College of Business

Dean: Michael E. Solt

Executive Assistant to the Dean: Katie Brown (562) 985-5307

Associate Dean for Administration: Sabine Reddy (562) 985-7967

Associate Dean for Accreditation: Jasmine Yur-Austin (562) 985-7166

College Office: College of Business - 200

Telephone: (562) 985-5306, FAX: (562) 985-5742
Website: College of Business

Graduate Programs and Executive Education: Rod Smith, Director (562) 985- 5421

Departments

Accountancy:  
Sudha Krishnan, Chair (562) 985-5757

Finance:  
Pia Gupta, Chair (562) 985-8615

Information Systems:  
Ying Liu, Chair (562) 985-4554

International Business Program:  
Ming Chen, Director (562) 985-4751

Legal Studies in Business: 
Marsha Cooper, Director (562) 985-7777

Management and Human Resource Management:  
Mark Washburn, Chair (562) 985-4757

Marketing:   
Yu Wang, Chair (562) 985-4776

Accreditation

Undergraduate and graduate programs are internationally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), 777 South Harbour Island Blvd., Suite 750, Tampa, FL 33602-5730, phone: (813) 769-6500.

Academic Advising and Learning Support

The College of Business maintains an advising office for undergraduate students, the COB Center for Student Success (CSS), in COB 100, (562) 985-4514, and the CSS Study Annex in COB 126, where students can receive free tutoring for a wide array of COB courses. For a complete list of services and information, please visit the CSS website.The Graduate Programs Office provides academic advising support for graduate students in COB 363, (562) 985-5565. Advisors are available in these offices throughout the semester to assist students with admission, registration, and degree requirement information.

Student Center for Professional Development

The Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD) provides resources in support of student learning under its umbrella program Passport to Success (Passport). SCPD also encourages students to join business student organizations to assist them in connecting to college resources and networking opportunities. Under the Passport umbrella SCPD offers the following resources: 

Professional development workshops provide a progression of learning experiences that teach students nonacademic skills and attributes employers want to see in new employees.

Community Scholars is a community service program that pairs COB students with inner-city high school sophomores in a group mentoring relationship that encourages academic success and pursuit of a college education. COB students make a positive impact on the high school students’ lives while performing a community service that employers highly value in a prospective employee.

Junior Mentoring Program is a one-semester program where junior COB students are paired with young professionals in a mentoring relationship. Mentors help students prepare for their college careers, sharing their skills, knowledge and advice on how to balance college, work and personal life. Focus is given to resume building and professional development activities that will better prepare the students for the job market and complement their academic learning experience.

Corporate Mentoring Program pairs a senior student with a mid or late career professional in a mentoring relationship for an academic year. The mentors coach and guide the students, help them with decision making and manage their expectations for life after graduation. Students must complete certain prerequisites to participate in CMP.

For more information about SCPD programs, services and resources please contact SCPD at (562) 985-2265 or SCPD Programs website or scpd@csulb.edu.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is provided to business students through the University Financial Aid Office. That office administers funds made available through the federal and state governments and through certain private sources. Awards are made to students who demonstrate a need for assistance with educational expenses.

Achievement Awards

Additional information about the following awards and their requirements can be obtained from the COB website.

Applications for Outstanding Undergraduate are usually due in late January to mid-February. Each department may select up to three Outstanding Graduates. From among the chosen Outstanding Undergraduates, the Dean of the College selects the Dean’s Medalist. These awards are reserved for graduating seniors and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or above in their major based on grades through the fall semester along with other considerations for applicants.

Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society recognizing the outstanding academic achievements of students enrolled in collegiate business and management programs accredited by AACSB International. Applications to membership are due online in early April at: Beta Gamma Sigma website. All new members will be inducted at an awards ceremony in mid-May.

The Delta Sigma Pi Scholarship Key winner is selected from among those graduating students with the highest GPA (graduates and undergraduates).

