Mar 29, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Accounting, B.B.A.


Degree and Major Requirements

The Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting requires a minimum of 120 credit hours of undergraduate course work. Fifty percent of this work, or 60 credit hours, must be taken outside of the College of Business.

Certifications

Many graduates desire to gain certifications in their selected area of specialization. The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the best known of these certifications. To obtain a CPA license in Virginia, candidates must meet a 150-hour education requirement, including 24 credits in accounting and 24 in business. The U.S. Virgin Islands is the only U.S. jurisdiction that does not require at least 150 hours of education for licensure. The masters in accounting program is highly recommended for those electing a career in public accounting.

In addition to the CPA exam, graduates of our program sit for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) exam, the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam, the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam and others.

Transfer Credit

All upper-division accounting course work (300-499) must be completed at JMU.

B.B.A. Core Component


B.B.A. Lower-Level Core Component


B.B.A. majors must complete all of the B.B.A. core components as part of their degree program. The following courses comprise the B.B.A. Lower-Level Core Component:

Footnotes


1 MATH 220  may be substituted for COB 191 .
2 COB 191  or equivalent and MATH 205  or equivalent are prerequisites for COB 291 .
3 Calculus is required but not used in calculating the B.B.A. core GPA. MATH 235  is preferred for Finance majors. 
4 COB 241  must be taken before COB 242 .
5 COB 242  is a prerequisite or corequisite for COB 300 and is not used in calculating the B.B.A. core GPA. COB 242  is a prerequisite for COB 300 for students taking COB 300 in Antwerp.
6 All four COB 300 courses must be taken during the same semester.
7 COB 300 is a prerequisite or corequisite for COB 318 . COB 318  is a prerequisite for COB 487 .
8 COB 487  must be taken during the senior year.

Major Requirements


Non-Business Electives


In counting the 60 credit hours of non-business courses, B.B.A. students may include all hours taken in General Education  (usually 41), up to a total of nine hours in economics (ECON courses, including ECON 200  and ECON 201 , must be counted as economics) and three hours of COB 191. Business Analytics I . The remaining hours, to bring the total to 60, must be taken from outside the College of Business. Students should carefully select these nonbusiness electives to help them gain additional knowledge and expertise for their careers and personal lives.

Students are responsible for their own progress toward graduation. Students must work closely with their advisers and the College of Business Academic Success Center to ensure scheduling of courses consistent with their personal degree completion target, and then study diligently to successfully complete the scheduled course work on time.

Recommended Schedule for Majors


First Two Years


Students planning to major in accounting must be accepted into the College of Business . Admission requirements to the College of Business  require completion of 8 lower-level B.B.A. core courses. It is expected that the lower-level B.B.A core curriculum will be completed during the first two years of study along with General Education  and non-business elective courses. Students will work with an adviser to develop their schedule of courses for the first two years.

Third and Fourth Years


Students accepted into the College of Business will begin major courses in their junior year. Students will develop an individualized schedule of course work for their junior and senior years during ACTG 302. Introduction to the Profession: Role of Accountants  taken in the fall of their junior year.

Third Year


Fourth Year


Up to seven hours of core requirements in economics and calculus may also be taken for General Education credit. Students who take the General Education packages and courses recommended by the College of Business will have only 39 credit hours of additional B.B.A. core requirements.