Programs of Concentration

Accounting

The accounting program molds individuals into financial experts. Graduates work as business consultants, financial managers, independent auditors, and tax advisors. McIntire’s accounting program is widely recognized as one of the country’s best, and graduates are highly sought. The program builds on the broad liberal arts background acquired during a student’s first two years at the University. It is designed to give the student both a sound general business foundation and the analytical and conceptual skills essential to an understanding of current accounting practices.

Accountants supply quantitative information to various users. Primarily financial in nature, this information is essential to decision making and control. As corporate financial managers, they also participate in financial decisions that allocate scarce resources within and among private and public organizations to achieve both economic and social goals. Equally important, accounting provides information to investors, creditors, government, and society on management’s stewardship and the effective use of an organization’s resources. Independent certified public accountants provide a wide variety of tax and consulting services to clients. CPAs also audit management reports and determine whether they fairly present the facts.

The basic requirements for the accounting concentration are COMM 311, 312, 342, 410, and 414. Students seeking professional certification (e.g., certified public accountant, certified management accountant, or certified internal auditor) should consider taking COMM 521, 445, 531, and 546 as electives.

University of Virginia students who have been admitted to the McIntire School of Commerce may apply for, and be accepted to, the M.S. in Accounting degree program after completing two semesters of study as a Commerce School student, earning good grades, submitting acceptable letters of recommendation, and earning GMAT scores that indicate a capacity to do graduate work at the University. Because this is a competitive admissions process, acceptance to the program is not guaranteed but ultimately hinges on the candidate’s record of accomplishments.

The Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination Students planning to sit for the Uniform CPA examination should determine the requirements for admission to the examination by contacting their State Board of Accountancy.

For information on the requirements for admission for the CPA examination in Virginia contact the Virginia State Board of Accountancy, Department of Commerce, 3600 W. Broad St., Richmond, Virginia 23230; 1-800-CPA-EXAM.

For information on admission requirements for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) examination and/or the Certified in Financial Management (CFM) examination, contact the Institute of Management Accountants, 10 Paragon Drive, Montvale, NJ 07645-1759; 1-800-638-4427.

Finance

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Financial management handles the efficient acquisition and investment of a firm’s funds, and thus plays a critical role in the management of the corporate enterprise, both in domestic and multinational firms. It is therefore essential that the student possess an understanding of both the functional and analytical methods of finance and of the operation of global financial systems.

To achieve these goals, the program in finance presents an integrated treatment of the operational aspects of business and investment finance, the functions of financial institutions and international capital markets, and the basic economic and legal framework of financial organizations. Primary emphasis is placed on the role of the global financial manager in achieving broad corporate objectives, including financial planning and control, and raising and investing funds. A variety of teaching pedagogies, including lecture, socratic, and case methods, are employed in this process. The program is designed to meet the needs of students who look forward to specialized careers in corporate finance, financial counseling, investment management, or banking. International financial topics are incorporated throughout the finance concentration, which includes a specialized course held abroad, COMM 474. Students concentrating in finance are required to complete COMM 311, 372, 475, and one of several 400-level capstone courses. Additional courses in accounting are recommended.

International Business

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For managers, knowledge of international business is imperative in an increasingly global business environment. The crossing of national boundaries intensifies the complexity of a business transaction given the differences between countries in accounting, banking, culture, currency, finance, governmental regulations, information systems, insurance, law, management, marketing, political systems, taxation, and transportation.

As a field of study, international business is broader in focus than the field of international trade. International business draws upon contributions from the traditional business disciplines of accounting, finance, management, information technology, and marketing. It also draws from anthropology, cultural studies, economics, geography, history, languages, law, politics, psychology, and sociology.

The required courses for a concentration in international business include COMM 451, 465, or 469, and 472 or 474. Additionally, students must complete the foreign language requirement and at least two courses in area studies of other cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students are encouraged to study abroad during the fall semester of their fourth year.

Management

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Managerial, interpersonal, and organizational insight skills are a necessary complement to technical skills for long-term career success and satisfaction. The management concentration in the McIntire School develops and deepens those skills through a course of study in management theory and practice. Students choose a management concentration for a variety of reasons. Some have a specific career in mind, such as human resource management or entrepreneurship. Others choose management courses or a concentration to provide a balance to more technical courses of study in business. The flexibility of the management curriculum provides students with the ability to customize a program of study that meets their academic and career objectives.

The required courses for this concentration are three 400-level management courses.

Information Technology

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Information Technology is both a critical organizational resource and an important competitive weapon. The knowledge and skills necessary to effectively deploy information technology resources and manage information are essential for every manager.

The concentration in IT prepares students to become effective business systems analysts who can apply their proficiency in contemporary information technologies across business functions such as finance, accounting and marketing. Important areas for IT-related knowledge and skill development include business software engineering, systems analysis and design, database management, and data communications.

The required courses in the IT concentration are COMM 320, 327, and 427. Recommended electives include COMM 428, 429, 530. Students planning to pursue an IT career are strongly encouraged to take selected courses outside of the Commerce School; examples include MDST 110 or 308, CS 120, and SYS 256.

Marketing

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The discipline of marketing is eclectic in nature. In developing and expanding its content, it draws from and interchanges with the quantitative and social sciences. As such, the areas of accounting, economics, law, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and other related disciplines are used as resources for the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical underpinnings of the marketing discipline.

What product or service, and how much of it, should a company provide for its consumers? How should the product be distributed? How should the company inform consumers of the product’s existence and merits? What price should consumers pay for it?

Every organization, profit or non-profit, must answer these questions in one form or another. It is the purpose of the marketing program to provide the student with the necessary concepts and background for examining these questions. The program’s objectives are to make the student aware of the role of marketing in society and in the firm, where it interrelates with almost all organizational functions and influences virtually all plans and decisions.

The marketing program intends to introduce the student to the role of marketing, both in the firm and in society. Case analyses, computer simulation, discussion groups, experiential exercises, research reports, seminars, field projects, lectures, outside speakers, and the McIntire Marketing Association (MMA), together with national marketing/advertising competitions, are utilized to accomplish this purpose. The marketing program is intended to meet the basic educational needs of students planning graduate study or entering profit or non-profit organizations in such areas as client relations, sales, advertising and promotion, brand management, distribution, international marketing, marketing research, marketing consulting, logistics, purchasing, product management, retailing, and positions in the service industries.

Required courses for the marketing concentration are COMM 353 and two 400-level marketing courses.