Online bachelor degree programs in business administration

Bachelor of Science Business Administration

Adriana Grimes, B.S. Business Management grad

OVERVIEW

Online Business Degrees For Working Professionals

Become a better manager and a more confident leader. Hone your business acumen and garner added respect. WGU's Bachelor of Science Business Administration—Management degree program is our most popular business degree, with good reason. This business management degree program allows you to gain a breadth of skills that enhance your résumé and add to your strengths. And you can earn your degree without quitting your current job and progress as quickly as you're able through the program, allowing you to graduate sooner and bring real-world experience to the table. Earn more money, be eligible for promotions, and gear up for an exciting career with a business degree.   

70% of students finish within 

WGU lets you move more quickly through material you already know and advance as soon as you're ready. The result: You may finish faster.

Tuition per six-month term is

Tuition charged per term—rather than per credit—helps students control the ultimate cost of their business management degree. Finish faster, pay less!

B.S. business management graduates report an impressive average salary increase after completing their degree at Western Governors University.

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Next Start Date: November 1

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Business Management Courses

The online management degree program is composed of several industry-relevant courses. Some may be waived through transfer from your previous college experience. Courses are generally completed one at a time instead of simultaneously, and you’ll work with your Program Mentor to build a personalized Degree Plan that keeps you on track.

WGU courses are competency-based which means that once you demonstrate mastery in a specific area, you can move on. This allows you to use your existing knowledge to move through your degree program more quickly. 

The Bachelor of Science Business Administration, Management program is an all-online degree program. You’ll complete program requirements independently, with instruction and support from WGU faculty. You’ll be expected to complete at least 12 competency units for each 6-month term. Each course is typically three or four units. There’s no limit on the number of units you can complete each term, so the more courses you complete, the quicker you can finish your program.

Business Management

Business Ethics is designed to enable students to identify the ethical and socially responsible courses of action available through the exploration of various scenarios in business. Students will also learn to develop appropriate ethics guidelines for a business. This course has no prerequisites.

Values-Based Leadership guides students to learn by reflection, design, and scenario planning. Through a combination of theory, reflection, value alignment, and practice, the course helps students examine and understand values-based leadership and explore foundations in creating a culture of care. In this course, students are given the opportunity to identify and define their personal values through an assessment and reflection process. Students then evaluate business cases to practice mapping the influence of values on their own leadership. In this course, students also participate in scenario planning, where they can practice implementing their values in their daily routine (i.e., behaviors) and then in a leadership setting. The course illustrates how values-driven leadership is used in goal setting as well as problem-solving at an organizational level. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Organizational Behavior and Leadership explores how to lead and manage effectively in diverse business environments. Students are asked to demonstrate the ability to apply organizational leadership theories and management strategies in a series of scenario-based problems.

Business Communication is a survey course of communication skills needed in the business environment. Course content includes writing messages, reports, and résumés and delivering oral presentations. The course emphasizes communication processes, writing skills, message types, and presentation of data. The development of these skills is integrated with the use of technology.

Project Management prepares students to manage projects from start to finish within any organizational structure. The course presents a view into different project management methods and delves into topics such as project profiling and phases, constraints, building the project team, scheduling, and risk. This course helps students grasp the full scope of future projects and apply the proper management approaches to complete a project. This course features practice in each of the project phases as students learn to strategically apply project management tools and techniques to help organizations achieve their goals.

Quantitative Analysis For Business

Quantitative Analysis for Business explores various decision-making models, including expected value models, linear programming models, and inventory models. This course helps student learn to analyze data by using a variety of analytic tools and techniques to make better business decisions. In addition, it covers developing project schedules using the Critical Path Method. Other topics include calculating and evaluating formulas, measures of uncertainty, crash costs, and visual representation of decision-making models using electronic spreadsheets and graphs. This course has no prerequisites.

Change Management provides an understanding of change and an overview of successfully managing change using various methods and tools. Emphasizing change theories and various best practices, this course covers how to recognize and implement change using an array of other effective strategies, including those related to innovation and leadership. Other topics include approaches to change, diagnosing and planning for change, implementing change, and sustaining change.

