The Culverhouse College of Business is the oldest school of business in Alabama, and over its history, has earned national recognition for excellence in business education. The mission of the College is to be ". an inclusive community, committed to personal engagement and dedicated to shaping the future of business through excellence in teaching, research, and service."
The Culverhouse College of Business offers one undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Science (BS). The Manderson Graduate School of Business offers the following degrees: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS), Master of Accountancy (MAcc), Master of Tax Accounting (MTA), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
The requirements specified in this catalog are intended for all students who begin their college careers during or after fall 2024. Students who have begun their careers prior to fall 2024 may choose to complete the requirements outlined in this catalog, but if they do so, they must complete all of the requirements listed here. Students are not permitted to choose requirements from this catalog and requirements from previous catalogs. The College offers majors in accounting, business cyber security, business statistics, economics, finance, general business, management, management information systems, marketing, and operations management, in addition to minors and concentrations in a number of specialized areas in business. Business students must complete one major within the College. They may also pursue additional majors, minors, and/or concentrations based on their individual career goals. Earning majors and minors outside of the Culverhouse College of Business is permitted.
The Culverhouse College of Business is a lower division/upper division college, meaning that students must complete their lower division classes and earn 61 hours before they are eligible to declare a major and take upper division courses. Students are allowed to take functional field courses while they are still in lower division, if they meet the prerequisites. The Capstone course must be taken at the end of the student’s undergraduate academic career.
A total of 120 hours is required for the degree of Bachelor of Science (BS) earned through the Culverhouse College of Business.
The following majors are offered in the Culverhouse College of Business:
Business students must complete one major within the College. They may also pursue additional majors, minors, and/or concentrations based on their individual career goals. Earning majors and minors outside of the Culverhouse College of Business is permitted. Some majors require students to complete a concentration, double major, or approved minor. Students should consult with their advisor and major departments about approved courses of study.
These courses are typically taken by freshman and sophomore students and must be completed prior to declaring a major and taking upper division courses. A minimum grade of C- is required in each course. If a Culverhouse student attempts a lower division course and earns below the required C-, the attempt will not count toward their degree.
| Lower Division Courses | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum grade of C- is required in each course | ||
| GBA 146 | Professional Development Series I: Exploring Your Path | 1 |
| GBA 246 | Professional Development Series II: Choosing Your Path | 1 |
| EN 101 | English Composition I (Freshman Composition Core Designation) | 3 |
| EN 102 | English Composition II (Freshman Composition Core Designation) | 3 |
| MATH 121 or | Calculus & Applications (Mathematics Core Designation ) | 3 |
| MATH 125 | Calculus I | |
| EC 110 or | Principles of Microeconomics (Social/Behavioral Science Core Designation) | 3 |
| EC 112 | Honors Principles of Microeconomics | |
| EC 111 or | Principles of Macroeconomics (Social/Behavioral Science Core Designation) | 3 |
| EC 113 | Honors Principles of Macroeconomics | |
| MIS 200 | Fundamentals of Management Information Systems | 3 |
| ST 260 | Statistical Data Analysis (Computer Science Core Designation) | 3 |
| AC 210 or | Intro To Accounting | 4 |
| AC 211 | Honors Intro To Accounting | |
| LGS 200 or | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| LGS 201 | Honors Legal Environment of Business | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Students with the required high school units in mathematics are classified by means of standardized placement tests; only those with satisfactory placement test scores are admitted to MATH 112 Precalculus Algebra or MATH 115 Precalc Algebra & Trig . Students who do not make satisfactory scores should complete MATH 100 Intermediate Algebra before taking MATH 112 or MATH 115 . MATH 100 , MATH 112 , and/or MATH 115 may be counted toward the degree as electives. In certain cases, students with very weak backgrounds in mathematics may be required to complete MATH 005 Introductory Algebra , which is a non-credit course. Students who choose the Business Statistics major, certain concentrations or wish to apply to the Accelerated Master’s Program in Finance or Economics are required to complete MATH 125 Calculus I , MATH 126 Calculus II , and MATH 227 Calculus III , which are each four-hour courses.
Students in Culverhouse College of Business are required to complete the Core Curriculum/General Education requirements of the university. Click here for a detailed description of these requirements. Students are encouraged to take these courses in their freshman and sophomore years. However, with the exception of the required lower division courses listed above, general education courses can be spread across the student’s entire undergraduate career. For business students, GBA 300 Business Communications and GBA 490 Strategic Management satisfy the core writing requirement and MUST be taken at UA. Business students often satisfy the foreign language/computer language requirement by completing ST 260 Statistical Data Analysis and OM 300 Intro Operations Management ; some majors require a specific course to complete this requirement. See departmental sections for details.
