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Business undergraduate classes at ASU
The W. P. Carey School of Business immerses undergraduate students in the world of business through dynamic classes and coursework, building a solid foundation in business fundamentals, communication, critical thinking, and leadership. Entrepreneurship and innovation are key to our curriculum and your experience. Undergraduate students take intentionally designed classes to prepare for success at ASU and after graduation. Beyond the examples outlined here, students can access additional course descriptions and information through ASU’s course catalog.
WPC 101: Student Success in Business
Intentionally designed to support your success at ASU and after you graduate, WPC 101 is one of the key introductory classes that undergraduate students take at W. P. Carey. Many sections of this course are taught by current students, who share their perspectives along the way. The curriculum helps students own their success in the transition from high school graduate to college student and then to future business professional.
In WPC 101, students explore academic and career goals, participate in meaningful discussions, are exposed to new ideas and people, and become familiar with key resources. The course also includes an immersive entrepreneurship challenge and team project, where students work together to create a new business venture — developing their collaboration, creative, and planning skills.
Entrepreneurship challenge and team project
For the WPC 101 entrepreneurship challenge assignment, students work with a small group of classmates to develop a new business venture and deliver the final project in an 8 to 10-minute group presentation. Teams identify a problem facing a specific community and then create a company that offers a product or service that can solve the identified problem.
This semester-long project and assignment asks students to combine their inner entrepreneurial mindset with ASU and W. P. Carey resources to design a creative solution for a targeted audience.
- Collaborate with your team to identify a business
- Develop a business plan for the team’s company
- Compete against other teams in class to pitch the business
- Get early experience in collaboration and business development
Student perspectives
This was such a valuable course with such valuable information. I felt like it was custom fit to match my major, which I really loved.
What I learned through WPC 101 was essential in aiding me to where I am today. The information provided through the course was very helpful in every aspect of attending ASU.
The concept of the group project and creating a product gave me an idea of what the business industry would be like. I gained significant experience in public speaking and working with fellow peers.
The first day, my classmates figured out that we live in the same building and bonded over that. Sometimes we would walk to and from classes together which made the transition into college a lot smoother and more welcoming.
Business skill and core courses
The W. P. Carey School of Business offers a range of undergraduate degree programs. Our calculus-based and non-calculus based degrees have their own core set of courses in common. No matter your major, you’ll leave with a sound foundation in business, with both technical skill-based classes and knowledge of business practices and principles.
Calculus-based curriculum
Skill courses and core courses associated with our calculus-based programs are outlined as follows.
Business skill courses
Introduces the uses of accounting information focusing on the evolution of the business cycle and how accounting information is used for internal and external purposes.
Introduces business information systems from a business intelligence perspective and the uses of application software with emphasis on database and spreadsheet packages for efficient and effective problem solving.
Introductory course in macroeconomics. Topics include the measurement and modeling of output, national income, inflation and unemployment; the determinants of cross-country differences in income; the functions of money and the banking system; the causes of and policy responses to recessions; the effect of monetary and fiscal policy on interest rates and national income.
Introductory course in microeconomics. Topics include marginal analysis; international trade; supply and demand analysis; market efficiency; basic welfare analysis of market interactions and government intervention; the theory of firm production and costs; profit maximization in different market structures; consumer choice.
Introduces methods of statistical description, inference, probability, sampling, hypothesis testing and regression analysis with focus on business application.
Differential and integral calculus of elementary functions with applications.
Topics in business analysis, including: Lagrange multipliers, linear programming, linear algebra, intermediate probability, random variables, discrete distributions, and continuous distributions.
Business core courses
Theory and problems in financial management of business enterprises.
Legal theories, ethical issues, and regulatory climate affecting business policies and decisions.
