Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Concentration in Accounting

The College of Business

The College of Business is made up of eight departments supervised by chairpersons. The departments are Accounting, Decision Sciences, Finance, Hospitality Management, Information Systems, International Business, Management, and Marketing.

The primary objectives of the College of Business at San Francisco State University are to:

• Provide students majoring in business administration with a foundation in the basic concepts and practices of the business community, and with a particular expertise in one or more of the specialties of practice, in order to prepare them to think creatively and to exercise critical judgment in the making of business decisions;
• Provide other students with a general understanding of the foundations and philosophies of the business community;
• Encourage a continuous liaison with the business community in order to respond to the educational needs of that community;
• Encourage faculty professional development activities designed to provide service to all segments of business and education for business through academic research and publication, applied research and publication, community education and services (seminars and consulting involving non-publishable, proprietary research, for example), and self-education or study designed to improve business knowledge and expertise.

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration includes basic core courses and an area of concentration. Except for BUS 682 and 690, the core courses listed below should be completed by the end of the junior year. The specific courses for the areas of concentration are listed by department on the following pages. Students who have already earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited university may want to consider entering the M.B.A. or M.S.B.A. rather than earning a second bachelor's degree.

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration requires a minimum of 120 units for graduation. The major consists of 6 units of prerequisite courses and 63 units of lower and upper division courses in business, economics, the major field, and electives.

Concentration in Accounting

The accounting concentration is designed to provide a solid foundation of accounting and business knowledge that prepares students for careers in accounting. Courses are structured to allow flexibility in preparing for a career path in public accounting, private industry, and government or nonprofit organizations. The program offers a wide variety of courses which can be used to qualify and prepare for examinations in professional certifications such as CPA, CIA, and CMA. Students should consult with an accounting advisor to determine minimum course requirements for these certifications. The accounting curriculum also provides the foundation for graduate study.

Impaction

The undergraduate accounting program is impacted at the upper-division level. This means that there are more students interested in studying accounting than the program can accommodate. Therefore, entrance into the program is a selective and competitive process. Eligible first-time freshman applicants can be admitted to the university as pre-Accounting. These students and other continuing SF State students who want to major in accounting should apply directly to the accounting department.

Application Information

Application for admissions to the accounting program is accepted during the application filing periods.

• Upper-division transfer students: October 1 to November 30 for admissions for the following fall
• Continuing SF State students: During October for the Spring admissions and during March for the Fall admission.

All concentration courses must be taken on a letter grade basis. Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in the accounting concentration. A minimum of 12 units in the accounting concentration must be completed at San Francisco State University. For a course transferred from another university to count toward the accounting concentration it must, minimally:

• be from an AACSB-accredited institution,
• cover applicable United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP), laws, and regulations,
• been completed within the last five years with a grade of at least C minus (C-), and
• be approved by the appropriate SF State Department of Accounting course coordinator.

If rejected, the student may be granted a one-time challenge of the course coordinator’s decision by passing, in the first attempt, a comprehensive test of the appropriate material.

The Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State is a leading institution of business education in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an emphasis on preparing students to succeed in an economy that is global in nature.

Our commitment to sustainable business, diversity, social justice and global partnerships echoes our core philosophy of responsible leadership. As one of the top-ranked public universities, we have been recognized worldwide for our investments in diversity, social responsibility, and visionary academics.

Our Graduate Business Programs, conveniently located at the San Francisco State University Downtown Campus in the heart of San Francisco, prepares leaders for careers in the growing innovative industries of the dynamic Bay Area and global marketplace.