Concentrations | School of Management

A concentration allows you to specialize in an area of your choice. You have a lot of flexibility and time to decide what you are passionate about, and there are advisors, students and faculty to help you through the process of figuring it all out.

Chose a focus area of study allows you to explore your interests that could translate into a future career.

We offer seven unique undergraduate concentrations. It’s not uncommon for students to take up one — or several — concentrations as while pursuing their bachelor’s degrees:

How do I declare a concentration?
To declare a concentration, you must take the core courses and electives specified in the specific area.

When do I declare a concentration?
Typically, students declare concentration in their junior year, but it may be done any time before graduation.

Leadership and consulting

The leadership and consulting concentration will enhance your ability to lead and manage people and organizations throughout your career. In today’s workplace, leadership happens at all levels — from entry-level to CEO. Developing these skills will make you a valuable asset on any team and in any work environment.

During your studies, you will receive a comprehensive assessment of you leadership skills to help you create a personal development plan. This concentration emphasizes hands-on practice through simulations, local consulting, cases and speaker engagements. In one required course students engage in experiential learning through which they work as strategic leadership consultants in local non-profit organizations. Core courses will help you refine your presentation, writing and public speaking skills.

Coursework

The leadership and consulting concentration is fulfilled by three required courses and one elective course. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Required Courses

You must complete three required courses:
LEAD 351: Leadership Skills and Development
LEAD 352: Team Leadership
LEAD 353: Strategic Leadership

Elective Courses

PSYC 344: Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC 385: Psychological Tests
BE 201: Self-Organizing Systems
BE 202: Biological Networks
BE 461: Exploring Social Dynamics
FIN 324: Corporate Finance
SCM 360: Advance Spreadsheet Modeling
MGMT 495: Leadership Internship

After You Graduate

You will be prepared for an entry-level role in consulting firms or organization that values exemplary leadership skills. Many students discover combining leadership and consulting with other concentrations such as management information systems (MIS), marketing or finance to be very attractive to future employers.

Entrepreneurship

Are you interested in launching a new product, starting your own company or revolutionizing a market? The entrepreneurship concentration provides a theoretical and practice-based background you’ll need to manage new ventures in start-ups and at established organizations.

Students will be divided into teams to devise and propose business plans to their entire class, and then to entrepreneurs who will function as judges. Faculty members and entrepreneurs will assist students in their research, discussions and presentation preparation. The entrepreneur judges will typically be alumni of the School of Management who are working on Wall Street as venture capitalists, along with local business owners and managers.

Coursework

The entrepreneurship concentration is fulfilled by three required courses and one elective course. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Required course

ENT 460: Entrepreneurship

Elective Courses

FIN 324: Corporate Finance
MKTG 441: Market Research
SCM 365: Supply Chain Logistics Management
MKTG 325: New Product Marketing

Finance

You will build a strong foundation in financial management, investments and financial institutions. This knowledge base is supplemented by studies in corporate finance and derivative assets that provide applications to real-world cases. You will also gain analytical and quantitative skills as well as practical experience using computer software applications.

Coursework

The finance concentration is fulfilled by two required courses, one financial elective course and one elective course. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Required Courses

FIN 322: Investments
FIN 324: Corporate Finance

Finance Elective Courses

FIN 320: Financial Markets and Institutions
FIN 430: Financial Statement Analysis
FIN 450: Derivatives
FIN 460: International Finance
FIN 465: Arbitrage Strategies

Elective Courses

SCM 360: Spreadsheet Modeling
MATH 222: Calculus II
MATH 447: Introduction to Probability and Statistics

After you graduate

Many of our students pursue careers in commercial banking, corporate finance, financial planning, financial regulation, insurance, investment banking, money management and risk management. Leading investment banks like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup recruit our students. The School of Management is also home to the University’s Zurack Trading Room, which allows students to work with financial technology in real time for course credit.

General Management

Many chose to specialize in general management if they want to focus in an area not currently available as a concentration, or wish for broad exposure to the various management disciplines in preparation for graduate study. This concentration is general enough if you don’t want to be confined into one area, and allows you to explore many different classes offered within the School of Management.

Coursework

The general management concentration is fulfilled by any three management courses above MGMT 311. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain [link to https://my.binghamton.edu/].

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Courses

MGMT 350: Community Service Project
MGMT 411: Global Strategic Management
MGMT 530: Global and Ethical Environment

Quantitative Finance

This concentration combines financial theory with a solid grounding in quantitative methods. Recent innovations in financial markets have led to an increased demand for analytically skilled professionals. Understanding pricing models in derivatives and other exotic securities requires knowledge in finance and also statistics, stochastic processes and differential equations.

Quantitative finance has more required courses than the other concentrations. The School of Management only considers students with a cumulative GPA 3.5 or higher for the quantitative finance concentration.