In addition, the college offers numerous scholarships. Further information is available on the College of Business website.

Student Organizations

The following organizations are available for business students: American Marketing Association, Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Society, Black Business Students Association, Delta Sigma Pi, Financial Management Association, Hispanic Students Business Association, Association of Latino Professionals for America, Human Resource Management Association, Association for Information Systems, International Business Association, MBA Student Association, and Society for the Advancement of Management. Student organizations typically host professionals to represent business and industry at weekly meetings.

The Associated Business Students Organization Council (ABSOC) is the coordinating council for all business student organizations. ABSOC co-sponsors the annual “Meet the Industries Expo.” This annual event provides several hundred students an opportunity to network with corporate recruiters in an environment that is smaller and more intimate than a large, busy career fair. Other programs each semester include a business student organizations’ fair and the student-faculty-staff mixer. ABSOC also co-sponsors the annual “Ethics at The Beach” seminar with the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership.

Beta Gamma Sigma, founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1907 as a business honor society, is the only honor society recognized by the AACSB - International. Membership is available to business students at California State University, Long Beach only because the College of Business is accredited by AACSB.

Election to membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest scholastic honor that a student in business administration can attain. To be eligible for membership at CSULB, students must rank in the upper ten percent of their junior, senior, or graduate degree program in business.

Computer and Information Technology

Students in the degree program develop basic competencies related to information processing, the application of computers in business and government, management information systems concepts, computer programming, statistics, and financial research with Bloomberg terminals. The computer laboratory consists of most up-to-date instructional software and hardware to facilitate student learning.

General Policies and Regulations

Specific University and College requirements are detailed in various sections of this Catalog. Every student must develop complete familiarity and understanding of the regulations and requirements by which successful completion of a program will be determined. (Also see pertinent section regarding University General Regulations and Procedures).

Admission Under Impaction

Freshman applicants to the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration will be placed in the pre-major code for Business Administration. Transfer applicants must apply to the University during the initial filing period of October and November for the following fall semester or August for the following spring semester. They must indicate their choice of major on the application.

Continuing students seeking admission to the major in Business Administration must meet major specific requirements. Students who are not coded as pre-majors must submit an online request to the COB Center for Student Success (via the CSS website) to be placed into the upper division major once specific degree requirements have been met. Completion of the major specific requirements is not a guarantee of admissions into the major. There is no specific deadline for filing, however it usually takes a minimum of two weeks to complete the application process. Therefore, students should file their applications no later than two weeks before their next registration access date. 

Special Enrollment Status

Enrollment through Open University (College of Professional and International Education [CPIE]) is allowed only on a space-available basis which is determined by the type of course and teaching method as well as classroom capacities. The student must otherwise be qualified.

COB Policy on Course Transfers/Substitutions

The College of Business has a strict policy on course transfers/substitutions. This is necessary to preserve the academic integrity of programs and to meet accreditation standards. No credit by examination will be allowed for any COB course. The COB Center for Student Success can be consulted for more information on course transfers and substitutions.

Requirements

In order to graduate with an undergraduate business degree from CSULB, a student must complete a minimum of 120 units. A majority of the upper division business courses must be completed at this university. For details, refer to the COB Policy on Course Transfers/Substitutions.

All undergraduate students officially admitted to the College of Business (all options) are required to complete all remaining lower division major requirements in a timely fashion. The lower division major courses must be completed within two academic semesters (excluding summer and winter session) to continue with the major.

Academic Degree Progress Rules for Pre-Business Students 

Freshmen admission for business majors is to a ‘pre-major’ status (e.g., Pre-management). Continuation in the pre-business major is subject to meeting specific lower division course and GPA requirements at CSULB that indicate the student’s ability to succeed and complete the major.

Pre-business students must complete the following requirements within four semesters of being admitted to the University. Students who do not meet the specified degree progress requirements must meet with a COB Academic Advisor to discuss their degree progress and explore resources for student success.

