100 Level Courses
BUS 100: Business and Society. 3 credits.
This course provides students with a foundation for understanding the role of business in society by exploring business history, the social context of business, and the interaction of various stakeholders with business. A range of contemporary case studies and events will be used to analyze the dynamic relationships between business organizations and the society in which they operate. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by the School of Business. Limited to two attempts. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Social/Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Prerequisite: Degree status.
Registration Restrictions:
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 103: Develop Professional Skills I: Foundational Elements. 3 credits.
Students will investigate and develop their professional skill set. Topics include introduction to the business school and business world, what it means to be professional, how to consume the business press, and how to research business issues. Develop professional writing and presentation skills, explore career options and the job search process, and develop personal educational and professional development plans. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Specialized Designation: Mason Impact.
Registration Restrictions:
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
200 Level Courses
BUS 200: Global Environment of Business. 3 credits.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, businesses are playing a larger role in mediating relations among people across national boundaries. This course provides an overview of the global environment of business through the use of a structured analytic tool that conveys the perspective of a US business seeking to navigate various economic and political systems, international institutions and international trade theories, and global conflicts and cooperation around issues (environmental sustainability, labor, human rights, and distribution of income). Designated a Green Leaf Course. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by the School of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Specialized Designation: Green Leaf Related Course
Registration Restrictions:
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 210: Business Analytics I. 3 credits.
Course introduces business analytics and why businesses use analytics to create and sustain competitive advantage. Topics include data types, summarization and graphical display of data, application of basic probability rules, and probability distributions. Introduces fundamentals of spreadsheets and their use in business applications. Learn how to apply appropriate analytical tools to gain useful insights from real-life datasets. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Quantitative Reasoning
Registration Restrictions:
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 292: Internship for Academic Credit. 3 credits.
This is general elective course is designed to give students the opportunity to gain practical and professional experience in conjunction with their academic development. The internship must be completed within the same academic semester to receive course credit. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: 24 credit hours
Registration Restrictions:
Required Prerequisite: BUS 103B-.
B- Requires minimum grade of B-.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 295: Business Models For Sustainability. 3 credits.
This course examines sustainable business models – those that meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – and related issues such as over-consumption, over-production, and resistance to change. The course also will consider metrics for measuring sustainability, including the Triple Bottom Line (TBL); environmental, social and governance (ESG); and the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Students will examine sustainable business models in practice by analyzing the sustainability initiatives of well-known global companies and will consider the concept of circular economy including examples of companies that have transitioned from a linear model to a circular one. Finally, the course will examine the importance of developing a culture of sustainability in organizations and strategies for and challenges of managing change. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Registration Restrictions:
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
300 Level Courses
BUS 303: Develop Professional Skills II: Advanced Elements. 3 credits.
In this course, students will continue to develop their professional skill set. Topics covered include understanding the modern work environment, business ethics and professional responsibilities, and professional judgment. Students will also continue to hone their professional writing and presentation skills, prepare for the job search process, and develop personal job search and professional development plans. Notes: Costello College of Business students will not be permitted to make more than three attempts to achieve a C or higher in BUS 303. The third attempt requires Costello College of Business academic advisor approval. Those who do not successfully complete this course within three attempts will be terminated from their concentration and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the Costello College of Business. For more information about this, see the "Termination from the Concentration" section under Academic Policies. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Specialized Designation: Mason Impact.
Registration Restrictions:
Required Prerequisites: (BUS 103C, U103 or 103XS).
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.
Students with a class of Freshman may not enroll.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 310: Business Analytics II. 3 credits.
Introduces modeling relationships contained in data and linear models to make predictions in business. Topics include estimation, hypotheses testing, statistical inference, analysis of variance and linear regression techniques. Fundamentals of linear programming to solve optimization problems in business. Apply analytical tools to gain insights from real-life datasets. Hands-on experience and application of the methods to data sets using spreadsheet software. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Registration Restrictions:
Required Prerequisites: BUS 210C, U210, 210T or 210XS.
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 315: Introduction to the Government Contracting Industry. 3 credits.
The course provides students with a foundational knowledge of the government contracting (GovCon) industry. By explaining key concepts of the field, students will be able to understand how to leverage their knowledge immediately, upon hire in a GovCon-related opportunity by understanding the link between GovCon concepts and non-GovCon business concepts. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Registration Restrictions:
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 325: Creating Value for Business Stakeholders. 3 credits.
This course will challenge current business norms of “Shareholder Primacy or Profit Maximization” to a broader understanding and critical discussion of Stakeholder Theory of Management. Stakeholders - shareholders, employees, customers, community/society, supply chain, and the planet - can have a direct impact on the success of a business and can be impacted positively or negatively depending on how a business acts. Businesses with a stakeholder value orientation may make different choices in pursuit of goals than do businesses with purely shareholder value orientation. This multidisciplinary course, open to students across the University, will support student development of an advanced and critical understanding of the key stakeholders in a business. This course touches on concepts from finance, HR, marketing, supply chain, economics, public policy, and environmental science to address the complex business and societal challenges. A third attempt requires business advisor approval. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts. Equivalent to MGMT 325.
