Academics
The College of Business is highly respected for developing professionals with the personal dedication, ethics, and lifelong learning capabilities needed to succeed professionally and serve society. Individualized educational experience is achieved by actively involving students, by small class atmosphere, accessible faculty, and continuously improving the curriculum.
A major strength of the College is the quality of its faculty and their willingness to help students. Select the College of Business for its academic reputation, cost, and central location at the crossroads of Illinois.
Majors
Find a undergraduate major that matches your interests. Learn about sequences, internships, scholarships, awards, student organizations and more.
Accountancy
The Accounting Department at Illinois State University offers premier undergraduate and graduate programs in accountancy with a national reputation for excellence. The department offers four undergraduate sequences in accountancy, a degree in business information systems, a master of science program, and a unique integrated 150-hour bachelor of science/master of professional accountancy program.
Bachelor of Science/Master of Professional Accountancy
The 5 year Integrated Bachelor of Science/Master of Professional Accountancy program is primarily oriented toward preparation for careers in professional accountancy. The BS/MPA program is strongly recommended for students interested in a plan of study designed to integrate accounting technology, information systems, and eligibility to sit for the CPA examination.
Business Administration
The Business Administration (BUA) major is an excellent choice for students seeking to obtain a broad, interdisciplinary background in business. This major is designed for students who want to study business, but don’t want to specialize in one of the customary functional areas of business (accounting, marketing, finance, or management).
Business Education
The Business Education major at Illinois State University combines the solid foundation of a business degree with preparation of teachers in business, marketing and computers.
Business Information Systems
The Business Information Systems (BIS) curriculum provides a foundation for students to develop deeper expertise in business information systems activities.
Finance
The Finance program at Illinois State University emphasizes effective teaching and student involvement in the educational process, with special attention to the concept of linking theory with financial practice.
Insurance
The Insurance Major at Illinois State University is a premier, nationally-known curriculum that prepares students for careers in insurance and risk management.
International Business
International Business is an interdisciplinary program, combining core courses in general business and foreign languages with advanced courses in international business and international courses across campus.
Management
The Department of Management & Quantitative Methods offers programs of study in entrepreneurship and small business management, human resource management, organizational leadership, business administration, and international business.
Marketing
The Department of Marketing offers a general sequence in addition to specialized sequences in professional sales and integrated marketing communication.
Minors
Boost your undergraduate major with a complementary minor. Find out new and exciting ways to be the graduate companies want to meet.
Accountancy
A minor in Accountancy at Illinois State helps students understand the political, economic, and cultural environments in which businesses operate, and makes them more marketable to prospective employers as they seek careers in other fields.
Business Administration
Business Administration minors at Illinois State are able to supplement their major coursework with a background in business.
Business Analytics
Business Analytics is a minor that will provide students with an opportunity to gain deeper proficiency and comfort with data analysis.
Business Environment & Sustainability
The minor in Business Environment & Sustainability helps to increase awareness and knowledge of the relationships between business and the physical environment.
Entrepreneurship
The Minor in Entrepreneurship is a cross disciplinary approach to teaching basic entrepreneurial skills to undergraduate students from diverse major programs. The minor provides a hands-on, transformative approach allowing students to better practice their passions through private business endeavors.
Financial Planning
The financial planning minor at Illinois State allows students to help support their focused plan of study with a background in a field with strong potential employment opportunities.
Insurance
Through the insurance minor at Illinois State, students have the ability to enhance their employment opportunities within the insurance field.
International Business
A minor in International Business at Illinois State provides the same broad global exposure to language, area studies and International Business courses in a smaller format in conjunction with with other College of Business majors only.
Organizational Leadership
The minor in organizational leadership helps students develop interpersonal and team skills, as well as further develop leadership experience.
Graduate Programs
Take it to the Masters level. Position yourself for top leadership with an MBA, BSMPA or Master of Accountancy.
Illinois State MBA
The Master of Business Administration Program at Illinois State offers two different plans of study to fit with the needs of its students, the Traditional MBA Program and the Corporate MBA Program.