At the end of the second semester, pre-business students must have a grade of ‘C’ or better in general education certified written communication, oral communication, critical thinking, and mathematics/quantitative reasoning courses.

At the end of the third semester, pre-business students must have a grade of ‘C’ or better in ACCT 201  - Elementary Financial Accounting, ECON 100   - Principles of Macroeconomics OR ECON 101   - Principles of Microeconomics, and MATH 115   - Calculus for Business.

At the end of the fourth semester, pre-business students must have a grade of ‘C’ or better in ACCT 201 , ACCT 202 , BLAW 220  , ECON 100 , ECON 101 , and MATH 115  as well as a minimum combined GPA of 2.5 in these major specific requirement courses.

Additionally, to be fully admitted to any Business option, pre-business majors must also have a minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA.

Grading Policy

All COB majors must maintain major GPAs 2.0 or higher. A student whose GPA in the major falls below a 2.0 will be advised that they are at risk of being dismissed from the major and granted one semester to raise their major GPA(s) to 2.0. Students who do not successfully raise their major GPA(s) must meet with an advisor to declare another major or submit an appeal to the COB Center for Student Success explaining why they need one additional semester. Students whose major GPAs remain below 2.0 after this additional semester must declare a new major.

Business majors and minors may not exercise a Credit/ No-Credit grading option for courses required by the College of Business in their program. No course taken for Credit/No-Credit grading will be accepted to fulfill a Business requirement, with the exception of students transferring Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit. Enrollment in a business course as an auditor is not permitted.

Graduate Programs

The College of Business offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science in Accountancy, Master of Business Administration (MBA), MS Information Systems, MS Finance, and MS Marketing Analytics. The degrees offered by the College of Business are accredited by the AACSB - International. 

The graduate degrees are designed to serve the community by providing graduate business education to persons who show promise of leadership and success in business or related fields. For this reason, the faculty of the College of Business has established rigorous standards of admission and completion for the programs.

Administration of COB Graduate Programs

All College of Business Graduate Programs are administered by the COB Graduate Programs Office, COB 363. The Graduate Programs Director heads that office.

Admission to Graduate Study

In addition to admission by the University Office of Admissions and Records, an applicant for graduate study in business must apply to and be admitted by the College of Business Administration (COB) Graduate Programs Office.

Admission Procedures

1. Students interested in applying to an MS Program or an MBA program at CSULB should file a CSULB Graduate Program application using the California State University’s online application program called the Cal State Apply website.
2. One complete set of official transcripts of all college work attempted is required and must be uploaded to Cal State Apply System or mailed to Enrollment Services.
3. Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores must be forwarded directly from GMAC or ETS, to the College of Business Graduate Programs Office, unless the GMAT/GRE requirement is waived by the University. The GMAT codes for the COB MS and MBA Programs are as follows:
   1. Accelerated Full Time MBA - Code is 364-M9-93 
   2. Evening MBA - Code is 364-M9-69
   3. Online MBA - Code is 364-M9-06
   4. Saturday MBA - Code is 364-M9-68
   5. MS Accountancy - Code is 364-M9-51
   6. MS Finance - Code is 364-M9-50
   7. MS Information Systems - Code is 364-M9-66
   8. MS Marketing Analytics - Code is 364-M9-44
   9. The GRE Institutional code for all programs is 4389, Dept. Code is 4201. Test scores over 5 years old will not be considered.
4. International applicants should first contact the Center for International Education on campus for all application requirements. International students who score less than a “4” on the GMAT or GRE writing section should contact the COB Graduate Programs Office directly for available options.

In addition to the steps above, all international applicants are required to complete all the usual steps of all applicants to the MS and MBA programs.

Application Deadlines

Deadlines for International applications are:

• April 1 for Cal State Apply Application for Fall Semester admission. This applies to all graduate programs except as noted directly below.
• October 1 for Cal State Apply Application for Spring Semester admission for the Evening and Online MBA and MS Accountancy Programs Only.