These courses are typically taken by sophomore and junior students and provide an overview of several major fields of study in business. A minimum grade of C- is required in each course. If a Culverhouse student attempts a functional field course and earns below the required C-, the attempt will not count toward their degree.
| Functional Field Courses | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum grade of C- is required in each course. | ||
| GBA 346 | Professional Development Series III: Pursuing Your Path | 1 |
| GBA 300 | Business Communications (Writing Core Designation) | 3 |
| MGT 300 | Organizational Theory & Behavior | 3 |
| MKT 300 | Marketing | 3 |
| OM 300 | Intro Operations Management (Computer Science Core Designation) | 3 |
| FI 302 | Business Finance | 3 |
| Total Hours | 16 | |
Upper division courses include all 300 and 400 level courses in Culverhouse College of Business that are not defined above as lower division or functional field courses. These can include major program courses, concentration courses, minor courses and the required Culverhouse College of Business capstone course. Junior or senior standing is required to take upper division courses.
Enrollment in Upper Division Courses: In order to enroll in upper division courses, students must have completed all of their lower division courses with a C- or better and have junior standing (61 hours). Students who attempt to enroll in upper division courses in violation of any of these policies will be administratively removed from courses for which they are not eligible. Students may register for upper division courses while still enrolled in lower division courses, but they will be removed from all upper division courses if these requirements are not met prior to beginning the upper division courses.
Capstone Course: GBA 490 Strategic Management is the Capstone Course for Culverhouse College of Business. It must be taken at The University of Alabama and at the end of a student’s undergraduate academic career. A C- or better is required in GBA 490 and it satisfies 3 hours of the 6 hours of General Education Writing course requirement. If a Culverhouse student attempts GBA 490 and earns below the required C-, the attempt will not count toward their degree.
Electives: Between 19 and 21 hours of electives are required for Culverhouse College of Business Students to reach the 120 hours needed for graduation. Courses taken to complete minors, concentrations, or second/third majors count as electives.
International Focus: All business students are required to take at least one course (three hours) with an international focus. The course may be selected from courses in international business or from approved courses with international content in other colleges. Students should consult with their advisor for a list of approved courses. Any course taken abroad will also satisfy this requirement.
Some departments may specify required elective courses. Consult your major department for further information.
All business students must satisfy the Culverhouse College of Business professional development program, UA Business LEAD, in order to stay eligible for enrollment in the College. Students must earn 250 UA Business LEAD points in Suitable each academic year, by the end of each spring semester. To earn points and complete the program, students are required to take the courses ( GBA 146 , GBA 246 , GBA 346 ) in the professional development sequence. It is recommended that students take one professional development course per academic year, which will typically be GBA 146 (freshmen), GBA 246 (sophomores), and GBA 346 (juniors). In these courses, students can earn up to 200 LEAD points towards their annual 250 LEAD point requirement. Seniors can earn their required LEAD points through high impact experiences such as internships and study abroad as well as attending executive-style training sessions offered through the LEAD program. Information on additional ways to earn points, details on LEAD point activities, and the LEAD platform (called Suitable) can be found on the UA Business LEAD website at https://students.culverhouse.ua.edu/lead/.
A lower division student is a freshman or sophomore student who is working to complete lower division courses and general education requirements. See here for a suggested course sequence based on math placement. Lower division students in their sophomore year can take functional field courses if they meet the course specific prerequisites and are advised to do so by their Culverhouse academic advisor.
An upper division student is a student who has completed all lower division courses, has achieved junior standing (61 hours), and has declared their major. Please see the section below for the policies and procedures regarding admission to the College’s upper division.
Business students are eligible for admission to the College’s upper division upon completion of all lower division requirements outlined below. After the semester in which these requirements are satisfied, students may declare their major, concentration, and minor via the Student tab in myBama. Students who are unable to declare a major should visit an on-call advisor in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center, 10 Bidgood Hall.
Note: In order to be officially admitted to the College’s upper division, students must declare at least one business major.
