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Invest in yourself and secure your future.
Business is at the core of how we function and operate in society. You might not realize it but everyone—whether or not they work in the business field— uses essential business skills like budgeting, negotiating, problem solving and time-management—every single day. It is not just a career path, but rather the development of solid life skills to help you excel in life.
The William Woods University Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program is designed to teach you to think critically, communicate effectively and equip you with the tools and strategies to take your ideas, thoughts and desires and put them into action.
An expert-led program
With the help of dedicated faculty with business experience of their own, countless opportunities for professional experience through internships, team-based projects, regional and international business competitions, and so much more, you will gain the expertise needed to flourish in a wide variety of business careers. Embrace the opportunity to discover the economic, financial and ethical environment of the world we live and work in, all while learning valuable decision-making and leadership skills along the way.
Become an entrepreneur and start your own business, lead a team as a marketing coordinator at a fast-paced, advertising agency, see the fruit of your labor blossom as you help build a start-up company from the ground up. The possibilities are endless. It’s time to get involved in the business of making your dreams take form.
Choose from one of several specialized concentrations:
- Accounting and Finance
- Advertising and Marketing
- Entrepreneurial Management—Only Offered Online
- Leadership—Only Offered Online
- Management
- Cybersecurity
- Healthcare Administration
- Interdisciplinary Studies
For those students looking to take a less traditional route and interested in earning your degree online, William Woods University also offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration online degree.
Special opportunities
- Participate in faculty-led trips to marketing and business seminars in New York City and other locations across the country
- Engage with local businesses and gain hands-on experience through William Woods Collegiate-DECA team, recent first place winner in the international competition, and gain greater understanding and experience in your chosen career path through networking, travel and competition at both the regional and international level
- Gain experience collaborating and working in teams through many group-based projects in upper-level classes
- Utilize student facilities such as “The Think Tank” and the individual study lab, located close to faculty offices, allowing you quick and easy access to interacting with your business professors
- Take courses as part of the Graduate Plus Program during your senior year and with one additional year, have a Masters degree under your belt
Our Business Administration degree at Work
Pursue an exciting career as a/an:
- Special events coordinator
- Senior analyst
- Recruiting specialist
- Funding documents coordinator
- Financial analyst
- Customer service representative
- Business project manager
- Director of sales
- Credit analyst
- Director of career services
- New business development
- Program administrator
- Director of professional development
- Human resource manager
- Entrepreneur
- Marketing Coordinator
- And more
Recent Employers
Our students are highly sought after by distinguished employers across the country, including:
Other employers of our recent alumni include:
- MFA Incorporated
- MOHELA
- Saint Louis Zoo
- FCS Financial
- Saks Fifth Avenue
- University of Missouri
- AT&T Cellular Connections
- GCG Financial
- American Family Insurance
- MODOT
- Tena Pharmaceuticals
- State Farm
- City of Columbia, Missouri
- IBM
- Missouri Office State Courts Administration
- TKG Management
- CK Power
- Bryant University
- Columbia College
- MHC Kenworth
- Medical West
- Fulton State Hospital
- Kraft Foods Group
- MasterCard
- And more
The small, supportive community of William Woods University had a major impact on me as a student and future businesswoman, as well as on me as an individual. The business department provided me with skills that will greatly aid my future career. I have become extremely competent in creating annual reports, executive reports, literature reviews and effective resumés. I will take these skills with me throughout my career.— Eshell Estrella, business administration graduate
I came into the business program unsure about my future endeavors in the working world. However, after exploring many focused business courses and reflecting upon my professors’ personal teachings, my future plans were set. I am living my dreams.— Chad Johansen, business administration graduate
The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree at William Woods University consists of 122 distinct credit hours for graduation—including 48 core major credits and a 15-credit concentration in accounting, advertising and marketing, economics and finance, entrepreneurial leadership, management or MIS.