Bachelor of Science/Master of Professional Accountancy
The BS/MPA program is primarily oriented toward preparation for careers in professional accountancy. The BS/MPA program is strongly recommended for students interested in a plan of study designed to integrate accounting technology, information systems, and eligibility to sit for the CPA examination.
Master of Accountancy
The primary objective of the Master of Science in Accountancy program is to provide candidates preparing for professional careers in accounting a greater breadth and depth in accounting education than is possible in a baccalaureate or Master of Business Administration program.
Master of Science Business Education
In the Master of Science Business Education (MSBE) program, you can customize a plan of study from courses housed within the business education department, and either the MBA program of the College of Education. After graduation, you will potentially be qualified to teach at a community college of to continue to teach in a K-12 program depending upon the sequence selected. You could also see a career in the business world
Graduate Certificates
The College of Business offers several graduate level certificate programs that individuals can pursue alone or in conjunction with the MBA program.
Audit and Control Specialist Graduate Certificate
This 9-hour certificate provides exposure to the management of electronic commerce including eBusiness models, the IT industry, emerging trends and channel management, cybersecurity and information systems auditing, and information systems project development and management while using the systems development life cycle will be explored.
Business Analytics Graduate Certificate
The Analytics Graduate Certificate gives you the skills needed to generate actionable business insights from the ever-increasing volume, variety, and velocity of data available to businesses. The program is designed for:
- Local employees seeking to advance their career and enhance their contribution to the business enterprise by improving their proficiency in data analytics
- MBA students seeking additional business analytics electives
You’ll learn advanced data analytic skills applicable to business problems across a variety of functional areas, such as marketing and sales, accounting, supply chain management, human resources, and finance.
Data Scientist Graduate Certificate
This certificate is a three-course program designed to provide additional credentials for individuals who desire to cross train into a new field or enhance their skill set within their current field. The certificate provides training with programming tools designed specifically for data analysis such as Python programming language and R programming language. Data management will be explored including data preparation, data exploration, data representation, data discovery, and data cleansing. Finally, the application of data analysis tools to existing big data sets will be performed.
Forensic Accountant Graduate Certificate
The Forensic Accountant Certificate is a three-course program designed to provide additional credentials for individuals who desire to cross train into a new field or enhance their skill set within their current field. This certificate provides exposure to issues related to accounting fraud and helps you understand the theory of accounting fraud. Application of tools and procedures to detect and correct accounting fraud is a major part of this certificate.
Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership
The Graduate Certificate in Leadership provides students with a graduate-level experience in the topic of organizational leadership and addresses critical elements of the leadership function in contemporary organizations.
Departments
Contact our departments for questions, find faculty and staff, and more.
Department of Accounting
The Accounting Department at Illinois State University offers premier undergraduate and graduate programs in accountancy with a national reputation for excellence. The department offers four undergraduate sequences in accountancy, a degree in business information systems, a master of science program, and a unique integrated 150-hour bachelor of science/master of professional accountancy program.
Department of Finance, Insurance and Law
The Finance program at Illinois State University emphasizes effective teaching and student involvement in the educational process, with special attention to the concept of linking theory with financial practice. The Insurance major at Illinois State University is a premier, nationally-known curriculum that prepares students for careers in insurance and risk management.
Department of Management and Quantitative Methods
The Department of Management and Quantitative Methods offers programs of study in entrepreneurship and small business management, human resource management, organizational leadership, business administration, and international business. Upper level courses in each program are designed to provide students with hands-on experience and involve working with real client projects.
Department of Marketing
The Marketing Department offers programs of study in Marketing and Business Teacher Education. The marketing program offers a general sequence in addition to specialized sequences in professional sales and integrated marketing communication. The curriculum is sensitive to, and compatible with, private sector and societal demands.
Illinois State MBA
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is a collegiate degree with courses offered in the departments of Accounting; Finance, Insurance and Law; Management and Quantitative Methods; and Marketing. Recognized by Princeton Review as one of the "Best Business Schools," Illinois State University's MBA Program consistently maintains a position among elite business schools.