College of Business and Economics
Paul Brown, dean; Katrina A. Zalatan, associate dean, director of undergraduate programs; Parveen P. Gupta, chair, department of accounting; James Dearden, chair, department of economics; Richard J. Kish, chair, Perella Department of Finance; Robert J. Trent, chair, department of management; D. Griffith, chair, department of marketing.
The College of Business and Economics offers the bachelor of science degree in business and economics. In the dynamic global environment of the 21st Century, today’s business students face unprecedented challenges. Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics prepares them to meet these challenges and to succeed. The mission of Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics is to provide an intellectual and professional learning environment that advances knowledge through research and scholarship and that develops future leaders through experiential learning, rigorous analysis and the discipline of a strong work ethic – the hallmarks of a Lehigh University business education.
The College of Business and Economics consists of five departments: accounting, economics, Perella Department of Finance, management and marketing. Its programs, accredited by the AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business—provide students with a solid foundation in business and economics principles. In addition to the traditional undergraduate majors of accounting, economics, finance and marketing, the College offers innovative programs and courses that respond to today’s unique business requirements, including:
The Business Information Systems major that answers a recognized need in the business world. As businesses seek to make themselves more productive and competitive, they have become more reliant on information technology. Students with a good understanding of information systems can help businesses enhance their use of this technology.
The Supply Chain Management major is another response to the complex environment facing business graduates. This undergraduate major gives students solid exposure to supply management, logistics, business-to-business marketing and operations management.
The College of Business and Economics has joined with the College of Engineering to offer two cross-college programs. These programs, Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) and Computer Science and Business (CSB) are described in full in the following “Crossing Boundaries” section.
All minors offered by the College of Arts and Sciences are available to CBE undergraduate students. The engineering minor offered by the College of Engineering is also available to all CBE undergraduates.
Crossing Boundaries
A major strength of the College of Business and Economics is its ability to develop programs by partnering across academic disciplines within the College, across the colleges within the University and with the business community. Students are able to cross traditional boundaries and take advantage of all that the College of Business and Economics and other colleges of the University have to offer. The partnerships built with alumni and the business community afford students the opportunity for internships in their areas of interest.
As the needs in the marketplace change, the ingredients necessary for success must reflect these new requirements. From courses in e-commerce to supply chain management and joint degree programs, the College of Business and Economics provides today’s undergraduate students with the skills necessary to become tomorrow’s business leaders.
Entrepreneurship Minor
The program aims to prepare students from all undergraduate colleges at Lehigh with the skill sets, attitudes, and understanding of the processes to realize their entrepreneurial goals in either an emerging or established company setting. The program is designed to be generally accessible to students from all disciplines with an emphasis upon innovation, the entrepreneurial process, and cross-functional integration. The minor can be added to any undergraduate degree at the university.
Integrated Real Estate Minor
Integrated Real Estate At Lehigh (ire@l) is a three or four year course of study designed to complement a wide range of majors, from art and architecture to civil engineering to environmental science to finance to marketing to economics. The mission of the ire@l program is to prepare the next generation of real estate leaders. Students completing the ire@l program will earn a minor in real estate.
Career Placement
The undergraduate programs in the College of Business and Economics provide the students with a strong foundation in business and economic principles necessary for success in business. Upon graduation, the majority of students from the College of Business and Economics enter business in many different professional positions including accounting, investment banking, advertising, marketing, management consulting and information systems. Further professional studies in law, graduate business schools or specialized graduate education in economics, operations research, or other related fields are additional options open to graduates.
Variety of Options
While preparing students for a career in business and economics, we recognize the importance of a well-rounded individual. At Lehigh, this important exposure to science, language and the arts and humanities is accomplished by distribution requirements, within which the student has wide choice. Students take 48 credits outside the College of Business and Economics.
The bachelor of science in business and economics may also lead to admission into the master of business administration program at Lehigh or another institution after graduates have at least 2-3 years of work experience. In addition, the college also offers the following graduate degrees: doctor of philosophy, master of business administration and engineering, master of business administration and educational leadership, master of science in accounting and information analysis, master of science in economics, and master of science in analytical finance. These are described in Section IV.
Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics
The College of Business and Economics at Lehigh University prepares students to become business and community leaders in a broad range of organizations. Our undergraduate students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to excel in business. Overall, we expect our graduates to be able to successfully solve complex, unstructured business problems.
For the bachelor of science degree in business and economics, 124 credit hours are required. A writing requirement, which is included within the required 124 credit hours, is also a part of the college curriculum.
Planning Courses of Study
First year
ENGL 1 | Composition and Literature I (3) |
ENGL 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 | Composition and Literature II (3) |
MATH 21 | Calculus I (4) or |
MATH 81 | Calculus with Business Applications(4) |
ECO 1 | Principles of Economics (4) |
BUS 1 | Introduction to Business (3) |
ECO 045 | Statistical Methods (3) |
ECO 029 | Money, Banking, and Financial Markets (3) |
BUS 005 | Values-Based Decision Making for Business (1) |
Excel competency must be successfully completed before ACCT 151 and BIS 111.
