Business Administration
The Department of Business Administration is housed within the School of Business.
Office: E336E Thompson Hall
(716) 673-3505
E-mail: Business.Administration@fredonia.edu
Dr. Mojtaba Seyedian, Chairperson
The Department of Business Administration provides its majors with a contemporary quality education in Business Administration and Accounting. The students in the department gain an awareness of their individual strengths and vocational interests in order to make appropriate career decisions. The department offers a rigorous, up-to-date curriculum that prepares students for imaginative and responsible citizenship and domestic and international leadership roles in business and accounting. While the programs offered are career-oriented, the department realizes that successful contemporary business and accounting professionals must bring a broad and varied perspective to their careers. Accordingly, the department requires that its majors take at least 66 of the 120 credit hours needed for a degree outside the department, with particular emphasis given to the development of written and oral communicative skills and the acquisition of the ability to think creatively and critically.
- The department offers six separate Bachelor of Science degree programs:
- B.S. Accounting
- B.S. Business Administration – Finance
- B.S. Business Administration – Management
- B.S. Business Administration – Marketing
- B.S. Business Administration – Individualized Specialization
- INDS - Music Business
Career Options
Students who major in Business Administration are prepared for a cross-section of opportunities. Recent graduates have embarked on careers in areas ranging from business and management consulting to financial planning for corporations and government. The banking and investment fields also interest many graduates. Other graduates select sales management, insurance, or personnel administration as their field. The department's programs are also designed to provide the knowledge and skills required for success in major graduate programs.
The Accounting program prepares students for the Certified Managerial Accountant Examination (CMA). In addition, this degree in combination with the department's 150 Hour Program, qualifies graduates to take the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) examination.
There are three major sources of employment for accounting graduates - public accounting, management accounting, and governmental accounting. Public accounting firms provide clients with a wide variety of services, including auditing, tax consulting, and management advisory services. Management accountants are employed by companies to perform various activities such as cost accounting, budgeting, general ledger accounting, and internal auditing. Governmental accountants, employed by the federal, state, and local governments, have the responsibility to monitor the revenues and expenditures of the public sector. In the federal government, the major sources of employment for accountants include the Internal Revenue Service, General Accounting Office, and Defense Contract Audit Agency.
Student Clubs and Activities
Students majoring in Business Administration or Accounting can participate in a number of clubs and activities that are designed to supplement classroom work. The student clubs include the national honor society Delta Mu Delta; the Business Club; the Financial Management Association; the American Marketing Association; Students in Free Enterprise; the Accounting Society; and the Music Industry Club.
Delta Mu Delta honors students who meet high scholarship standards and who perform important community service. The Business Club conducts various entrepreneurial activities and organizes the "Business Person of the Year Award" and associated annual banquet. The award honors an outstanding community business leader. The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team competes in regional and national academic competitions, offers consulting services to regional businesses, and conducts a wide variety of important community service.
The Accounting Society conducts the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Service. All of these student organizations bring professional guest speakers to campus to offer career development information.
The Music Industry Club is involved in activities such as artist promotion, live performances, conference attendance and special campus and community events with a music industry focus.
Internship Opportunities
In addition to its regular course offerings, the department has an active internship program. Internships are work-experiences for which students receive academic credit. The department offers a number of internship opportunities with various local and regional firms and organizations such as Key Bank, Buffalo Sabres, Paychex, Inc., Smith Barney, and Cliffstar Corporation.
Honors and Awards
Students who excel in their studies are eligible for recognition through membership in the campus chapters of Delta Mu Delta (a national honor society in business administration) and the Financial Management Association National Honor Society. Initiation is competitive and highly selective. In addition to these honor societies, individual students can be recognized for outstanding scholastic achievement.
Each year the faculty presents a number of special awards:
- the M.R. Poummit Achievement Award to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average;
- the James Hurtgen Scholarship to a student with an outstanding record of scholastic and extra-curricular accomplishments, who is also engaged in an internship dealing with environmental conservation;
- the Wall Street Journal Achievement Award, given to a graduating senior for outstanding scholarship and community service;
- the New York State Society of CPA's Awards, given to outstanding students in accounting;
- the Donald C. Brandt Memorial Scholarship to an outstanding sophomore or junior;
- the Students In Free Enterprise Scholarships to outstanding SIFE members;
- the Alumni scholarships, given to students with outstanding records of academic achievements;
- the Franklin B. Krohn Memorial Scholarship to a junior Business Administration major with outstanding extra-curricular accomplishments; and
- the Stephen and Carol Eck Ward Scholarships given to students with outstanding records of scholastic and extra-curricular achievements.