Major Requirements
Core Credits: 48.00 (Including 3 Business Ethics credits)
| An introduction to the principles underlying accounting information. The course will focus on the role that accounting information plays in planning, evaluating, and recording operating activities of businesses. An introduction to financial statements is also included. In this course students will summarize financial data and construct basic financial statements using various software tools such as Excel and QuickBooks. credits: | Principles of Accounting I | 3 |
| This course extends the concepts of ACC 240 Methods for evaluating management decisions will be included through the study of financial statement analysis. Students will be able to interpret the financial position of a company based on their organization of the financial data that is compiles using various software tools such as Excel and QuickBooks. credits: | Principles of Accounting II | 3 |
| A straightforward, fundamental approach to managing a small firm. Students will organize, interpret data and show the proper procedures in planning, operating, directing, and evaluating a new small business. credits: | Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| This course introduces students to fundamental concepts of financial management, which include basic financial statement and ratio analysis, leverage and capital structure, risk and return, time value of money and discounted cash flow valuation, working capital management, valuation of securities and capital budgeting. credits: | Introduction to Finance | 3 |
| An application of concepts from the field of marketing of consumer demand in relation to marketing procedures, functions, methods, policies, including issues of marketers from a marketing perspective. credits: | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
| Formulate and develop the business/management communication process and its functions in a business environment. All types of business communications will be analyzed, practiced, and assessed credits: | Business Communications | 3 |
| Fundamental principles of law in relation to business including court systems, torts, contracts, and sales. credits: | Business Law | 3 |
| An investigation of management concepts with an emphasis on the four basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, including the application of decision making, group dynamics, communication, and the business environment. credits: | Principles of Management | 3 |
| This course connects the principles of financial managerial decision to a broader management process linking the firm with external markets in which it must raise funds, purchase inputs and sell products. The student will be expected to apply the concepts of financial analysis and planning, investment risk and time value of money, cash flows and capital budgeting, and cost of capital. Each students will construct a stockholders’ report that analyzes the real world financial markets. Prerequisites: ACC 240 and MAT 114 credits: | Corporate Finance | 3 |
| This course will build on prior management and behavioral concept and theory to explore individual and group processes involved in management/employee relationship, group dynamics, conflicts management, change management, motivation, moral, job design, organizational culture and development. The course will provide a strong understanding for productive organizational results focusing on the interactions of employees, employers, and the organization. credits: | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| This is a senior capstone course which synthesizes the student’s academic experience in various professional business subjects taught in the business administration degree program. This course gives a special emphasis on the creative, analytical and critical challenges experienced by contemporary business managers. Students will connect their business knowledge to international and ethical issues in business. The course stresses a case study approach. Prerequistes: Senior Standing credits: | Business Policy and Procedures | 3 |
| This course is an introduction to the nature, method, and scope of economic analysis regarding the macroeconomic performance of nations. Indicators of a nation’s macroeconomic performance include the economic growth rate, the tendency toward inflation, and the level of unemployment. This course introduces students to the process of monetary and fiscal policy, and also introduces students to each policy’s impact on national economic performance. Students also are introduced to the nature of global trade and economic development. credits: | Macroeconomics -Q | 3 |
| This course introduces students to the principles and theories of microeconomics. The course stresses identification of fundamental economic concepts, essential forms of business organization, and introductory theory regarding exchange and price determination under various market conditions. Students additionally learn about distribution of income, the economics of agriculture and labor, and the role of government in business. credits: | Microeconomics -Q | 3 |
| An introductory course in statistics. Topics include: elementary probability, measures of central tendency and variation, normal distributions, sampling, confidence intervals, estimation, hypothesis testing, regression and correlation. Emphasis on the use of graphing calculators and the utility of mathematics as a problem-solving tool. Extensive discussion of applications in natural science, social science, and business. Prerequisite: MAT 099 or equivalent. credits: | Elementary Statistics -M | 3 |
| The rapid evolution of digital technologies necessitates comprehensive training to empower students with the skills and knowledge required for modern workplaces. This class integrates Office 365, Google Tools, Miro, and AI, providing students with a holistic understanding and hands-on experience to enhance productivity, collaboration, and innovation. credits: | Productivity Tools | 3 |