Second Year
ACCT 151 | Introduction to Financial Accounting (3) |
ACCT 152 | Introduction to Managerial Accounting (3) |
BIS 111 | Introduction to Information Systems (3) |
ECO 146 | Applied Microeconomic Analysis (3) |
FIN 125 | Introduction to Finance (3) |
MKT 111 | Principles of Marketing (3) |
SCM 186 | Supply Chain Operations Management (3) |
Third Year
LAW 201 | Legal Environment of Business (3) |
MGT 243 | Managing and Leading People in Organizations (3) |
Fourth Year
MGT 301 | Strategic Management (3) |
Major Programs (15 credits - 24 credits)
Before the end of the first semester of the junior year, students select a major consisting of sequential or related courses in one of the following major programs: accounting, business economics, business information systems, economics, finance, management, marketing and supply chain management. A GPA of 2.0 or higher in the major program is required for graduation.
Double Majors
Students in the College of Business & Economics may pursue a double major within the CBE according to college guidelines. Students must declare a single major prior to declaring a second major. Students planning to pursue more than one major within the CBE must meet a pre-requisite GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Globalization and Diversity Requirements
Each student must complete a minimum of 3 credits in Diversity and 3 credits in Globalization. These courses may simultaneously fulfill other CBE degree requirements.
Electives (52-55 credits) - depending on major
Students will earn 52-55 credits of electives. A minimum of 48 credits are to be taken outside the College of Business and Economics.
Students are required to take six (6) credits of humanities (HU), six (6) credits of social science (SS), and three (3) credits of science (NS) for a total of 15 credits of distribution requirements. Students should refer to the department in the catalog to determine which course offerings may be taken to satisfy these requirements.
In the College of Business and Economics, the pass-fail option is available for elective courses only. A student desiring Lehigh credit for a course taken at another institution must complete a transfer credit form and obtain approval from the appropriate Lehigh academic department in advance.
Business Minor
The purpose of the business minor program is to enable non-CBE students to pursue a course of business studies which enables them to supplement their major studies and enhances their career options upon graduation. The overall learning objective of the program is to provide non-CBE students with the knowledge and skills with which to make more informed business decisions.
Courses offered in the business minor program are not open to students currently in the CBE, nor may these classes count as substitutes for CBE core classes should a student later decide to transfer into the CBE.
Program of Studies: The business minor consists of 14 credit hours. The courses are integrated across the entire program and must be taken in a stepped sequence. These 14 credit hours plus the prerequisite consist of the following courses:
Required prerequisite course:
ECO 1 – Principles of Economics (4) ECO 1 can be taken in either the freshman or sophomore year and must be completed prior to entering the business minor program.
Required courses:
First Year
BUS 125 – Behavioral Skills Workshop (1) fall
BUS 126 – Information Analysis and Financial Decision Making I (3) fall
BUS 127 – Information Analysis and Financial Decision Making II (3) spring
Second Year
BUS 225 – Developing, Producing, and Marketing Products and Services I (3) fall
BUS 226 – Developing, Producing, and Marketing Products and Services II (3) spring
BUS 326 – Business Strategy (1) spring
Recommended courses:
Probability Theory and Statistics (e.g., ECO 045, MATH 12, IE 111, PSYC 110.)
An Integrated Learning Experience (e.g., ME/BUS 211, MGT 311, or internship.)
The courses required in the business minor program will be offered in a stepped sequence requiring completion of each course in the sequence before being able to continue to the next course. That is, students must first complete BUS 125 and BUS 126 before taking BUS 127, BUS 127 before taking BUS 225, and BUS 225 before taking 226. BUS 125 and BUS 326 are to be taken in conjunction with BUS 126 and BUS 226, respectively.
Program admission requirements: Each spring, 80 students will be accepted into the business minor program for the following fall. Applications to the program will be made by students and submitted to the program director by the first Monday in March. An admissions committee comprised of the business minor program director, associate dean for the undergraduate CBE program and the business minor curriculum committee will make admission decisions based on G.P.A., experience, and interest in pursuing business opportunities upon graduation from Lehigh (to be evaluated on the basis of a written essay). Students will be notified of admissions decisions prior to registration for the fall semester. Entrance into business minor classes will be controlled by restricted overrides by the director of business minor program. The Director of the Business Minor program is Robert Kuchta, Professor of Practice, Department of Management, 330 Rauch Business Center (rok8@lehigh.edu).
The College of Business and Economics and the Computer Science and Engineering department in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science jointly offer the Computer Science and Business (CSB) program. It is a four-year program and the nation’s only program that is fully accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone (410) 347-7700.