Required courses

MATH 222 or (MATH 226 and 227): Calculus 2
MATH 304: Linear Algebra
ECON 466: Introduction to Econometrics
FIN 322: Investments
FIN 450: Derivatives
FIN 324: Corporate Finance
FIN 465: Arbitrage Strategies
SCM 360: Advanced Spreadsheet Modeling

After You Graduate

Students who pursue a quantitative finance concentration will be on track for placement at investment banks. Investment banks help companies and governments issue securities, help investors purchase securities, manage financial assets, trade securities and provide financial advice. The leading investment banks — including Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Chase H&Q and Goldman Sachs — have hired our students.

Global Management

You will be equipped to deal with business issues at the global level and interact with people of diverse socio-cultural-ethnic backgrounds in the work place. Through your courses you will explore the fundamentals of national competitiveness, productivity and growth and study factors that determine production, consumption, savings and investment on a global scale.

International Experience and Language Requirements

The global management concentration requires language proficiency in a second language and an international experience via study abroad or internship. If you are interested in pursuing this concentration and unable to travel overseas, contact the Career Services Office [link to 5.1] to find a domestic internship with an international component. If you are interested in studying abroad, learn more about our hundreds of partnerships with business schools abroad.

Coursework

The global management concentration is fulfilled through three international business (IBUS) elective courses within the School of Management and one additional course from the IBUS list or a liberal arts course from an approved list. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Elective courses

IBUS 410: Negotiations
IBUS 480: Special Topics: Global Business Risk Management
IBUS 480: Special Topics: Doing Business in Emerging Markets
MKTG 470: International Marketing
FIN 460: International Corporate Finance

Liberal arts courses

ANTH 258: Peoples and Cultures of Europe
GEOG 211: Cultural Geography: Society, Environment and Change
HIST 486Q: Human Rights in 20th Century

Management Information Systems (MIS)

Management information systems (MIS) will prepare you for a career in a variety of information technology fields. The MIS concentration will teach you how to use technology and information to improve a company’s operations and bottom line. Students can gain depth in the areas of software development using database technology, programming, telecommunications and the use of various computer tools. The concentration also addresses emerging trends and issues in IS theory and applications are emphasized in order to better serve those students who rise to managerial responsibility. Thus, students are prepared to use their practical knowledge in a decision-making capacity.

If your primary interest is in MIS, it’s recommended that you do not pursue another concentration and supplement the concentration requirements by taking additional courses in MIS. However, if you are already pursuing another concentration and have an interest in MIS, the four-course concentration is an advantage in information and tech-related fields.

Coursework

Depending on your year, the management information systems concentration is fulfilled by one of two track a) two required CQS courses, one recommended CS course and one-two elective courses (freshmen and sophomores only) or b) one required MIS course and three elective courses (juniors and seniors only). The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Track 1 for Freshmen and Sophomores

Required Courses

CQS 111: Computer Tools for Management
CQS 311: Advanced Computer Tools For OPM/MIS

Recommended Courses (freshman and sophomores only)

CS 105: Introduction to Computing

Elective Courses

MIS 311 is the pre-requisite for all upper-level MIS courses.
MIS 311: Information Systems and Applications Design
MIS 480C: E-Business
MIS 450: IT Security and Forensics

Track 2 for Junior and Seniors

Required Course

MIS 323: Systems Analysis

Electives Courses

MIS 333: Database Management
MIS 425: Web Application Development
MIS 460: E-business

After You Graduate

The curriculum provides students with marketable job skills by teaching them material that is of immediate usefulness in entry-level positions. You could become an analyst, information systems consultant, network administrator, web developer or programmer.

Marketing

Marketing involves the study of consumers and their needs in order to offer a product or service. The concentration utilizes computer technology, group work, case analysis and marketing simulations to strengthen your skills in offering innovative marketing solutions and selling/improving products. The School of Management also weaves ethical and international issues into the curriculum to enrich your perspective.

Coursework

The marketing concentration is fulfilled by one required course, two marketing elective courses (must be above MKTG 311) and an additional elective course. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain. Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising for the most updated list of core courses and electives.

Required course

MKTG 320: Market Research

Elective courses

MKTG 322: Consumer Behavior
MKTG 340: Advertising
MKTG 441: Customer Analytics

Non-SOM elective courses

LEAD 351: Leadership skills and Development
GEOG 333: Retail Geography
PSYC 351: Perception

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services. In your future career, you will be involved in the oversight of materials, information and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to retailer to consumer.

Coursework

The supply chain management concentration is fulfilled by four required courses. The current schedule for these courses is available in the Schedule of Classes on the BU Brain . Descriptions of courses are listed in the Binghamton University Bulletin and course descriptions for the upcoming semester are available on the BU Brain.

Here’s a sample of courses you can take to fulfill this concentration. Contact Academic Advising [link to Academic Advising] for the most updated list of required courses.

Required Courses

SCM 360: Spreadsheet Modeling and Decision Making
SCM 365: Supply Chain Logistics Management
SCM 480: Special Topics in Supply Chain Management
SCM 480: Business Intel and Analytics

After You Graduate

This concentration could help you pursue a role as a logistics planner, buyer/supply management analyst or inventory specialist. Your career could progress to supply chain manager, or consultant, and to the vice president level in supply chain related areas. The job prospects in this field are rapidly growing, and positions for supply chain management can come from all sectors of the economy including manufacturing, service, health care and retail.