Business Ethics Elective - 3 Credits (choose from the following options)
| This course is an introduction to moral issues in business. Students will be introduced to basic ethical theory and models for ethical decision-making. Students will look at case studies of both unethical and ethical performance by business. This course introduces students to a variety of business ethics problem areas which include: consumer rights, product safety, ethics in marketing and advertising, employment rights, affirmative action, corporate responsibility, regulation, ”whistle-blowing,” and environmental responsibility. In this course, students analyze, evaluate, articulate, and defend logical positions on business ethics issues. credits: | Business Ethics -U | 3 |
| This is a course designed to provide students with the reasoning skills for ethical decision making in business. Students will study the framework for the concepts, processes, and best practices associated with successful business ethics. The emphasis is on critical, informed, and systematic thinking about situations where good arguments can be made on both sides of a question. Students will study two major Western codes of ethical conduct from the field of normative ethics (teleology and deontology) and analyze and apply these to business situations and case studies. This course addresses the complex environment of ethical decision-making in any type of organization where the burden of ethical behavior relates to the organization’s values and traditions, not just to the individuals who make the decisions and carry them out. credits: | Managerial Ethics -U | 3 |
Concentrations
Advertising and Marketing Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| A study of retail marketing encompasses all of the ways a consumer business attracts customers and generates sales of its goods and services. Retail marketing strategies touch virtually everything in a company’s operations, including signage, store layout, sales and promotions, pricing strategies, advertising, checkout processes and customer services. Students will implement retail marketing strategies via ”real-world businesses and/or clients. credits: | Retail Marketing | 3 |
| Selling is a vital part of marketing and our marketing economy. Students will assess and apply the concepts of selling (prospecting, demonstrating, questioning, handling objections, and closing) to create and construct an industrial sales’ presentation based on those selling methods which are successful and socially desirable. credits: | Salesmanship | 3 |
| Internships provide students with the opportunity for hands-on application of the theories and applications they have learned in the classroom. For each credit hour obtained in the internship, the student is required to work 40 hours in an approved organization. A 2 credit hour internship = 80 hours, 3 credit hours = 120 hours, etc. Prerequisite: Approval of the division chair and 2.5 or higher GPA in the major credits: | BUS Internship III | 3 |
| An application class that reinforces and creates various aspects of public relations models that connect policies, strategies, and procedures to include marketing, communication, and designing public relations models for ”real-world’ businesses and/or clients. Prerequisites: BUS 321 credits: | Public Relations | 3 |
| Students will apply the concepts of advertising and marketing to create an advertising campaign for a new brand of a product category. Students will analyze both the industry (of the product category) and the desired market segment and then select the appropriate media to boost the awareness and generate consumer demand for their brand. credits: | Advertising | 3 |
Accounting and Finance Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| Students will compare the history, law and structure of the Internal Revenue Code and learn about payroll and income taxes affecting individuals and families. Preparation of accurate federal payroll forms and income tax returns will be required citing appropriate tax authorities for controversial issues that arise. credits: | Taxation I | 3 |
| This course will require students to apply analytical skills to compare investment opportunities by analyzing financial statements to determine the financial health of a company. Prerequisite: ACC240 and MAT114 credits: | Investments with Financial Statement Analysis | 3 |
| Internships provide students with the opportunity for hands-on application of the theories and applications they have learned in the classroom. For each credit hour obtained in the internship, the student is required to work 40 hours in an approved organization. A 2 credit hour internship = 80 hours, 3 credit hours = 120 hours, etc. Prerequisite: Approval of the division chair and 2.5 or higher GPA in the major credits: | BUS Internship III | 3 |
| This course reinforces the knowledge base of macroeconomics and microeconomics. The course gives students a more in-depth coverage of topics first introduced in those courses, including industry structure, industry regulation, money, interest rates, inflation, the Federal Reserve System and monetary policy. This course offers a rigorous presentation of contemporary issues in money, banking and financial markets with use of both a textbook and outside readings. This course reinforces knowledge of five core principles of money, banking and finance which comprise the rationale of the system of payment and value. In reading, thinking and writing assignments, students must consider multiple points of view on both financial markets and financial institutions. Prerequisites: ECN 251 and ECN 252 credits: | Money and Banking | 3 |
| Student will learn advanced skills involving the applications of spreadsheets, databases and word processors. Students will be exposed to PivotTables, Vlookup, Match & Index functions, Goal Seeker and Solver, PMT function, data tables, SQL queries, Macros, Sorting, forms, linked objects and more. credits: | Advanced Productivity Tools | 3 |
