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How to Select a Concentration When Earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Your business degree concentration can dramatically influence your business career.
Think of all the big businesses you can name: Google, McDonald’s, Bank of America, Walmart … And you can no doubt name dozens, if not hundreds, of others. Which brings home the point: There are a lot of different businesses out there requiring a lot of different skills.
A career in business means you’ll need to concentrate on a specific industry or job type. This is possible through a BS in Business Administration (BSBA) program—but how do you decide which concentration is best for you? To help you make a choice, here is a guide to some of the top BSBA degree concentrations.
Accounting
Focuses on: Learning how to manage a company’s books and records and prepare and read financial statements, while strengthening your knowledge of taxation, auditing, and managerial accounting
Includes courses covering: Financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate accounting
Good for: Anyone who is detail-oriented and loves working with numbers
Can lead to: A position at an accounting firm or in a business’s accounting department
Data Science
Focuses on: Learning how data can be leveraged to help organizations solve problems and stay competitive in a fast-changing business climate
Includes courses covering: Data visualization and communication, data mining and analysis, advanced data science tools and techniques
Good for: Anyone who is analytical by nature and likes uncovering previously unknown information
Can lead to: A job as a data analyst or data scientist at a business or nonprofit
Finance
Focuses on: Learning how to effectively assess and guide financial operations of an organization
Includes courses covering: Corporate finance, financial institutions and markets, international finance
Good for: Anyone who is forward-thinking and wants to help optimize a business’s value
Can lead to: A position at a bank or in a company’s financial department
Healthcare Management
Focuses on: Learning about the various functions, roles, and responsibilities associated with healthcare management
Includes courses covering: Context of healthcare delivery, health informatics, current issues in healthcare policy and practice
Good for: Anyone who wants to work in a dynamic industry and help overcome complex challenges
Can lead to: A position in hospital administration or clinic management
Human Resource Management
Focuses on: Learning how a proactive approach to human resources can facilitate success in talent acquisition and retention, productivity, and positive social change in the workplace
Includes courses covering: Strategic human resource management, human resource development and change, human resource management analysis and problems
Good for: Anyone who is a people person and wants to help employees meet their potential, while helping a business meet its goals
Can lead to: A position in a human resource department
Information Systems
Focuses on: Learning how to leverage technology to meet your organization’s strategic goals
Includes courses covering: IT infrastructure, operating systems fundamentals and administration, computer security fundamentals
Good for: Anyone who likes staying on the cutting edge and wants to use modern technology to spur business success
Can lead to: A position at a tech company or within a business’s IT department
Management
Focuses on: Learning about the roles and functions of managers, while examining issues and challenges inherent to the managerial role
Includes courses covering: Corporate finance, strategic human resource management, organizational behavior and management
Good for: Anyone with leadership qualities who wants to help guide decision-making
Can lead to: A position in management or a position on a managerial track
Marketing
Focuses on: Learning the analytic and decision-making skills needed to manage marketing resources and activities in both a domestic and global context
Includes courses covering: Marketing management, global marketing, strategic services marketing
Good for: Anyone who likes to exercise their creativity and wants to develop communication pieces or communication strategies
Can lead to: A position in a business’s marketing department or at an advertising or marketing firm
Small Business Management
Focuses on: Developing essential management skills to help grow your existing business or face the demands of launching a new business
Includes courses covering: Small business ventures, marketing strategies for small business, customer relationship management for small businesses
Good for: Anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit who currently manages or is planning to manage a small business
Can lead to: Success as a small-business owner
How You Can Earn a Bachelor’s in Business Administration With the Right Concentration
An increasingly popular way to earn a business degree or management degree is through online learning. When you enroll in an online business degree program, you’ll enjoy a number of conveniences that can help you complete your business administration degree, no matter which concentration you choose.
In addition to the traditional course-based learning format, Walden offers its BS in Business Administration with a general program concentration in a competency-based format. Instead of completing courses in a set sequence, you demonstrate your competency in specific areas at whatever pace works best for you. Credit is earned when you demonstrate mastery of specific competencies through competency assessments, which might include a short paper, planning document, work-based project or similar work.
There are many different kinds of businesses. Thanks to online learning, you can earn the degree you need to enter the business field that interests you most.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a BS in Business Administration degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.