Students are eligible for admission to the upper division and are therefore able to enroll in upper division business courses if they meet the following standards:
| Lower Division Courses | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| GBA 146 | Professional Development Series I: Exploring Your Path | 1 |
| GBA 246 | Professional Development Series II: Choosing Your Path | 1 |
| EN 101 | English Composition I (Freshman Composition Core Designation) | 3 |
| EN 102 | English Composition II (Freshman Composition Core Designation) | 3 |
| MATH 121 or | Calculus & Applications (Mathematics Core Designation) | 3 |
| MATH 125 | Calculus I | |
| EC 110 or | Principles of Microeconomics (Social and Behavioral Sciences Core Designation) | 3 |
| EC 112 | Honors Principles of Microeconomics | |
| EC 111 or | Principles of Macroeconomics (Social and Behavioral Sciences Core Designation) | 3 |
| EC 113 | Honors Principles of Macroeconomics | |
| MIS 200 | Fundamentals of Management Information Systems | 3 |
| ST 260 | Statistical Data Analysis (Computer Science Core Designation) | 3 |
| AC 210 or | Intro To Accounting | 4 |
| AC 211 | Honors Intro To Accounting | |
| LGS 200 or | Legal Environment of Business | 3 |
| LGS 201 | Honors Legal Environment of Business | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
The college offers nine major areas of study (Majors): Accounting, Business Cyber Security, Business Statistics, Economics, Finance, General Business, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, and Operations Management. See departmental catalog pages for information on major requirements.
A minor is a secondary area of study beyond the major. Minors are open to both business and non-business students. Each department offers a number of minors. See departmental catalog pages for information on minors and minor requirements.
Concentrations are specialized areas of focus tied to, or associated with, a specific major. A student must choose the specific major tied to a given concentration. See departmental catalog pages for information on concentrations, concentration requirements, and the major to which each concentration is tied.
Students in the Culverhouse College of Business may transfer courses from two-year colleges, four-year institutions and international institutions. Click here for more information about The University of Alabama's transfer credit policies and procedures. Culverhouse College of Business will make the final decision as to the applicability of transfer credits toward a student’s degree program.
For the purposes of this Credit Overlap Policy, the three Management concentrations (Entrepreneurship, Healthcare Analytics, and Human Resources) are each considered part of the Management major.
Adding Majors
Business students are required to complete one major. For Business students who want to complete additional majors, the requirements and restrictions are:
Adding Minors
For students who want to complete one or more minors, the requirements and restrictions are:
Adding Concentrations
For students who want to complete one or more concentrations, the requirements and restrictions are:
In order to qualify for a bachelor’s degree in the Culverhouse College of Business, a student must earn a minimum of 120 semester hours of credit as specified in this catalog. Click here for more information regarding The University of Alabama's graduation requirements.
The following minimum standards of academic achievement must be met by each student who expects to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Culverhouse College of Business. (These standards are subject to change.)
It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that each of the above requirements has been met. Students should meet with an academic advisor each semester and utilize DegreeWorks, the online academic planning system, to ensure that they are making adequate progress toward the degree. The Culverhouse Registrar (culverhouseregistrar@culverhouse.ua.edu) is also available to students who wish to verify their records.
Students from other colleges within the university may enroll in upper division Culverhouse College of Business courses (see Types of Required Courses section above), subject to the following conditions:
Students who attempt to enroll in upper division business courses in violation of this policy will be administratively removed from courses for which they are not eligible.
NOTE: For non-business students not pursing a second major in Business who wish to enroll in upper division business courses, course-specific pre-requisites are generally fewer than those listed in the catalog for business students. Students should visit with an academic advisor in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center in 10 Bidgood Hall or contact the Culverhouse Registrar (culverhouseregistrar@culverhouse.ua.edu) for more information.
Students from other colleges within the university can pursue a second major in the College of Business. These students must complete the same required courses as students who are earning the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from the Culverhouse College of Business . This includes all required lower-division courses, functional field courses, major program courses, the international focus course, and the Capstone course (see Types of Required Courses section above). Students must meet the requirements to be admitted to the upper division of the College in order to take upper division courses. Any student who is considering a second major in Business should contact both the Culverhouse Registrar and the Registrar for their home college to make sure that all requirements are met.
The academic departments offer concentrations, which are only available to students in a specifically designated business major. Students should consult with their advisor and major department about current offerings and requirements, as these are subject to change. A minimum GPA of 2.0 for all required courses in a concentration is necessary for the concentration to be awarded.
Students from other colleges within the university can pursue a minor in the College of Business. Students outside of the College wishing to earn a business minor should declare it through myBama as early as possible. Each non-business student can earn only one business minor.
A GPA of 2.0 or higher within the minor must be achieved in order to earn it.
Non-business students must complete the course-specific prerequisites for each minor course and must have earned credit for a minimum of 61 semester hours at the time they enroll in upper division courses (see the Types of Courses section above). Failure to comply with this policy will result in administrative removal from business courses.
Students are responsible for ensuring that they have met all requirements to earn a minor through Culverhouse College of Business. If a non-business student has questions about their minor, they are welcome to visit with an academic advisor in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center in 10 Bidgood Hall.
