A Quality Degree to Advance Your Career in Business

In this economic climate, business employers are looking for a well-educated workforce ready to evaluate and respond to the organizational opportunities and challenges their businesses face today. Whether you are looking to start your career in business or to elevate your existing career, the high-quality Bachelor of Science in Business can help you understand the theory of organizational management and develop the core business skills that can make your résumé more attractive to your current or future employers.

Why an Online Business Degree at Penn State

Penn State’s online Bachelor of Science in Business helps students develop an understanding of the most important areas of business. As a student in this online degree program, you can learn how to:

• maximize marketing strategies
• think, speak, and write about organizational issues
• analyze business data to make inferences and solve business problems
• understand capital risk and reward metrics
• use finance and accounting measures to drive business decisions
• execute contract agreements
• prepare your business for the cultural implications of a global marketplace

The online business degree program incorporates case studies of real-world business problems, along with organizational theory, so that the skills you’re developing can be applied directly to today’s business challenges. 

In addition to understanding these important core business skills, you can further define your studies by choosing either the Accounting option, Marketing and Management option, or Individualized option. In a ranking of the 25 Best Jobs by U.S. News & World Report, the top positions related to business were in the fields of marketing and accounting and finance, so regardless of which career path you choose, our business options can give you an advantage.

Accounting Option

Graduates in areas related to finance and accounting are increasingly more valued by employers. With this 18-credit Accounting option, you can gain an advantage as a financial professional in the business world. The courses within the option offer a deeper understanding of:

• financial and managerial accounting
• systems and controls
• taxation
• auditing

Marketing and Management Option

With the 18-credit Management and Marketing option, you can develop a specialty related to advanced elements of management and marketing. If you choose to pursue this option, you can customize your degree by selecting the courses that best match your career goals.

The marketing courses in this option give students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of:

• selling techniques
• global marketing
• small business marketing
• other advanced marketing topics

The management courses available include topics such as:

• small business management
• leadership and motivation
• human resources management
• organizational design
• other advanced management topics

Individualized Option

The Individualized option draws upon course work in different disciplines to create a business-focused plan of study. This plan is developed in conjunction with your adviser and must be approved by the program coordinator upon your admission to the program.

Career Opportunities for Graduates

Because Penn State’s Bachelor of Science in Business degree is focused on developing a core business skill set that applies to virtually any industry, as a graduate of the program you can prepare for positions such as:

• business marketing manager
• business analyst
• finance examiner or analyst
• financial adviser or loan counselor
• management accountant or internal auditor
• marketing strategist
• operations manager
• property or real estate manager

Earning your bachelor's degree in business can help you stand out to employers for these positions in today's competitive job market.

Online Education at Penn State

Penn State has a history of 100+ years of distance education and more than a decade of experience in online learning. We strive to create an online learning environment that brings you as close to the face-to-face experience as possible. Learn more about Penn State World Campus.