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.

Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting

Degree Requirements

B.B.A. core courses: 45-46 Credit Hours¹
Accounting major requirements: 24 Credit Hours
Free elective: 3 Credit Hours²
General Education courses: 41 Credit Hours³
Non-business electives (varies, consult adviser): 7-8 Credit Hours

Total: 120 Credit Hours

Footnotes

¹Up 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.

²Any course offered by the university.

³The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.

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:

COB 191. Business Analytics I 3.00 ¹
COB 202. Interpersonal Skills 3.00
COB 204. Computer Information Systems 3.00
COB 241. Financial Accounting 3.00
COB 291. Business Analytics II 3.00 ²
ECON 200. Introduction to Macroeconomics 3.00
ECON 201. Introduction to Microeconomics 3.00
MATH 205. Introductory Calculus I 3.00 ³
or
MATH 235. Calculus I 4.00 ³
COB 242. Managerial Accounting 3.00 ^4,5

B.B.A. Upper-Level Core Component

The following courses comprise the B.B.A. Upper-Level Core Component:

COB 300A. Integrative Business: Management 3.00 ^5,6
COB 300B. Integrative Business: Finance 3.00 ^5,6
COB 300C. Integrative Business: Operations 3.00 ^5,6
COB 300D. Integrative Business: Marketing 3.00 ^5,6
COB 318. Legal and Ethical Environment of Business 3.00 ⁷
COB 487. Strategic Management 3.00 ⁸

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

Core Courses

Total: 24 Credit Hours

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

First Semester

COB 300A. Integrative Business: Management 3.00
COB 300B. Integrative Business: Finance 3.00
COB 300C. Integrative Business: Operations 3.00
COB 300D. Integrative Business: Marketing 3.00
ACTG 302. Introduction to the Profession: Role of Accountants 1.00
ACTG 343. Corporate Financial Reporting I 3.00

Total: 16 Credit Hours

Second Semester

ACTG 303. Basic Spreadsheet Skills for Accountants 1.00
ACTG 344. Corporate Financial Reporting II 3.00
ACTG 313. Accounting Information Systems 3.00
General Education or non-business electives: 9 Credit Hours

Total: 16 Credit Hours

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.

Any 300 level accounting course not completed in the third year
ACTG 295. Accounting Ethics and Social Responsibility 3.00
ACTG 304. Advanced Spreadsheet Skills for Analysis and Reporting Accounting Information 1.00
ACTG 377. Federal Income Tax Accounting 3.00
ACTG 410. Auditing 3.00
ACTG 475. Accounting Decision Making and Control 3.00
COB 318. Legal and Ethical Environment of Business 3.00
COB 487. Strategic Management 3.00
Any remaining General Education or non-business electives required for graduation; consult your adviser.

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 30 credits in accounting and 24 in business. Forty-eight states require students to meet the 150-hour educational requirement. 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

In general, all upper-division accounting course work (300-499) must be completed at JMU. Transfer credit for upper-division courses is awarded only in unusual circumstances. In no case will transfer credit be awarded for more than one upper-division course, and in no case will transfer credit be awarded for either of the corporate financial reporting courses (ACTG 343 or ACTG 344 ). Contact the accounting adviser for more information on transfer credit.