Cybersecurity Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| This course will focus on the fundamental principles of information security management from a systems perspective. While other courses will provide the deep dive into specific areas of security, this course will serve as an exploration into the varying principles of systems-level information security management that are employed to achieve secure solutions. credits: | Introduction to Cybersecurity-Q | 3 |
| The laws and policies dealing with cybercrime, cyber warfare and privacy will be explored and analyzed. Ethics in cybersecurity will also be reviewed with a focus on international perspectives. Prerequisites: CSS 210 and MIS 250 credits: | Cybersecurity Law & Ethics | 3 |
| This course provides students with the background and use of Social Engineering as a technique used to trick an individual into giving up sensitive information that can be used in a criminal activity. The course looks into what is targeted information, how e-mails, voice messages, or even in person visits masquerade as a legitimate, trusted source. Prerequisites: CSS 210 and MIS 250 credits: | Social Engineering | 3 |
| Critical infrastructures provide essential services that underpin our society. Whether physical or virtual, these infrastructures are vital to protect society, the economy and public health and safety. In this course, students will examine critical infrastructures identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as vital to the United States and explore ways to manage risk and enhance security in these areas. Prerequisites: CSS 210 and MIS 250 credits: | Critical Infrastructures | 3 |
| The rapid evolution of digital technologies necessitates comprehensive training to empower students with the skills and knowledge required for modern workplaces. This class integrates Office 365, Google Tools, Miro, and AI, providing students with a holistic understanding and hands-on experience to enhance productivity, collaboration, and innovation. credits: | Productivity Tools | 3 |
Entrepreneurial Management Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| Students will compare the history, law and structure of the Internal Revenue Code and learn about payroll and income taxes affecting individuals and families. Preparation of accurate federal payroll forms and income tax returns will be required citing appropriate tax authorities for controversial issues that arise. credits: | Taxation I | 3 |
| This course will cause the future entrepreneur and manager to consider business transactions from the viewpoint of the customer. The will explore the role that customer service plays on the future of any business and what an effective leader can do to develop customer service policies and procedures that benefit all parties involved. credits: | Customer Service | 3 |
| The non-profit environment requires that managers be able to perform as chief executive, marketer, fundraiser and grant writer if necessary. This course will explore the unique challenges that managers of non-profit organizations encounter. The differences between for profit and non-profit entities will be examined closely including a focus on revenues vs. resources and expenses vs. expenditures. credits: | Non-profit Management | 3 |
| Various tools will be discussed that are available to the Human Resources professional such as job analysis and job design. Students will analyze administrative and legal issues that pertain to the functions of a Human Resources department and demonstrate their comprehension by applying the principles they have learned to solve these non-routine issues. credits: | Human Resources Administration | 3 |
| This course introduces students to a variety of leadership concepts and serves as a foundational course for more advanced study in leadership. Topics include but are not limited to motivating others, management communication, training and development, team building and improving leadership qualities within each person. credits: | Concepts in Leadership | 3 |
Healthcare Administration Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| This course provides an overview of the U.S. healthcare system and focuses on understanding the various sectors and roles in this complex industry. Policy and compliance issues are also addressed to facilitate an appreciation for the highly regulated nature of healthcare delivery. credits: | Healthcare Delivery Systems, Regulation, and Compliance | 3 |
| This course provides students with a broad overview of health communication research, theory, and practice, examining how communication influences care delivery and health promotion. Students learn to use strategic health communication to enhance health outcomes, reduce health disparities, promote equity, and enhance interprofessional communication skills. Course content includes writing messages, reports, and résumés and delivering oral presentations. credits: | Healthcare Strategic Communication | 3 |
| This course prepares you to understand healthcare projects from start to finish within any organizational structure. The course represents a view into different project-management methods and delves into topics such as project profiling and phases, constraints, building the project team, scheduling, and risk. Students can grasp the full scope of projects they may work on in the future and apply proper management approaches to complete a project. The course features practice in each project phase as you learn how to strategically apply project-management tools and techniques to help organizations achieve their goals. credits: | Healthcare Project Management | 3 |