Operations and Supply Chain Management

Operations and Supply Chain Management provides a streamlined introduction to how organizations efficiently produce goods and services, determine supply chain management strategies, and measure performance. Emphasis is placed on integrative topics essential for managers in all disciplines, such as supply chain management, product development, and capacity planning. This course will guide students in analyzing processes, managing quality for both services and products, and measuring performance while creating value along the supply chain in a global environment. Topics include forecasting, product and service design, process design and location analysis, capacity planning, management of quality and quality control, inventory management, scheduling, supply chain management, and performance measurement.

Business Management Tasks

Business Management Tasks addresses important concepts needed to effectively manage a business. Topics include understanding the cost-quality relationship, using various types of graphical charts in operations management, managing innovation, and developing strategies for working with individuals and groups.

Business Core

Principles of Management provides students with an introductory look at the discipline of management and its context within the business environment. Students of this course build on previously mastered competencies by taking a more in-depth look at management as a discipline and how it differs from leadership while further exploring the importance of communication within business. This course provides students with a business generalist overview in the areas of strategic decision-making and operational planning, managerial budgeting, change management, human capital management, staff development, and conflict management.

This course ties together all the skills and knowledge covered in the business courses and allows the student to prove their mastery of the competencies by applying them in a simulated business environment. This course will help take the student's knowledge and skills from the theoretical to applicable.

Fundamentals for Success in Business

This introductory course provides students with an overview of the field of business and a basic understanding of how management, organizational structure, communication, and leadership styles affect the business environment. It also introduces them to some of the power skills that help make successful business professionals, including time management, problem solving, emotional intelligence and innovation; while also teaching them the importance of ethics. This course gives students an opportunity to begin to explore their own strengths and passions in relation to the field while also acclimating them to the online competency-based environment.

Principles of Financial and Managerial Accounting

Principles of Financial and Managerial Accounting provides students with an introduction to the discipline of accounting and its context within the business environment. In this course, students will learn to differentiate between financial, cost, and managerial accounting and where these accounting types fit into the business environment. This course will help students gain a fundamental knowledge of the budgeting process, how to analyze basic financial statements, and how to use spreadsheets to analyze data. This course provides students with a business generalist overview of the field of accounting and acts as a preview course for the accounting major.

Finance Skills for Managers

This course provides students with an introductory look at the discipline of finance and its context within the business environment. Students gain the knowledge to differentiate between personal and business finance and how they may overlap in a business environment. Students also gain a fundamental knowledge of financial forecasting and budgeting, statement analysis, and decision making. This course provides the student a business generalist overview of the field of finance and builds on previous acquired competencies related to using spreadsheets.

Concepts in Marketing, Sales, and Customer Contact

Concepts in Marketing, Sales, and Customer Contact introduces students to the discipline of marketing and its role within the strategic and operational environments of a business. This course covers fundamental knowledge in the area of marketing planning, including the marketing mix, while also describing basic concepts of brand management, digital marketing, customer relationship management, and personal selling and negotiating. All of this helps students identify the role of marketing within an organization. This course provides students with a business generalist overview of the field of marketing and an exploration of the marketing major.

Principles of Economics provides students with the knowledge they need to be successful managers, including basic economic theories related to markets and how markets function. This course starts by defining economics, differentiating between microeconomics and macroeconomics, and explaining the fundamental economic principles of each. It then looks at microeconomics and how it is used to make business and public policy decisions, including the principles of supply, demand, and elasticity, market efficiency, cost of production, and different market structures. The course finishes by looking at macroeconomics and how it is used to make business and public policy decisions, including measurement of macroeconomic variables, aggregate supply and demand, the concepts of an open economy, and how trade policies influence domestic and international markets.

Business Environment Applications I: Business Structures and Legal Environment

Business Environment Applications 1 provides students with a generalist overview of the business environment and a deeper look at a number of topics that make up the non-discipline areas of business which are required for a business person to be successful within any business environment. The first part of the course focuses on knowledge about organizations and how people operate within organizations, including the areas of organizational theory, structure, and effectiveness. The course then looks at business from a legal perspective with an overview of the legal environment of business. The course will prepare the student to consider specific legal situations and to make legal and ethical decisions related to those situations.

Managing in a Global Business Environment

Managing in a Global Business Environment provides students with a generalist overview of business from a global perspective, while also developing basic skills and knowledge to help them make strategic decisions, communicate, and develop personal relationships in a global environment. Business today is by its very nature a global environment, and individuals working in business will experience the global nature of business as they progress through their careers. This course builds on previously acquired competencies by providing an overview of U.S. federal laws in relation to doing business in a global environment.