Deadline for domestic applications are:

• June 1 for Cal State Apply Application for Fall Semester admission. This applies to the MS programs and MBA programs for Fall admissions
• November 1 for Cal State Apply Application for Spring Semester admission for the Evening and Online MBA and MS Accountancy Programs only.

Because of high demand for admission to the graduate business programs, it is advised that students submit their application to the program early. No action can be taken on applications until ALL required documents are received. Except in highly unusual circumstances, application materials submitted after the above dates will not be considered.

Criteria

Admission will be granted to students showing high promise of success in post-baccalaureate business study. Each applicant’s potential for graduate management education is evaluated on the basis of four major criteria:

1. Past Academic Record, as reflected in undergraduate GPA or other Graduate programs.
2. Graduate Records Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
3. Verbal Communication ability as demonstrated in the Applicant’s video “Statement of Purpose” to clearly identify their leadership potential, educational goals and academic strengths. A written statement of purpose is also required in which applicants write about their ability to handle a difficult work/life situation.
4. Two Letters of Recommendation.

Upon completion of the evaluation by the COB Graduate Director, the student is notified by e-mail of acceptance or rejection.

Enrollment

Students must meet all of the COB Graduate Admissions criteria to be admitted into the University as a COB Graduate student.

Admission to Graduate Courses

Only students who have been admitted to the MS or MBA program may take graduate courses in Business Administration. The only exception is that students who have been admitted to other Master’s programs at CSULB may take select graduate courses in Business Administration to meet the requirements for their programs, with the permission of their major advisor and the Director of the Graduate Programs.

Enrollment in graduate courses through the Open University will normally be permitted only for students in an AACSB-accredited graduate program at another institution and must have a letter of permission from the Associate Dean/Dean of the student’s home university.

Continuous Enrollment

Once a student is accepted and enrolled in any of the COB Graduate Programs, he/she is expected to attend classes both semesters of the academic year. (Fall and Spring semesters are considered the regular semesters of the academic year; in the evening program Summer attendance is optional.) Registration and completion of at least one course each semester satisfies the Continuous Enrollment requirement.

If a student is unable to satisfy the Continuous Enrollment requirement, he/she must complete the Educational Leave of Absence procedures detailed below. Continuous Enrollment status will only be preserved if the student’s absence from a regular semester has been processed and approved through the Educational Leave of Absence procedures.

Students failing to maintain Continuous Enrollment status will be administratively removed from the COB Graduate Programs. Registration privileges will be revoked. Students planning to continue in the COB Graduate Programs who have been administratively removed due to the violation of the Continuous Enrollment condition will be required to re-apply to the COB Graduate Programs and to the University.

Educational Leave of Absence

Any COB graduate student in good academic standing may request an Educational Leave. Students requesting an Educational Leave must complete an Educational Leave Form, in advance, including an explanation of their reasons for seeking the leave and a statement of when they intend to resume academic work. The completed form is submitted for approval to the COB Graduate Programs Office and the University Admission and Records Office in accordance with University Policy.

The minimum initial leave will be one full semester; the maximum will be one calendar year. A student may request, in writing and in advance, an extension of leave. Under no circumstances will the total number of approved educational leaves exceed two, nor will the duration of approved educational leaves extend beyond two calendar years.

Students returning from an approved one semester educational leave are not required to submit an application form. Students returning from an absence for which an educational leave was appropriate but not approved in advance must complete the entire COB Graduate admission process.

An Educational Leave of Absence, if properly requested and processed, allows a student to satisfy the Continuous Enrollment requirement and therefore does not affect their good standing status. Students on an approved Educational Leave of Absence will continue to receive registration information. 

Graduate students who plan to enroll for credit at another institution of higher education during the leave period must obtain prior approval for the transfer of course credit to the student’s program from the department chair in question and the COB Graduate Programs Director.

