Questrom School of Business

Below is an example of a four-year plan of a College of General Studies student who intend to complete a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) at Questrom School of Business. Students will work with their CGS academic advisors and the Questrom School of Business to plan their own pathway to a business administration degree.

Gap Semester	Recommended external course: Introductory Microeconomic Analysis (equivalent to CAS EC 101) or Calculus I (equivalent to CAS MA 121). Follow the pre-approval process for transferring courses.
	Term 1	Term 2
First-year	CGS RH 103 CGS SS 103  CGS HU 103   CAS MA 121 or CAS EC 101	CGS HU 104 CGS RH 104 CGS SS 104
Sophomore Year	CGS NS 201 CGS HU 201 or CGS SS 201 QST SM 131* QST SM 132* (2cr) CAS EC 102	CGS NS 202 CGS HU 202 or CGS SS 202 QST AC 221* QST BA 221*† QST ES 215 (2cr)
Summer Term	QST LA 245** (must be taken at BU)
Junior Year	QST AC 222** QST BA 223/QST BA 222* QST MO 221* QST IS 223** QST SM 275*	QST SM 323 (5 Courses): QST FE 323*** QST MK 323*** QST OM 323*** QST QM 323*** QST ES 310 (1cr)
Senior Year	Study Abroad	QST SI 422 QST Concentration Course QST Concentration Course QST Concentration Course QST Concentration Course

†QST BA 221 is not required if a student has received any of the credits listed below prior to continuation to Questrom:

• AP Statistics:  Score of 4 or 5
• IB Mathematics Application and Interpretation Higher level: Score of 5, 6, or 7
• CAS MA 113, CAS MA 115, CAS MA 213, CAS EC 203, or CAS PS 211

CGS students must notify their CGS academic advisor if they have met any of the above requirements.

*Prerequisite to QST SM 323: The Cross-Functional CORE (Students take BA222 in lieu of QM222 if considering the Business Analytics concentration or in lieu of CS105, CS108, or CS111 if considering Information Systems concentration.).

**Not a prerequisite to QST SM 323: The Cross-Functional CORE (IS 223 is a prerequisite to the Management Information Systems Concentration).

***Prerequisite to most upper-level Questrom electives

Note: Students may incur additional tuition fees when registering in excess of 18 credits.

Students who need additional guidance should consult Sally E. Ward, Assistant Director, Suite 102, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, 617-353-2650. Also, please visit the Undergraduate Development Center (UDC) website.

Upon completion of the CGS program, students must have earned credit towards the following 10 courses:

• Humanities: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS HU 103, CGS HU 201, or CGS HU 202
  • CGS HU 104*
• Natural Sciences: 2 courses
  • CGS NS 201 and CGS NS 202
• Rhetoric: 2 courses
  • CGS RH 103 and CGS RH 104*
• Social Sciences: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS SS 103, CGS SS 201, or CGS SS 202
  • CGS SS 104*

The CGS required courses will cover Questrom liberal arts electives (5 courses), non-business electives (3 courses), and free electives (2 courses).

*Required course taken during the Summer term.

Course Descriptions for Questrom School of Business courses can be found in the Boston University Undergraduate Bulletin. All courses with the exception of Microeconomics (CAS EC 101), Macroeconomics (CAS EC 102) and Calculus (CAS MA 121) must be taken in residence at the Questrom School of Business. Prior approval must be granted for all external coursework. Please note that external courses may not be used to fulfill BU Hub requirements.

• Completion of CGS liberal arts requirements
• Cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00
• Mandatory Information Session: All students who intend to continue from CGS to QST must attend a mandatory information session prior to their junior year.
• CGS Class of 2027: Completion of Questrom’s suite of gateway courses having earned a minimum grade of C in five of the following courses, and no less than C- in the sixth course – CGS RH 104 (WR120), CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123, CAS EC 101, CAS EC102, QST SM 131 and QST SM 132.
• CGS Class of 2028: Completion of Questrom’s suite of gateway courses having earned a minimum grade of C in four of the following courses, and no less than C- in the fifth course – CGS RH 104 (WR120), CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123, CAS EC 101, QST SM 131 and QST SM 132.
  • If you do not earn a C (or C- in one of the courses) you may retake the course(s) one time. Only the first two graded attempts of a gateway course, including any attempt that results in a W, will be considered for the purposes of fulfilling this gateway criterion. You have one opportunity to retake the course(s) and must retake the course(s) in one of the two academic semesters following the semester of the first attempt. Students who do not earn the grades required in any of the six courses are not eligible to continue to the Questrom School of Business. 
• Students will not be eligible for continuation with any incomplete grades (‘I’ grades) in academic courses on their transcript