Innovative and Strategic Thinking

This course covers an important part of being a business professional: the knowledge and skills used in building and implementing business strategy. The course helps students build on previously acquired competencies in the areas of management, innovative thinking, and risk management while introducing them to the concepts and theories underpinning business strategy as a general business perspective. The course will help students gain skills in analyzing different business environments and in using quantitative literacy and data analysis in business strategy development and implementation. This course helps to provide students with a generalist overview of the area of business strategy.

Emotional and Cultural Intelligence

Emotional and Cultural Intelligence focuses on key personal awareness skills that businesses request when hiring personnel. Key among those abilities is communication. Students will increase their skills in written, verbal, and nonverbal communication skills. The course then looks at three areas of personal awareness including emotional intelligence (EI), cultural awareness, and ethical self-awareness – building on previously acquired competencies and adding new ones. This course helps start students on a road of self-discovery, cultivating awareness to improve both as a business professional and personally.

IT Fundamentals

Introduction to IT examines information technology as a discipline and the various roles and functions of the IT department as business support. Students are presented with various IT disciplines including systems and services, network and security, scripting and programming, data management, and business of IT, with a survey of technologies in every area and how they relate to each other and to the business.

General Education

Introduction to Humanities

This introductory humanities course allows candidates to practice essential writing, communication, and critical thinking skills necessary to engage in civic and professional interactions as mature, informed adults. Whether through studying literature, visual and performing arts, or philosophy, all humanities courses stress the need to form reasoned, analytical, and articulate responses to cultural and creative works. Studying a wide variety of creative works allows candidates to more effectively enter the global community with a broad and enlightened perspective.

Ethics in Technology examines the ethical considerations of technology in each of four categories: privacy, accuracy, property, and access. The course presents a range of technologies and issues that challenge technologists in the field of information ethics. Students are introduced to a decision-making process as informed by ethical frameworks that outline key ethical considerations within the technologies presented. Students will study specific cases to help inform their professional responsibilities in how to navigate the important controversies in topics such as surveillance, social media, hacking, data manipulation, plagiarism and piracy, artificial intelligence, responsible innovation, and the digital divide. This course has no prerequisites.

Applied Probability and Statistics

Applied Probability and Statistics is designed to help students develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic statistics including: introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are often used in everyday life, science, business, information technology, and educational settings to make informed decisions about the validity of studies and the effect of data on decisions. This course discusses what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, the content covers simple probability calculations, based on events that occur in the business and IT industries. No prerequisites are required for this course.

English Composition I introduces candidates to the types of writing and thinking that are valued in college and beyond. Candidates will practice writing in several genres with emphasis placed on writing and revising academic arguments. Instruction and exercises in grammar, mechanics, research documentation, and style are paired with each module so that writers can practice these skills as necessary. Composition I is a foundational course designed to help candidates prepare for success at the college level. There are no prerequisites for English Composition I.

Introduction to Communication

This introductory communication course allows candidates to become familiar with the fundamental communication theories and practices necessary to engage in healthy professional and personal relationships. Candidates will survey human communication on multiple levels and critically apply the theoretical grounding of the course to interpersonal, intercultural, small group, and public presentational contexts. The course also encourages candidates to consider the influence of language, perception, culture, and media on their daily communicative interactions. In addition to theory, candidates will engage in the application of effective communication skills through systematically preparing and delivering an oral presentation. By practicing these fundamental skills in human communication, candidates become more competent communicators as they develop more flexible, useful, and discriminatory communicative practices in a variety of contexts. Note: There are references within this video to Taskstream. If Taskstream is not part of your student experience, please disregard, and locate your task(s) within your course.

Critical Thinking and Logic

Reasoning and Problem Solving helps candidates internalize a systematic process for exploring issues that takes them beyond an unexamined point of view and encourages them to become more self-aware thinkers by applying principles of problem identification and clarification, planning and information gathering, identifying assumptions and values, analyzing and interpreting information and data, reaching well-founded conclusions, and identifying the role of critical thinking in disciplines and professions.

English Composition II introduces candidates to the types of research and writing that are valued in college and beyond. Candidates will practice writing, with emphasis placed on research, writing, and revising an academic argument. Instruction and exercises in grammar, mechanics, research documentation, and style are paired with each module so that writers can practice these skills as necessary. Composition II is a foundational course designed to help candidates prepare for success at the college level. Composition I is the prerequisite for Composition II.

