McIntire School of Commerce Transfers
The curriculum of the McIntire School of Commerce is based on the premise that a student can obtain a broad-based liberal arts education and a professional education in four years. After two years of study in the liberal arts, a student enters the McIntire School to study academic disciplines critical to the practice of business. The School's curriculum offers challenging courses in accounting, finance, international business, management, information technology, and marketing. While at McIntire, students may continue to broaden their education by taking electives outside the School.
The School gives students a sound preparation for an array of future opportunities, including graduate and professional school. Part of that preparation is the emphasis on group projects and the case method of instruction in which students analyze complex business situations. The success of the McIntire program is evidenced by the thousands of alumni enjoying challenging careers throughout the world.
The School has been part of the University since 1921 when it became the first school of business in Virginia. The School is accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.
MCINTIRE SCHOOL TODAY
The McIntire School of Commerce is a separate division of the University, in the same sense that the schools of Architecture, Nursing, Education, Engineering, Law, and Medicine are. The School offers the Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree. The bachelor’s degree is conferred after a four-year program of studies in which the first two years are spent in an accredited college or university in liberal arts courses suitable for transfer to the McIntire School.
The School is located on the central Grounds of the University, in Rouss & Robertson Halls.
The 132,000-square-foot Robertson Hall adjoins historic Rouss Hall, creating a 156,000-square-foot academic complex on the Lawn. Besides making use of the latest technologies, Robertson & Rouss Halls were meticulously designed by Washington, D.C.-based Hartman-Cox Architects to be especially conducive to community, interdisciplinary learning, and faculty-student interaction. The complex has 15 group study rooms for students, a reading facility, a variety of meeting spaces, multiple conference rooms, a suite for student clubs, and four technology centers. A number of the classrooms are specifically designated for interdisciplinary coursework.
Robertson Hall also features an attractive, environmentally friendly “green” roof, designed to allow the planting of sedum, a low-growing garden plant that needs little water and acts as a natural insulator.
There are approximately undergraduate 650 students enrolled in the School and 60 faculty members. With a few exceptions, students find average class enrollments to be approximately 40 to 45 students per section. Many opportunities for student-faculty interaction ensure that the student at the McIntire School will receive highly individualized instruction.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Student groups and programs supplement classroom activity by providing opportunities for educational, leadership, social, and professional development. The Commerce Council acts as a liaison between the students of the McIntire School and the Dean's Office. In addition to providing a forum for students to voice opinions on School policies, Commerce Council coordinates school-wide functions. The School also supports many clubs and honoraries. Among them are the Information Systems Group, Alpha Kappa Psi, Beta Alpha Psi, Beta Gamma Sigma, McIntire Investment Institute and McIntire Marketing Association. These groups enrich the McIntire experience by sponsoring activities such as guest speakers, service projects, student publications, Family Weekend receptions, and a variety of other social events.
McIntire students may also participate in special programs designed to increase their exposure to the business world. Programs include the Small Business Institute, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, advertising and marketing competitions, and the Navigant Consulting Case Competition. McIntire students have won state, regional, and international recognition for their efforts in these endeavors.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
It is the philosophy of the McIntire School of Commerce that students should be broadly educated to deal with the complex issues of the business community and society at large. The school's program is designed to increase students' skills and build upon previous knowledge. In order to effectively achieve program goals, the school requires that students be enrolled full-time for two academic years. Students are also required to complete all core, concentration, and elective Commerce courses at the McIntire School of Commerce. The degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce is conferred by the General Faculty upon those candidates recommended by the faculty of the McIntire School as having successfully completed a prescribed course of study, including not less than 120 semester hours of approved academic courses after enrollment at the McIntire School, each student is required to complete the third year Integrated Core Experience (ICE) and one of the six concentration areas. Specific course requirements for the program and concentrations may be obtained by the candidate from the Student Services Office at the McIntire School, the University of Virginia Undergraduate Record or online (Offsite).
Integrated Core Curriculum (ICE)
All McIntire Third Year students enroll in the year long Integrated Core Experience. ICE emphasizes the development of integrated analytical, strategic, and behavioral skills that address real business problems. The curriculum is carefully coordinated to eliminate redundancy and to allow the introduction of critical new topics. The two-semester program is composed of 12 credit hours in the fall semester and nine credit hours in the spring semester. For detailed information, please consult the University of Virginia Undergraduate Record.
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.
Finance
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 the capital markets, and the basic economic and legal framework of financial organization. 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. International financial topics are incorporated throughout the finance concentration, which includes a specialized course held abroad. The program is designed to meet the needs of students, who look forward to specialized careers in corporate finance, financial counseling, and investment management or banking.
International Business
For managers, knowledge of international business is imperative in an increasingly global business environment. The crossing of national boundaries increases 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, management information systems, and marketing. It also draws from anthropology, culture, economics, geography, history, languages, law, politics, psychology, and sociology.
Management
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.
Information Technology
Today, more than ever before, information is viewed as a critical organizational resource. The knowledge and skills necessary to collect, process, store, and use information are deemed essential to success as we enter the 21st century.
