UCF College of Business: A Comprehensive Overview
The UCF College of Business is dedicated to equipping students and faculty with the resources necessary to "Get to the ONE," enabling students to achieve their academic goals, secure jobs, launch businesses, make sales, contribute meaningfully, and mentor others. Established in 1968, the college offers a wide array of degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and executive levels. All programs, as well as the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting, are fully accredited.
Mission and Objectives
The primary objective of the Department of Management is to educate students in the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to perform the basic tasks of management. UCF College of Business is at the forefront of the next generation of business and education. The college strives to be the place where students can achieve their academic objectives to be the ONE who gets the job, starts a business, makes the sale, makes a contribution, and mentors others. Graduates will emerge as great communicators, collaborators, risk-takers, data-driven decision-makers, and problem-solvers.
Admission Requirements
Admission to UCF does not automatically grant admission to the College of Business Administration (CBA). All students enter the University as ‘pre’ business majors, regardless of their intended business major. The College of Business is a restricted access college, meaning that certain criteria must be met in order to be accepted into a College of Business major. This has been true for several years and remains true.
Primary Business Core
Based upon the interests and skills identified in GEB 3006 (or GEB 3003 for earlier catalog years) and academic performance in the Primary Business Core classes, students will select and request admission to a specific business major. Due to the highly specialized nature of the Accounting, Finance, Management, and Marketing majors, interested candidates must show mastery of the subject matter, as demonstrated by a 3.0 GPA in the five Primary Core classes. Additionally, a grade of at least a B “3.0” is required in the introductory course of the desired major, and a minimum grade of C “2.0” is required in each of the five Primary Core classes. Upon admission into the Accounting, Finance, Management, and Marketing majors, a minimum grade of C “2.0” is required in all coursework in the program. All students, upon successful completion of the Primary Business Core classes with a minimum GPA of 2.0 are eligible to enter the Economics, Integrated Business, and Real Estate majors.
Specialized Majors
Due to the highly specialized nature of the revised Accounting, Finance, Management, and Marketing majors, any student choosing to major in one of these disciplines must show mastery of the subject matter in all aspects of the Primary Core, as demonstrated by a 3.0 GPA, a minimum grade of “C” in all 5 classes as well as a grade of at least a B “3.0” in all upper level business classes. To successfully complete these specialty degrees, students must maintain a major grade point average of 2.75.
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Coursework
After selecting a specific business major and receiving college approval to enter the major, students will begin taking coursework in their selected major. All business majors require 27 credit hours of coursework in the major. In addition, all students will complete the Secondary Business Core and the remaining three courses in the Career Professional Series.
Secondary Business Core
The Secondary Business Core courses are designed to ensure that students have a solid understanding of the various functions of business and the environment in which the enterprise operates.
Career Professionalism Series
In order to prepare students for their post college career, students will also complete the Career Professionalism Series that began with GEB 3006: Career Development and Financial Planning. Career decisions relating to choice of major and programs of study are often time consuming and haphazard. This course provides personal reflection and decision making skills to help you successfully navigate educational and on-going career challenges. Students will finalize the implementation of their career plan and learn what to do after they get their entry-level job to manage their career.
Academic Programs
The College of Business offers a variety of programs designed to provide students with practical, hands-on learning and real-world experience.
Management
Management is a broad business degree that can lead to many career opportunities. The primary objective of the Department of Management is to educate students in the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to perform the basic tasks of management.
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Integrated Business
Pursuit of an integrated business degree allows a student to experience multiple facets of business within one major program. This non-specialized degree allows students to gain knowledge in key functional areas of business. Integrated business is a broad area that can lead to many career opportunities.
MBA Programs
The UCF MBA is an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited, 39-credit hour program with full-time and part-time schedule options. Through our rigorous curriculum, case study-based learning and teamwork, the UCF MBA equips students with advanced business skills and strong leadership abilities while evolving their perspective and growing their professional network. The UCF MBA is a combination of quantitative and qualitative coursework mixed with a focus on developing strategic thinking, collaboration and leadership skills. UCF offers three MBA options: executive, evening, and professional part-time or full-time.
Economics, Real Estate, and Integrated Business
All students, upon successful completion of the aforementioned Primary Core classes (a GPA of a 2.0 or better in the Primary Core classes), are eligible to enter majors in Economics BSBA, Economics BS, Real Estate BSBA, and Integrated Business BSBA and must maintain a 2.0 grade point average in the major and college to successfully complete the degree.
Experiential Learning and Engagement
A true culture of engagement sets the College apart from other business schools. With hundreds of events, activities, programs, organizations and resources available, students can identify their passion, practice their pitch, network with industry leaders, jumpstart a career or even launch a business before graduating. The College of Business fosters entrepreneurial activity and prepares graduates to adapt and succeed in a rapidly changing economy.
Internships
All internships are now housed within the Office of Professional Development. The College of Business Student Ambassadors host a student panel to share how they landed their internships, their experience and what they learned.
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Centsible Knights
Centsible Knights, Financial Literacy Program is designed to provide students with the tools and resources to strengthen financial knowledge and promote financial wellness.
Events and Speakers
Whether in the classroom or delivering a talk at the Dean’s Speaker Series, faculty members are engaged in the latest research and program development. UCF Alumni comeback to speak about how they got to the ONE!
Professional Development
The College emphasizes professional development to equip students with the skills and experiences they need to succeed in their careers. Starting in summer 2015, a student's first semester will be designed to help them match their abilities with their interests and get them on the path to a successful career. This involves both intense academic preparation along with professional development and meetings with a career coach.
GEB 3006: Career Development and Financial Planning
This course provides personal reflection and decision-making skills to help students successfully navigate educational and ongoing career challenges.
GEB 4004: Executing Your Career Plan
Students will finalize the implementation of their career plan and learn what to do after they get their entry-level job to manage their career.
Skills and Opportunities
UCF pushes students to get out of their comfort zones to try new things, communicate and collaborate with people who are different from them and take risks. What you’ll learn, who you’ll meet and the opportunities you’ll take on at UCF will lay the foundation for a meaningful life. Insights into human behavior and interests help experts develop strategies that drive successful businesses. At UCF, students learn from experts like Ray Eddy to understand business from standard practices to industry insights.
Key Skills
- Develop interpersonal and organizational skills through participation and leadership roles in student organizations.
- Develop and utilize a personal network of contacts.
- Learn to communicate effectively with a wide range of people.
Career Preparation
- Prepare to start in entry-level management trainee positions.
- Talk to professionals in the industry to learn more about claims, underwriting, and risk management.
- Prepare to work independently and to be self-motivated.
- Some positions in sales, such as pharmaceuticals, require at least one to two years of a proven record in outside sales.
Notable Alumni and Success Stories
The college boasts a network of successful alumni, including senators, presidential cabinet members, and countless business leaders. Jen shares her journey from Volunteer Manager to her current role as Executive Manager with the Girl Scouts of Citrus. Nora oversees the Marketing and Community Engagement Departments in their efforts to advance the credit union’s reputation, manage media relations, and engage in community relations and philanthropy efforts. Over the course of my career at BNY, I have led many impactful programs that have changed the way we do business. I took a lead role in opening our Orlando operational site providing enhanced resiliency for our business.
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