Applied Algebra is designed to help you develop competence in working with functions, the algebra of functions, and using some applied properties of functions. You will start learning about how we can apply different kinds of functions to relevant, real-life examples. From there, the algebra of several families of functions will be explored, including linear, polynomial, exponential, and logistic functions. You will also learn about relevant, applicable mathematical properties of each family of functions, including rate of change, concavity, maximizing/minimizing, and asymptotes. These properties will be used to solve problems related to your major and make sense of everyday living problems. Students should complete Applied Probability and Statistics or its equivalent prior to engaging in Applied Algebra.

Introduction to Sociology

This course teaches students to think like sociologists, or, in other words, to see and understand the hidden rules, or norms, by which people live, and how they free or restrain behavior. Students will learn about socializing institutions, such as schools and families, as well as workplace organizations and governments. Participants will also learn how people deviate from the rules by challenging norms and how such behavior may result in social change, either on a large scale or within small groups.

Integrated Physical Sciences

This course provides students with an overview of the basic principles and unifying ideas of the physical sciences: physics, chemistry, and earth sciences. Course materials focus on scientific reasoning and practical, everyday applications of physical science concepts to help students integrate conceptual knowledge with practical skills.

Survey of United States History

This course presents a broad and thematic survey of U.S. history from European colonization to the mid-twentieth century. Students will explore how historical events and major themes in American history have affected a diverse population.

Marketing

This course provides students with knowledge on the sales profession, customer relationship management, and sales management functions. Students gain insights into the sales process, the relationship between sales and marketing, and the responsibilities of sales management within both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) selling environments.

Human Resources

Introduction to Human Resource Management

This course provides an introduction to the management of human resources, the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment, management, and direction for the people who work in the organization. Students will be introduced to topics such as strategic workforce planning and employment; compensation and benefits; training and development; employee and labor relations; and occupational health, safety, and security.

Workforce Planning: Recruitment and Selection

This course focuses on building a highly skilled workforce by using effective strategies and tactics for recruiting, selecting, hiring, and retaining employees.

This course reviews the legal and regulatory framework surrounding employment, including recruitment, termination, and discrimination law. The course topics include employment-at-will, EEO, ADA, OSHA, and other laws affecting the workplace. This course covers how to analyze current trends and issues in employment law and apply this knowledge to manage risk effectively in the employment relationship.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and Benefits develops competence in the design and implementation of compensation and benefits systems in an organization. The total rewards perspective integrates tangible rewards (e.g., salary, bonuses) with employee benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement plan) and intangible rewards (e.g., location, work environment). This perspective allows students to use all forms of rewards fairly and effectively to enable job satisfaction and organizational performance. There are no prerequisites.

Training and Development focuses on the development of human capital (i.e., growing talent) by applying effective learning theories and practices for training and developing employees. The course will help develop essential skills for improving and empowering organizations through high-caliber training and development processes. There are no prerequisites.

Capstone

Business Management Capstone Written Project

For the Business Management Capstone Written Project students will integrate and synthesize competencies from across their degree program to demonstrate their ability to participate in and contribute value to their chosen professional field.  A comprehensive business plan is developed for a company that plans to sell a product or service in a local market, national market, or on the Internet. The business plan includes a market analysis, financial statements and analysis, and specific strategic actions relevant to the chosen company.

Program consists of 40 courses

At WGU, we design our curriculum to be timely, relevant, and practical—all to ensure your degree is proof you really know your stuff.

Special requirements for this program

At the end of your program, you will complete a capstone project that represents the culmination of all your hard work—a project that allows you to take what you’ve learned and apply it to a real-world situation, proposing a solution to an actual issue you face in your place of business. 

“My enrollment experience was seamless. The first moment I spoke to my Enrollment Counselor got me excited about WGU. They tell you what the different benefits are, the format and everything. They walk you through everything. If you want it, it's there. Getting enrolled and getting started is easy-peasy.”

—Dale Boolton
B.S. Business Management

Earning Potential

A management degree can dramatically impact your earning potential. After graduation WGU business management students report earning $14,621 more per year.