The program in IT is designed to prepare students to become effective systems analysts with a developed proficiency in state-of-the-art information technologies. Important areas for IT-related knowledge and skills development include business software development (e.g., computer programming), systems analysis and design, database management, and data communications.
Marketing
The discipline of marketing is eclectic in nature, freely drawing from and interchanging with the quantitative and social sciences in developing and expanding its content. As such, the areas of accounting, economics, law, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and other related disciplines are drawn upon for the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical development of the marketing discipline.
What product to make or service to provide, how much, how to distribute it, how to inform people about its existence and communicate its merits, what price to charge--these are all marketing questions. Every organization, profit and nonprofit, must answer these questions in one form or another. The purpose of the marketing program is 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. Case analyses, computer simulation, discussion groups, seminars, field projects on both an individual and group basis, lectures, and outside speakers 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 nonprofit organizations in such areas as customer relations, sales advertising and promotion, distribution, marketing research, logistics, and purchasing.
COURSE SCHEDULING
There is a sequence in which the student is expected to take specifically required courses. Accounting and Economics are to be taken by the student before admission to the McIntire School. ICE is completed in the third year and the fourth year is spent completing concentration courses. . With the assistance of the faculty advisor, the well-prepared student may arrange a program of study to provide considerable variety to his/her specialization or concentration.
Students enrolled in the McIntire School have their programs of study approved by their respective faculty advisors at the beginning of each semester. It should be noted that while the advisor's counsel is often required, the student is responsible for planning a program of academic work meeting the requirements for the degree.
ADMISSION
An applicant for transfer admission must be in good academic and social standing at his/her previous college, or at any college previously attended, and must be eligible to return there. A student must apply directly to the Commerce School as a transfer applicant if applying to enter UVA as a third-year student. If a student is applying to enter UVA as a second-year student, he/she would apply to the College of Arts and Sciences, NOTCommerce. These students would then have the opportunity to apply as internal transfers to the Commerce School for their third year. Internal transfer applications to Commerce are submitted in January. A student must have completed two full years of general; liberal arts work at an accredited college or university. A minimum of 54 semester hours is required for admission. It is strongly recommended, however, that students enter with at least 60 semester hours so that they will be on track for graduation without having to take an overload of courses. Official transcripts from secondary school and all collegiate institutions attended must be submitted along with the results of the SAT I of the College Board or the American College Test (ACT)or TOEFL scores. SAT or ACT or Toefl for international students is REQUIRED for all applicants. Strong preference is given to students who have received or will be receiving their Associates degree from a Virginia Community College prior to the fall term to which they are applying. Candidates for transfer admission should have completed course work in the following areas:
School of Commerce Requirements
Recommended VCCS Courses
Accounting - 6 semester hours.
ACC 211/212
Business -
An introduction to business course is required, the equivalent of U.Va.'s COMM 180.
Computer Science - 3 semester hours.
CSC 110
Economics - 6 semester hours.
ECO 201/202
English Composition - 3 semester hours.
ENG 111
Mathematics - 6 semester hours.
Calculus or probability and statistics. MTH 173, 271 or 181 and MTH 240. If the community college does not offer these courses, consult the Office of Admission for advice on an alternative.
Humanities - 3 semester hours (prior to enrollment).
Three additional hours of humanities and 3 hours of social, natural/physical sciences are required. These may be taken before or after entering the McIntire School. ENG 112, 241/242, 243/244, 251/252; ART 101/102; PHI 101/102 are recommended. Other courses in the Humanities, English, Art, Music, and Speech and Drama may also be accepted. SPD 100 or SPD 110 is strongly recommended
Foreign Language - 0-14 semester hours.
All students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to the intermediate level of college instruction. This proficiency can be demonstrated by college course work or by an SAT II Subject Test score (refer to the admission catalog). Completion of level 202 in a foreign language satisfies this requirement.
General Electives:
Your elective courses plus the above requirements will need to total 54 semester hours (60 semester hours is recommended). Suggested electives: PSY 201/202; SOC 201/202; PLS 211/212; BIO 101/102; CHM 101/102; PHY 201/202.
Particular attention will be paid to performance in Accounting, Economics, and Mathematics. In certain cases attendance at the University's Summer Session may be required. Students are strongly encouraged to complete a public speaking course and computer-programming course.
TRANSFER OF CREDIT
Credit toward a degree will be allowed for approved work completed in a regionally accredited college or university or in other schools of this University upon presentation of a satisfactory transcript of record. Most credits received for an Associate of Arts or Science degree are transferable. Elective courses in the liberal arts disciplines are transferable if acceptable to the College of Arts and Sciences of the University.
In general, credit will not be granted for:
- work completed with a grade lower than C.
- more than one credit of physical or health education courses.
- business courses beyond the elementary courses in accounting and economics (see Transfer Requirements)
- remedial courses
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Transfer students to the School of Commerce are accepted only for August admission. The deadline for receipt of completed applications for fall semester is March 1.
