Admissions and Course Requirements
Admissions
In order to be admitted to the Business program you must first qualify for admission to San Diego State University. Please consult the SDSU Office of Admissions for more information about how to apply to SDSU. All potential Business majors should request admission as Business Administration majors.
Transfer students must complete certain lower division courses before they can transfer to SDSU. Consult SDSU Transfer Admissions for more information.
If you are accepted to SDSU in Business you will be admitted as a Pre-Business Administration major.
International Business is a joint major between the College of Arts and Letters and the Fowler College of Business. Requirements for declaring a major in International Business differ from those for Business. Consult the International Business Office for more information.
For information regarding the online program, please visit the Online Degree Completion admissions page.
Student who are admitted to SDSU in a major other than Business may change their major if they meet one of the following:
- You have completed 6-29 college units and have an overall GPA of at least 2.0
- You have completed 30-59 college units and have an overall GPA of at least 2.7
- You have completed 60 units or more and have an overall GPA of at least 2.9
When you meet one of the requirements listed above, visit the Center for Student Success for information on how to change your major.
Major Program Requirements
- ACCTG 201 : Financial Accounting
- ACCTG 202: Managerial Accounting
- ECON 101: Principles of Economics (Macro)
- ECON 102: Principles of Economics (Micro)
- FIN 240: Legal Environment of Business
- MIS 180: Principles of Information Systems
- RWS 290: Business Communications (formerly BA; not required for Accounting majors)
- MATH 120 or MATH 150: Calculus for Business Analysis
- STAT 119 or ECON 201: Elementary Statistics for Business or Statistical Methods
SDSU will generally accept all college-level transfer units from an accredited school. Acceptance of units, however, does not mean that the content of the course will be accepted as equivalent to any specific course at SDSU. To determine equivalency of content, SDSU has to look at what material was taught in the course.
Lower Division Courses
Courses may be transferred to SDSU from any accredited school. However, transfer courses are considered units only (that is, they give a student units towards graduation but do not fulfill any specific course requirements) unless they are approved by SDSU as being equivalent in content to a specific SDSU course or meeting a specific requirement.
Business courses are considered equivalent to SDSU in one of two ways:
An articulation is a standing agreement between two schools that certain courses are equivalent. A student who takes an articulated course at another school will have cleared the requirement at SDSU that the course fulfills.
EXAMPLE: Grossmont's ECON 120 is articulated to SDSU's ECON 101. A student who has taken ECON 120 at Grossmont College has cleared ECON 101 at SDSU.
Lists of articulated courses from other schools are available through the web at SDSU's Transfer Admissions Planner and through the statewide articulation charts at http://www.assist.org. We recommend that you check BOTH sites to ensure complete information.
Please note: SDSU's Transfer Admission Planner website displays what SDSU has on file.
PetitionIf no articulation exists concerning a particular school or course, the student may request to have the course accepted as equivalent to an SDSU course. This is done by filing a petition (called a Request for Adjustment of Academic Requirements) with the appropriate department at SDSU and including enough information about the other school's course for the department to determine that it is equivalent to SDSU's. Please consult the Business Advising Center about petitioning. Please note that the syllabus with topical outline (class schedule) and course description are required for all petitions.
If the petition is denied, the student will need to take the appropriate course at SDSU to fulfill the requirement.
The rules about determining equivalencies for General Education (non-business) courses are somewhat different. Transfer students entering SDSU should request an evaluation from the Office of Advising and Evaluations to determine which, if any, of their transfer courses need to be petitioned.
Upper Division Courses
There are no articulations for upper division courses in Business. All courses must be petitioned in the manner described above. Please contact the Center for Student Success for information about requirements to petition upper division courses.
Students must meet the following impaction criteria to be admitted to an upper division business major:
- Complete at least 60 units of college-level work (SDSU and transfer combined)
- Complete the 9 lower division prep courses (8 for Accounting majors) with a C or better in each (no C- and no CR/NC grades allowed)
- Have a 2.9 overall GPA or higher
If you meet the requirements to declare an upper division major you should visit the Center for Student Success during the declaration period.