On Your Schedule

Competency-based education means you can move as quickly through your degree as you can master the material. You don't have to log in to classes at a certain time—you are truly in the driver's seat of your education

Entirely Online

The business management bachelor's degree at WGU is 100% online, which means it works wherever you are. You can do your coursework at night after working at your full-time job, on weekends, while you're traveling the world or on vacation—it's entirely up to you.

Accredited, Respected,
Recognized

One important measure of a degree’s value is the reputation of the university where it was earned. When employers, industry leaders, and academic experts hold your alma mater in high esteem, you reap the benefits of that respect. WGU is a pioneer in reinventing higher education for the 21st century, and our quality has been recognized.

COST & TIME

Online Business Programs That are Affordable

By charging per six-month term rather than per credit—and empowering students to accelerate through material they know well or learn quickly—WGU helps students control the ultimate cost of their degrees. The faster you complete your program, the less you pay for your degree.

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YEARS

A College Degree Within Reach

There is help available to make paying for school possible for you:

The average student loan debt of WGU graduates in 2019 (among those who borrowed) was less than half* the national average.

Most WGU students qualify for financial aid, and WGU is approved for federal financial aid and U.S. veterans benefits. 

Many scholarship opportunities are available. Find out what you might be eligible for.
 

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE

What Makes Us Different: Learning Designed to Fit Today’s Busy Lifestyles

Competency-based education puts working, busy, adult students in the driver’s seat of their education. At most other schools—including other online programs—you move through the curriculum at a set pace, driven by semesters and hours in class. At WGU, your progress is driven by your ability to prove what you know, so you have the ability to speed up your progress and graduate sooner. Once you’ve mastered the defined competencies (knowledge and skills), you prove what you know through tests, papers, projects, or other assessments.

"Attending WGU online was the perfect way for me to further my education. I could basically work at my own pace and use the knowledge I had already learned from working for so many years before attending. I love WGU and all the mentors who helped me succeed and earn my bachelor's degree in Business Management.”

—Debra Marshall
B.S. Business Management

CAREER OUTLOOK

Success in Management Starts With a College Degree in Business

From Fortune 500 organizations to gutsy start-ups, from government and nonprofit work to the public sector. A degree in business management is key to thriving in any setting. WGU’s bachelor's degree is designed to help you stand out from the competition and find an exciting and lucrative career. Take charge of your future—earning a degree will prepare you for raises, promotions, or an entirely new future. Earn a business degree and change your life.

Online, accredited, and designed with professionals in mind, WGU’s Bachelor of Science Business Administration—Management degree program is a great way to kick-start your organizational management career. Whether you’re already a supervisor or your career aspirations involve management and administration, this degree will give you the skills and knowledge you’ll need to rise to the top of your profession. 

Return on Your Investment

All management occupations are expected to see 5% growth across industries by the year 2029, largely due to the creation of new businesses.

—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Learn About All the Job Opportunities in Business Management

Our nearly 7,000 Bachelor of Science Business Management alumni have great jobs and satisfying careers.

Job Titles

• Account executive
• Marketing manager
• Business or healthcare analyst
• Project or program manager 

Diverse Industries

• Private companies
• Healthcare
• Government and military
• Nonprofit organizations
• Colleges, universities, and K–12 schools/districts 

Major Employers

• Amazon
• Microsoft
• American Red Cross
• FedEx
• Kaiser Permanente
• Self-employed 

WGU Grads Hold Positions With Top Employers

ADMISSIONS

Bachelor of Business Management Admission Requirements

For undergraduate business programs, there are currently no additional admission requirements beyond the general admission requirements.

NOTE: Students will not have the option or ability to waive or remove transfer credit in order to earn a certificate. Their coursework is counted towards their degree, but they will not earn the certificate if they have brought in more than 50% of the transfer credit for that intended certificate.

NOTE: You do not need to take the ACT or SAT to be admitted to this program. Learn why we don't require these tests.

Get Your Enrollment Checklist

Download your step-by-step guide to enrollment.

Get Your Questions Answered

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MORE DETAILS

Certificates in Business Management

The Business Management degree program allows students to earn valuable credentials on their path to a degree, including the management, strategic thinking and innovation, and leadership certificates. These certificates allow you to demonstrate mastery and add credentials to your résumé before you even graduate with your degree.

Commonly Asked Questions About Our Online Business Management Bachelor's Degree

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