Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Colorado Boulder

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business gives students a broad foundation in business while allowing them to tailor their degree through one of 10 Areas of Emphasis, including Business Analytics, Finance, Management, Marketing, Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management and Sustainable Business. The program combines core business knowledge with quantitative, communication and leadership skills, while real-world business experiences and industry connections help students prepare for a wide range of careers.

Curriculum Structure

Year One: Students begin with a broad introduction to business through courses such as The World of Business (BCOR 1015), Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 2010) and Mathematical Analysis in Business (MATH 1112). They also take Designing Your Leeds 1: Exploration (BADM 1250) and First-Year Global Experience (BADM 1260), helping them explore career interests, develop professional skills and gain an early global perspective.

Year Two: Students build their core business knowledge across major functional areas through Principles of Marketing (BCOR 2201), Principles of Management (BCOR 2202), Principles of Accounting I (BCOR 2203), Principles of Financial Management (BCOR 2204), Introduction to Management Information Systems (BCOR 2205) and Principles of Supply Chain Management (BCOR 2206). The second semester adds Business Law (BCOR 2301), Business Ethics and Social Responsibility (BCOR 2302), Strategic and Entrepreneurial Thinking (BCOR 2304) and the six-credit BCOR Applied Semester Experience (BASE), where students apply their business knowledge to practical situations.

Year Three: Students move into advanced study by selecting courses within their chosen Area of Emphasis, supported by business electives and broader university coursework. This is where students can begin developing deeper expertise in fields such as Business Analytics, Finance, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Supply Chain Management or Strategy & Entrepreneurship, depending on their selected pathway.

Year Four: Students continue advanced Area of Emphasis and business-elective coursework before completing a Senior Seminar within their chosen emphasis. The final year also includes Excel in Business (BADM 2010), reinforcing practical data and spreadsheet skills alongside the student's specialized business preparation.

Focus Areas

Accounting, Business Analytics, Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Real Estate, Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Business.

Learning Outcomes

Students develop knowledge of core business areas including accounting, finance, management, marketing, and operations and information management; develop specialized knowledge in their chosen business area; apply business principles to new and recurring problems; analyze decision-making situations; and communicate solutions effectively in written and verbal formats.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

Leeds School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), providing an internationally recognized quality framework for business education.

Reputation (Employability & Rankings)

Leeds reports a 99.2% overall positive career outcome rate for the Class of 2025, with a knowledge rate of 83.3%; its graduates were employed, pursuing further education or otherwise meeting NACE-defined positive career outcomes. The school also reports that more than 400 companies recruit from Leeds annually, while its current rankings page lists Leeds as No. 21 among public business schools in the U.S. and No. 21 for Best Undergraduate Business Program (2026).

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The program places strong emphasis on applying business concepts beyond the classroom. Students work with real business cases through BASE, can participate in internships, micro-internships, case competitions, industry treks and global experiences, while Leeds' Badami Office of Experiential Learning connects students with consulting-style projects for businesses and nonprofits. Students also have access to professional mentoring, career coaching, specialized business research resources and collaborative team spaces.

Key opportunities and resources include:

BCOR Applied Semester Experience (BASE): A required sophomore experience in which students integrate their first two years of business knowledge and apply it to real-world business problems through practical, collaborative work.
Badami Office of Experiential Learning: Provides consulting-style projects with businesses and nonprofits involving areas such as market research, process improvement, strategic recommendations and data analysis. Students can use the EduSourced experiential-learning management system to apply for projects.
Internships and Micro-Internships: Leeds' experiential-learning pathway includes micro-internships from the first year and internships during later years, giving students opportunities to gain professional experience before graduation.
First-Year Global Experience: Students can gain an international perspective through a course combined with a short academic trip focused on a specific country or region outside the United States.
Industry Treks: Students visit companies in locations such as Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, meeting recruiters and executives and learning about workplace culture and career opportunities.
Case Competitions: Leeds provides competitions where students test their business skills against students from other programs and gain practical experience solving business challenges.
Professional Mentorship Program: Juniors and seniors can be matched with experienced professionals based on interests such as industry, career path and location, with mentors supporting networking, resumes, internships and career preparation.
William M. White Business Library: Located in the Koelbel Building, the library provides business databases, research guides, books, journals, newspapers and business research support.
Team Rooms and Koelbel Building: Leeds students have access to group study rooms with available technology, supporting collaborative coursework and project work.
Academic Centers of Excellence: Leeds centers provide opportunities connected to areas such as finance, entrepreneurship, real estate, ethics and social responsibility through competitions, research, industry engagement and career development.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduates can apply their business foundation and chosen Area of Emphasis to careers across finance, consulting, marketing, analytics, management, entrepreneurship, supply chain, technology and other business functions. Leeds' career infrastructure combines individualized coaching, professional mentoring, employer connections, internships and practical projects to help students move from academic study into professional roles.

Typical career roles include:

Business Analyst
Management Consultant
Financial Analyst
Marketing Analyst

Career development and progression opportunities:

Career coaching: Leeds provides industry-experienced career coaches who work individually with students on job and internship searches, professional skills, networking and long-term career planning.
Career outcomes: The Leeds Class of 2025 recorded a 99.2% overall positive career outcome rate, based on NACE First Destination Survey standards, with a knowledge rate of 83.3%.
Employers and industry connections: Leeds reports that more than 400 companies recruit annually, while its corporate-partner network includes employers such as Gusto and engagement with companies through interviews, classroom panels, mentorship, career treks and other activities.
Internship-to-employment pathway: Leeds reports that 81% of students complete at least one internship and that 60% of internships convert to full-time jobs among the corporate-partner data reported by the school.
Major employers: The Class of 2025's reported top 10 employers included Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Deloitte, KPMG, Plante Moran, EY, memoryBlue, PwC, J.P. Morgan and Oracle.
Long-term professional value: AACSB accreditation provides an internationally recognized quality framework for the Leeds business education, while students can build additional specialization through Areas of Emphasis, certificates, global programs and mentoring.
Accelerated master's pathway: Students pursuing accounting, finance or both may be eligible for Leeds' Bachelor's-Accelerated Master's (BAM) option, which allows advanced master's coursework and an independent research project toward combined bachelor's and master's degrees in five years.

Further Academic Progression:
After completing the BS in Business Administration, students can continue into graduate study at CU Boulder, including Leeds programs such as the MS in Business Analytics, MS in Finance, MS in Supply Chain Management, MS in Accounting and Taxation, or the MBA. Students in eligible accounting/finance pathways can also use the five-year Bachelor's-Accelerated Master's route to transition directly from undergraduate to graduate study.