Note: You will need to bring a copy of your degree evaluation if you can not view it via WebPortal. Please be sure your SDSU Degree Evaluation (Degree Audit) is viewable online before you declare upper-division. If you cannot access it from your WebPortal please visit the Office of Advising and Evaluations, SSW 1551. This Evaluation must show the grades that you earned in your prep courses.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have completed the impaction criteria (earned 60 units, completed the 9 preparation for the major courses with C or better, and 2.9 overall GPA), then you are eligible to declare your upper division major during the declaration period. If you have completed have earned 60 units and completed the 9 preparation for the major courses with C or better, but your overall GPA is below 2.9, you can request to be placed on the waitlist. There is a new waitlist during each declaration period and you are encouraged to put yourself on the waitlist if you do not have a 2.9 overall GPA.
If you are taking preparation for the major courses at SDSU or another school, your grades must be officially posted before your can declare your upper division major. If your grade is not showing in your degree evaluation, then you can bring an unofficial transcript to the Center for Student Success.
If you have earned 60 units and completed the 9 preparation for the major courses with C or better, but your overall GPA is below 2.9, you can request to be placed on the waitlist. There is a new waitlist during each declaration period.
If you have questions about discrepancies between the GPA on your degree evaluation and on your unofficial transcript, please consult the Academic Advising Center (SSW 1551, 619-594-6668) for more information.
Choose your major and catalog year from the list below.
In general, your catalog year is the year you began at SDSU as a pre-business major. If you entered SDSU as another major, your catalog year is the year you changed your major to Business. (Declaring an upper division major does not change your catalog year.)
2021: Accounting Required Course List
2020: Accounting Required Course List
2019: Accounting Required Course List
2018: Accounting Required Course List
2017: Accounting Required Course List
2016: Accounting Required Course List
2015: Accounting Required Course List
2014: Accounting Required Course List
2021: Financial Services Required Course List
2020: Financial Services Required Course List
2019: Personal Financial Planning Certificate
2018: Personal Financial Planning Certificate
2018: Financial Services Required Course List
2017: Financial Services Required Course List
2017: Personal Financial Planning Certificate
2016: Financial Services Required Course List
2015: Financial Services Required Course List
2014: Financial Services Required Course List
2021: General Business Required Course List
2020: General Business Required Course List
2019: General Business Required Course List
2018: General Business Required Course List
2017: General Business Required Course List
2016: General Business Required Course List
2015: General Business Required Course List
2014: General Business Required Course List
2021: Information Systems Required Course List
2020: Information Systems Required Course List
2019: Information Systems Required Course List
2018: Information Systems Required Course List
2017: Information Systems Required Course List
2016: Information Systems Required Course List
2015: Information Systems Required Course List
2014: Information Systems Required Course List
2021: Management Required Course List
2020: Management Required Course List
2019: Management Required Course List
2018: Management Required Course List
2017: Management Required Course List
2016: Management Required Course List
2015: Management Required Course List
2014: Management Required Course List
2021: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2020: Managment - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2019: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2018: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2017: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2016: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2015: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2014: Management - Specialization in Entrepreneurship Required Course List
2021: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2020: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2019: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2018: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2017: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2016: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2015: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List
2014: Management - Specialization in Human Resource Management Required Course List 2012-2014
2021: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2020: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2019: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2018: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2017: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2016: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2015: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2014: Marketing - Specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications Required Course List
2021: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sale Management Required Course List
2020: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sale Management Required Course List
2019: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2018: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2017: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2016: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2015: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2014: Marketing - Specialization in Professional Selling and Sales Management Required Course List
2021: Real Estate Required Course List
2020: Real Estate Required Course List
2019: Real Estate Required Course List
2018: Real Estate Required Course List
2017: Real Estate Required Course List
2016: Real Estate Required Course List
2015: Real Estate Required Course List
2014: Real Estate Required Course List
Minor Program Requirements
Students who are majoring in any area of Business Administration, International Business, or Hospitality and Tourism Management may minor in Business with some adjusted requirements. See the requirements of the minor or meet with a business advisor for more information.
Students who meet the requirements for the minor should come to the Center for Student Success (EBA 448) to declare the minor. Students who do not meet the GPA requirement may waitlist for the minor. The waitlist is processed each semester during the declaration period.
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