| This course provides an understanding of the role and impact of innovation dynamics in healthcare settings and an overview of successfully managing change using various methods and tools and emphasizing change theories and various best practices. This course assesses the forces and outcomes of promoting innovation and allows students to recognize and implement change using other effective strategies, including those related to innovation and leadership. credits: | Healthcare Innovation and Change Management | 3 |
| Leadership guides students to learn by reflection, design, and scenario planning. Through a combination of theory, reflection, value alignment, and practice, the course helps students examine and understand leadership and explore foundations for creating a culture of care and performance. The course illustrates how values-driven leadership is used in goal setting as well as problem-solving at an organizational level. credits: | Healthcare Leadership | 3 |
Interdisciplinary Studies Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
Leadership Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| This course introduces students to a variety of leadership concepts and serves as a foundational course for more advanced study in leadership. Topics include but are not limited to motivating others, management communication, training and development, team building and improving leadership qualities within each person. credits: | Concepts in Leadership | 3 |
| The course will cover the principles needed to create and lead effective teams. Students will generate, compare and assess effective team interventions to produce high achieving teams in organizational settings. Topics covered in this course include stages of team development, identifying and assigning appropriate human capital to teams, team culture and alignment to corporate culture, ensuring team productivity through effective and timely leader interventions and team disbandment. credits: | Leading Teams | 3 |
| This course is designed to introduce students to the challenges of leading an organization during change. Students will investigate theories and best practices of change leadership/about/lead-events/ing at the organizational and personal level. Topics include but are not limited to leading and facilitating communication during change, decision-making during crisis, managing resistance to change and creating appropriate environments to facilitate change. credits: | Change Leadership | 3 |
| This course investigates the important role ethics plays in leading. In this course, students will develop an understanding of their own character development and its impact on followers as well as gaining insights into leading the self. Students will explore, analyze and investigate topics such as normative ethics’ role in leadership, servant and steward leadership, as well as sense making, satisficing and decision-making from an ethical leader perspective. credits: | Ethics in Leadership | 3 |
| This course introduces student to leadership theory at an advanced level. Through the exploration, analysis and critique of such theories, students will develop a deeper understanding of leadership and leading. Topics covered in this course include but are not limited to historical perspectives of leadership, transformational and transactional leadership, charismatic leadership, dysfunctional leadership, power and political leadership. credits: | Leadership Theory | 3 |
Management Concentration - 15 Credits
Required Credits: 15.00
| Internships provide students with the opportunity for hands-on application of the theories and applications they have learned in the classroom. For each credit hour obtained in the internship, the student is required to work 40 hours in an approved organization. A 2 credit hour internship = 80 hours, 3 credit hours = 120 hours, etc. Prerequisite: Approval of the division chair and 2.5 or higher GPA in the major credits: | BUS Internship III | 3 |
| This course covers strategy design and development concepts applied to different types of organizations. Students will learn how to manage strategy processes, perform internal and external analysis, analyze business models, and gain competitive advantage for superior business performance. They will explore different types of strategies, such as differentiation, cost leadership, and Blue Oceans. The course also covers a wide range of strategic management concepts, including innovation, vertical integration, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, global strategy, corporate governance, and organizational design. credits: | Strategic Management | 3 |
| Various tools will be discussed that are available to the Human Resources professional such as job analysis and job design. Students will analyze administrative and legal issues that pertain to the functions of a Human Resources department and demonstrate their comprehension by applying the principles they have learned to solve these non-routine issues. credits: | Human Resources Administration | 3 |
| This course is the application of microeconomic theory to management problems. In microeconomic theory, profit maximization is simply assumed as a condition of firm behavior. In managerial economics, profit maximization is studied as a management behavioral objective – and as a goal which may or may not be achieved, despite the attempts of managers. Students will be able to differentiate between a variety of factors that affect a business concern. They will develop informed solutions by analyzing all of the economic factors that affect the production environment. Prerequisite: ECN251 or ECN252 credits: | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| This course introduces student to leadership theory at an advanced level. Through the exploration, analysis and critique of such theories, students will develop a deeper understanding of leadership and leading. Topics covered in this course include but are not limited to historical perspectives of leadership, transformational and transactional leadership, charismatic leadership, dysfunctional leadership, power and political leadership. credits: | Leadership Theory | 3 |