Explores modern global integrated supply chain management. Covers traditional supply chain topics such as procurement, inventory management, operations, quality management, customer service, performance management and analytics, logistics and transportation. Also discusses issues related to sustainability, humanitarian logistics, ethical business practices and supply chain analytics in the context of evolving supply chains around the world. Students discover how business processes, performance metrics and modern supply chain IT tools aid in the management and growth of effective and efficient supply chains.
The dynamic role of marketing within society and organizations. Emphasizes frameworks and analytical tools that ensure customer focus and drive organizational performance.
Covers a broad range of concepts, theories and practices important for a basic understanding of the field of management with a special emphasis on leadership. Increases the students' understanding of and ability to apply contemporary management and leadership knowledge in both work and personal situations.
Provides foundational skills for exploring unstructured business problems. Covers techniques to approach decision making in a systematic manner, enabling students to become more comfortable in handling tasks or projects that are not initially well defined. Methods include exercises in brainstorming and iterating as well as use of more traditional analytical tools (such as spreadsheets and visualization software).
Non-calculus based curriculum
The W. P. Carey School offers two unique Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees in entrepreneurial leadership and applied business and technology solutions. Both programs are rooted in business analytics and enable students from a range of backgrounds to achieve their goals.
Business skill courses
Linear functions, quadratic functions, general polynomial functions, rational functions, systems of linear equations, logarithmic and exponential functions.
Covers advanced Excel skills using an applied focus on different types of decisions one may analyze using spreadsheet capabilities; graphs and charts to communicate complex analytics; pivot tables to slice and dice data for reporting.
Introductory course in macroeconomics. Topics include the measurement and modeling of output, national income, inflation and unemployment; the determinants of cross-country differences in income; the functions of money and the banking system; the causes of and policy responses to recessions; the effect of monetary and fiscal policy on interest rates and national income.
Flow charting, swimlane diagramming, process simulation using modern tool suites. Teaches the types of process evaluation decision analytics most commonly used and covers applied process analysis in a variety of contexts.
Introduces financial accounting concepts related to operating, financing, investing, and ethical decisions.
Introductory course in microeconomics. Topics include marginal analysis; international trade; supply and demand analysis; market efficiency; basic welfare analysis of market interactions and government intervention; the theory of firm production and costs; profit maximization in different market structures; consumer choice.
Introduces business information systems from a business intelligence perspective and the uses of application software with emphasis on database and spreadsheet packages for efficient and effective problem solving.
Introduces methods of statistical description, inference, probability, sampling, hypothesis testing and regression analysis with focus on business application.
Business core courses
Introduces the functions and applications of management in organizations, including controlling, decision making, leadership, motivation, planning, and social responsibility.
Dynamic analysis of personal financial planning, including time value of money, stock and bond investment, and retirement and estate planning.
Focuses on the nature and processes of marketing with an emphasis on practical application.
The design of insightful business data visualizations and dashboards to improve business decision making. Applies advanced data visualization techniques to make sense of temporal, geospatial, topical and network business data while also making it easier to digest and utilize for business users.
Explores how organizations effectively and efficiently buy things, make things and move things. Topics include procurement, inventory management, manufacturing and operations, as well as logistics and transportation. Students learn about the primary supply chain challenges organizations face and the strategies used to meet customer expectations. Also addresses supply chain issues related to sustainability, ethics, global business and analytics.
Business intelligence (BI) is a term describing a broad category of applications, technologies, architectures and processes for gathering, storing, accessing and analyzing data to provide business users with timely information to enable better insights into project and process management and evidence-based decision making. BI is based on techniques for data decision capture, cleansing, validation, warehousing and analytics to help decision makers improve decision outcomes. Provides a capstone understanding of the concepts of managing data resources and the development of business intelligence capabilities using data visualization, data warehousing, data mining, online analytical processing decision support systems and other advanced BI topics.
Professional preparation
There are many undergraduate career resources and support options available for business students from the W. P. Carey Career Services Center. In addition to taking career courses each year in college, you’ll have the opportunity to attend recruiting events, network with alumni, work with a career coach, and more.