The period of an educational leave is counted in the calculation of elapsed time under the regulations governing the seven-year maximum period for completion of the COB Graduate degree requirements.

For the period of an educational leave the student’s rights under the “Election of Regulation” rule are preserved, maintaining the right of the student to elect regulations as if he or she had maintained continuous attendance. See the CSULB Catalog, General Rules and Procedures section, for a complete explanation of the Election of Regulation - “Catalog Rights”.

An educational leave presupposes no expenditure of University resources or faculty and staff time on behalf of the student during the period of the leave. In addition, no computer facilities, no library privileges, and no student services are available to a student on educational leave.

Scholastic Standards/Probation/Disqualification

A student who fails to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in all work completed as a graduate student at this University or in all transferred work applied to the program will be placed on academic probation. The semester in which the student’s GPA falls below 3.0 is the First Probational Semester. 

A student on probation, who at the end of the Third Probationary Semester fails to obtain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on all units attempted in post-baccalaureate work at CSULB, will be disqualified and removed from the graduate program. The student should note that the cumulative GPA is calculated by the University Admissions and Records Office and includes all upper division and graduate courses taken while enrolled in the graduate program.

For MBA students, a grade of “C” or better is required in any course taken to satisfy first or second year Core requirements. A grade of “B” or better is required in GBA 699. If either of these requirements is not met, a student must take the course a second time or withdraw from the program. A second failure to achieve the required grade will result in involuntary separation from the program. This requirement operates independently of the requirement for a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR)

As a requirement for advancement to candidacy, all graduate students must demonstrate writing competency by:

• 1. Passing an approved CSULB assessment of writing competence (GWAR),
• 2. Having already passed an assessment of writing competence (GWAR) while matriculated at another
• CSU campus, or
• 3. Earning a CSULB-approved passing score on the writing portion of an approved standardized graduate admissions test, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

Assessments of writing competence from non-CSU campuses will be evaluated by the GWAR Coordinator as a fulfillment of the GWAR, on an articulation basis if possible or on a case-by-case basis if necessary. Students with degrees from non-CSU campuses must either provide evidence of meeting the requirement with adequate scores on a CSULB-approved standardized test or attempt to satisfy the GWAR by the end of their first semester of matriculation at CSULB

Programs

• Accountancy, M.S.
• Business Administration, M.B.A.
• Finance, M.S.
• Information Systems, M.S.
• Marketing Analytics, M.S.
• Supply Chain Management, M.S.

• Business Analytics Certificate

Courses

• BLAW 220 - Introduction to Law and Business Transactions
• BLAW 309 - The Consumer in the Legal and Economic Environment
• BLAW 320 - Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business
• BLAW 422 - Intellectual Property
• BLAW 424 - International Legal Environment of Business

• CBA 300 - International Business
• CBA 321 - Business Topics For Non-Business Students
• CBA 400 - Business Ethics
• CBA 401A - Ethical Leadership
• CBA 401B - Ethical Leadership
• CBA 485 - International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition
• CBA 492 - Global Business Project
• CBA 493 - Business Internship
• CBA 494 - Short-Term Study Abroad
• CBA 495 - Selected Topics in Business Administration

• GBA 500 - MBA Orientation
• GBA 599 - Introduction to Data-driven Technologies: A Foundation for Understanding Disruptive Technologies
• GBA 600 - Sustainability and the Business Organization I
• GBA 601 - Sustainability and the Business Organization II
• GBA 630 - Technology-based Business Model: Developing and Financing
• GBA 670 - Professional Development: Career Management
• GBA 671 - Leadership Foundations
• GBA 685 - International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition
• GBA 690 - Seminar in an MBA International Experience
• GBA 692A - Apostle Incubator Program
• GBA 692B - Apostle Incubator Program
• GBA 694 - Short-Term Study Abroad
• GBA 695 - Selected Topics in Business Administration
• GBA 698 - Thesis
• GBA 699 - Integrated Analysis