NOTE: For non-business students not pursing a second major in Business who wish to pursue a business minor, course-specific pre-requisites are generally fewer than those listed in the catalog for business students. Students should visit with an academic advisor in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center in 10 Bidgood Hall or contact the Culverhouse Registrar (culverhouseregistrar@culverhouse.ua.edu) for more information.
A student who meets the criteria for admission to The University of Alabama as a freshman is eligible for admission to the Culverhouse College of Business as a student with the intent to major in one of ten different major programs. Specific information about these criteria is available from The University of Alabama Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Entering freshman students will be designated as lower division and will remain as such until all lower division courses have been completed and they have earned 61 hours. All lower and upper division students are housed in the College.
A student who meets the criteria for admission to The University of Alabama as a transfer student is eligible for admission to the Culverhouse College of Business as a student with the intent to major in one of ten different major programs. Specific information about these criteria is available from The University of Alabama Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Culverhouse College of Business will make the final decision as to the applicability of transfer credits toward a student’s degree program.
Undergraduate business programs in this catalog require 120 semester hours for the bachelor's degree. At most, 50 percent of those hours may be taken at two-year colleges and applied toward graduation requirements. Therefore, the maximum number of two-year college hours applicable to a degree in the Culverhouse College of Business is 60 hours.
Only courses that are equivalent to those numbered 100 or 200 at the University (freshman- and sophomore-level courses) may be transferred to the Culverhouse College of Business from two-year colleges. Two year college transfer students may transfer courses equivalent to the following:
Transfers from senior colleges and universities must complete a minimum of 30 credits in residence at The University of Alabama in order to earn a degree from Culverhouse College of Business.
A maximum of six semester hours of courses taken at another institution may be applied toward a student’s major program requirements. All major program coursework required by the Culverhouse School of Accountancy must be completed in residence. All Management Information Systems and Operations Management major program courses must also be completed in residence.
Students who wish to transfer from another college into Culverhouse College of Business should consult staff members in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center in 10 Bidgood Hall to discuss the procedures involved in transferring and the applicability of previous and present coursework.
Students who have completed an undergraduate degree in another discipline and are interested in completing a second degree in business should contact the Culverhouse Registrar to determine their eligibility to earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) from the Culverhouse College of Business. If eligible for the degree, students must meet the requirements described for business majors in this catalog. A minimum of 30 hours of coursework beyond the first degree is required to earn a second bachelor’s degree. For more information, students should consult with the Culverhouse Registrar in the Asa H. Bean Undergraduate Student Services Center in 10 Bidgood Hall.
Culverhouse students who are approved for Academic Second Opportunity (ASO) must complete at least 6 hours in residence post-ASO with a 2.500 or higher GPA to declare any of the following majors in the upper division: Accounting, Business Cyber Security, Business Statistics, Economics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, or Operations Management. To declare General Business in the upper division, students must complete 6 hours in residence post-ASO with a 2.000 or higher GPA. More information about Academic Second Opportunity can be found here.
A student may register for a course as an auditor with the approval of the both the professor and the department offering the course. The deadline for registering as a course auditor coincides with the deadline for adding courses at the beginning of each semester. Consult the College Registrar for more information.
The requirements that auditors are expected to meet in an audited course are left to the discretion of the instructor. Audited courses do not count toward degree requirements.
The following graduation policies and procedures apply to each student wishing to earn a bachelor’s degree in the Culverhouse College of Business:
Minimally, College of Business students must successfully complete either MATH 121 Calculus & Applications or MATH 125 Calculus I . However, some programs of study, and some graduate programs, require completion of some or all of the standard calculus sequence: MATH 125 Calculus I , MATH 126 Calculus II , and MATH 227 Calculus III . Students should discuss their math courses with their academic advisor.
Below are specific rules that govern mathematics requirements for business students:
An online course with the same course number as a regularly scheduled on-campus course fulfills the same degree requirements as an on-campus course.
The University and the Culverhouse College of Business offer students the opportunity to pursue University of Alabama courses on a pass/fail basis. Click here for The University of Alabama's policy regarding the option to take a course on a pass/fail basis.
Click here for details regarding The University of Alabama's policy on repeating courses.
Students in the Culverhouse College of Business have a maximum of three attempts to successfully complete each required Culverhouse course. If the third attempt is unsuccessful, the student will not be allowed to register for a fourth attempt without permission from the Director of Undergraduate Student Services. If that permission is not granted, the student may change to another division within the University.
Some programs have their own rules for repeating courses required in their majors. Consult department pages for more information.
The Accelerated Master's Program allows students to pursue graduate and undergraduate degrees concurrently. These programs are available in several business disciplines and serve students who have exceptional ability. Students should contact their major department for details.
