approval for certain courses.
  • SMG students who are on Leave of Absence may not register in MET.
    SMG students who have been expelled from BU may not register in MET.

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Cross-Listed CAS Courses

Writing Courses:
  • WR100 equivalents: 
    EN 120, HI 100, PH 120
  • WR150 equivalents: *
    AH 150, AM 250, EN 220, HI 150, PH 220
    * Earning a grade of B or better in these courses fulfills the WR 150 requirement for the COM Advertising minor

CAS Courses:
AA/HI 371
AA/HI 385
AA 410/HI  481
AA/HI 480
AA/HI 490
AA/HI 583
AA 514/AA 584
AA/HI 585
AA/HI 586
AA/HI 588
AA/HI 590
IR/PO 271		 IR 325/HI 344
IR 328/HI 398
IR/HI 341
IR/HI 349
IR/HI 350
IR/HI 436
IR/HI 465
IR/HI 591
IR/HI 593
PO/HI 366
PO 395/HI 314
RN 242/HI 306

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