Career Navigation Program
The Career Navigation Program is the core career curriculum for all undergraduate W. P. Carey School of Business students. This course series provides the foundation of how to use the Career Management Model and prepares you for program-specific career coaching. Each course is designed to provide relevant, curated career instruction for each year of your time at W. P. Carey.
Unique undergraduate business classes
Beyond the core business courses, each undergraduate program features unique classes designed to deliver information relevant to your major in an engaging manner. The following courses are merely a small sample of the exciting classes available at W. P. Carey.
Prepare to become a global leader
In today’s global economy, businesses are looking for leaders with the ability to connect with people and organizations across the world. A variety of courses from the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship prepare W. P. Carey students to lead organizations and teams in diverse contexts.
Development of skills in managing and working in collaborative environments. Theories and applications in small group dynamics and team facilitation.
Cultural role in international business relations; applied principles of cross-cultural communications, negotiations, and management; regional approaches to business relations.
Comprehensive overview of leadership in organizations. Provides students with understanding of leadership research and its applications to global organizations and the development of leaders.
Fuel the world through agribusiness
For students with an interest in the food industry, product innovation, and marketing, the Morrison School of Agribusiness within W. P. Carey might have the perfect class for you. Agribusiness students learn about the specific advertising and promotional strategies used by the food industry, sustainable food systems, and more.
Introductory food course provides students with a panoramic understanding of American agriculture. Explores American-grown food through history, policy, society, business innovation, and environmental sustainability.
The food product development process and how it interfaces with food technology and packaging concepts. Emphasizes the team approach, which is prevalent in the food industry.
Focuses on food and consumer products marketing at an intermediate level. Covers strategic concepts such as situational analysis, planning and objectives, and target marketing and positioning. Illustrates both the theory and application of strategic decision making through case analysis.
Explore marketing, sports business, and innovation
Marketing is dynamic, pervasive and exciting. It steers innovation, strategy, revenue generation and profitability and, ultimately, marketing drives economic development and corporate performance. Students will find a range of relevant learning options from the W. P. Carey Department of Marketing.
Introduces the concepts of sports business. Builds knowledge, skills and understanding of the fundamentals of sports business. Develops an appreciation for and understanding of the multiple stakeholders and diverse interests in and around sports business, and how they impact sports business practice and performance.
Innovation powers marketing. Explores social changes and emerging technologies that enable marketers to better reach consumers and drive product development, including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality, internet of things, blockchain and others.
Develops and applies critical and creative thinking skills through the lens of a sports context with the goal of making data-driven decisions.
Dive into supply chain management and sustainability
Organizations have a growing demand for employees with knowledge in sustainability and supply chain management. W. P. Carey courses provide vital information about how sustainability plays a role in business and consumer goods. And, the highly ranked Department of Supply Chain Management is always developing new learning opportunities to help students excel.
Examines the history of supply chains from a domestic and global perspective, the major functions within a supply chain (the Supply Chain), and how supply chains have led to advancements in economics and improved quality of life (Society). Also discusses how technology has led to more efficient supply chains and policies' role in supply chain management and competitiveness.
First of two related courses; provides a general overview of sustainability topics that are important to business today with a focus on consumer products and services and the social and environmental impact of the organizations that provide them.
Second of two related courses focusing on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable technologies and exposes students to a variety of related concepts and theories. Describes technology hotspot analysis, life cycle assessment and a variety of models of technology forecasting and diffusion.
What business major should I choose?
Depending on your interests and career aspirations, ASU offers more than 30 business degrees that could be a great fit for your future.
What is direct admission?
If you earn direct admission to a W. P. Carey undergraduate program, you will be a business student from day one at ASU. This structure supports your path to graduation.
How do you know if you’re ready for grad school?
Determining whether you're ready to pursue a graduate business degree is something you can start as early as your first year in college. Explore advice from W. P. Carey.