• BU Hub requirements
  • Students continuing from CGS to Questrom will ordinarily, through coursework in CGS, fulfill the following Hub areas: First-Year Writing Seminar; Writing, Research and Inquiry; Critical Thinking; Philosophical Inquiry; Aesthetic Exploration; Historical Consciousness; Scientific Inquiry I; Social or Scientific Inquiry II; The Individual in Community; Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy (1 unit satisfied by CGS SS 104 or CGS SS 201); Writing-Intensive Course (1 unit satisfied by CGS SS 201 or CGS SS 202). All other Hub areas will be satisfied through the required Questrom curriculum

• Questrom major requirements
  • Mathematics requirements: The Questrom curriculum assumes a mathematics background, which includes three to four years of high school/secondary school mathematics (pre-calculus/calculus recommended). Completion of CAS MA 121 or CAS MA 123 is required, unless one has advanced credit based on exams accepted by the University (e.g., AP, IB) or college credit for an equivalent calculus-based math course.

• Minimum grade requirement
  • Students need a grade of C- or better for all required courses towards the degree. This is in addition to the grade requirement for the suite of courses required to continue to Questrom.

All Questrom students must complete at least one concentration. Concentrations present a deep exploration of a specific functional area in the study and practice of management. Two Concentrations (Global Business; Real Estate) provide a breadth of exposure regarding a particular industrial sector or an area of business, through a cross-section of related courses from within Questrom and across the University. Regardless of concentration selection, all Questrom students must take four Questrom electives to fulfill degree requirements.  Students are required to declare a Concentration by March 1st of their junior year.

Accounting

Students must take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of their junior year. Two senior semesters are required to complete the four accounting electives.

Business Analytics

BA222 (in lieu of QM222) is the pathway course for this concentration.

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Four business analytics electives are required in the senior year.

Finance

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Students concentrating in Finance choose among four tracks: Banking, Corporate Finance, General Finance, and Investment Management. Four finance electives are required in the senior year.

Global Business

Four courses are required, one can be Global Business Experience (to be certified by the concentration liaison).

Health and Life Science Sectors

Four, four credit courses in total are required.

Independent

Four, four credit courses in total, focusing on a central theme or area of interest, are required.

An Independent Concentration allows a Questrom student to design a course of study specifically suited to their academic interests and career goals. This is accomplished with consultation and approval of their Academic Advisor and the Faculty Concentration Advisor for the Independent Concentration.

The application process includes an approximately 200-word explanation of the theme unifying the four courses under consideration.

Students should apply before completing SM323 (Cross-Functional Core). Students cannot pursue an Independent Concentration without approval of their plan of study.

More information and applications are available in the UDC.

Information Systems

Students must take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of their junior year.

Concentrators are required to take one course to satisfy the Programming Requirement: QST BA 222 or CAS CS 105 or CAS CS 108 or CAS CS 111.

Four IS electives are required.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Four innovation & entrepreneurship electives are required in the senior year.

Law

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of their junior year. Four required electives will be taken. QST LA 245 (LA 245 is a prerequisite for the majority of upper LA electives). The two required courses are not offered every semester: LA355 is offered in the fall, LA450is offered in the spring.

Management and Organization

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of their junior year. Four management & organization electives are required in the senior year.

Marketing

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Four marketing electives are required in the senior year for the concentration.

Operations and Technology Management

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Four operations & technology related electives are required in the senior year.

The two required courses are not offered every semester: OM440 is offered in the fall, OM441 is offered in the spring.

Real Estate

Four, four credit courses in total are required.

Retailing

One course is required (QST MK465), concentrators in Retailing must choose one of two tracks and select three remaining courses:

• Retail Operations and Analytics
• Retail Design

Strategy

Students should take CORE (QST SM 323) in the spring of the junior year. Four strategy related electives are required in the senior year.