Registration Restrictions:
Students with a class of Freshman may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from CEC major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
400 Level Courses
BUS 491: Special Topics in Business. 1-6 credits.
Advanced study of special topics in business Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Registration Restrictions:
Students with a class of Freshman or Sophomore may not enroll.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 492: Internship in Business. 3 credits.
Opportunity to gain practical, professional experience in conjunction with academic development. An internship is an important part of academic and career preparation. May be used as elective credit, but may not be repeated. Notes: No more than 6 credits of Costello College of Business internship coursework (BUS 492 or ACCT 492) can be applied towards a student's 120 (BU) degree applicable credits. Students must receive departmental approval in order to register for this course; please contact the Costello College of Business Office of Career Services for internal eligibility requirements. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Recommended Prerequisite: 75 credit hours
Registration Restrictions:
Required Prerequisites: ((MIS 301B- or 303B-) and (OM 301B- or 303B-)) or (ACCT 301B- or 330B-) or (MKTG 301C, 303C or 303XS).
B- Requires minimum grade of B-.
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.
Students with a class of Freshman or Sophomore may not enroll.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
BUS 498: Capstone Course: Advanced Business Models. 3 credits.
Advanced integrated exploration of business models and industry dynamics that uses case analyses to assess competition, organizational strategy, and firm performance. Students examine strategic change in organizations from multiple perspectives, integrating knowledge from core course work into several papers and major presentation. Students receive coaching from area business leaders as they complete their presentations. Students must earn a C or higher in order to meet the Business Core and Foundations degree requirements. A third attempt will require academic advisor approval. Summer session for BUS 498 is limited to students graduating in the summer term with a graduation application on file. Offered by Costello College of Business. Limited to two attempts.
Mason Core: Mason Core (All), Mason Apex
Registration Restrictions:
Required Prerequisites: (ACCT 301C, 301XS, 303C, 303XS, 330C, 330XS, L301, L303 or L330) and (BULE 302C, 303C, 303XS, L302 or L303) and (BUS 303C, 303XS, L303, SOM 301C or L301) and (FNAN 301C, 301XS, 303C, 303XS, L301 or L303) and (MGMT 301C, 301XS, 303C, 303XS, L301 or L303) and (MIS 301C, 303C, 303XS, L301 or L303) and (MKTG 301C, 303C, 303XS, L301 or L303) and (OM 301C, 301XS, 303C, 303XS, OSCM 303C, 303XS, OM L301, DESC 301C, L301 or OM L303) and (BUS 310C, 310XS or L310).
C Requires minimum grade of C.
XS Requires minimum grade of XS.
Enrollment limited to students with a class of Senior Plus or Senior.
Non-Degree level students may not enroll.
Students with the terminated from BU major attribute may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
700 Level Courses
BUS 701: Introduction to Research in Business. 3 credits.
This course is designed to teach research and philosophy of science as they relate to business. This course will also introduce students to tools for the philosophical analysis of science. Students will learn about issues in observation, experiments, and reasoning, questions about the aims of science, scientific change, and the relations between science and values. Students will discuss the formulation of research questions, how to design research for impact on business and society, and forming their own research agenda.
This course should be taken in the first year of the program. Offered by Costello College of Business. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
BUS 702: Academic Business Writing for PhD Students. 3 credits.
This course emphasizes a “learning by doing” approach to writing. It is run as a writing practicum with a focus on the procedural aspects of writing. Students will engage the writing process intensively and deliberately, both in and outside class. Students will read and evaluate different writings in business, providing evaluation and critique of them in the process of honing and refining their own writing skills. Students will develop strategies for writing regularly, for managing anxiety about writing, and developing critical, but constructive strategies of self-evaluation. Students will gain practice in different types of writing including research reports, scholarly journal articles, and research proposals. Students will read examples of the range of writings by business scholars, identifying persuasive argument, how to advance a claim and the productive use of evidence. This course should be taken in the second year of the program. Offered by Costello College of Business. May not be repeated for credit.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
BUS 703: Research Project. 3 credits.
Student must complete a two-semester long research project on an approved topic under the guidance of a faculty advisor, and write a research paper that will be presented as a departmental seminar and be submitted to an academic journal. This course must be completed no later than the end of the fourth semester in the PhD program. 6 credits combined from taking this course twice will apply to the PhD degree. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Research
Grading:
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.
BUS 711: Proseminar in Business. 0-1 credits.
This course will involve the student being an active participant in the area’s seminar series over the course of their first three years. Students are expected to attend each seminar, meet with seminar speakers, and talk about seminar content with faculty. Areas will also schedule sessions with their students on days without speakers to talk about research ideas, conferences, journals, and other material relevant for the students as they progress through their early years in the program.
This course should be taken in the first three years of the program. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
800 Level Courses
BUS 801: Field Research in Business. 3 credits.
Student must complete a one-semester long independent study with their faculty advisor where they take the lead on a field research project. This course is more advanced than BUS 798: Research Project as the design of this course is such that the student is the project lead. This course will be ideally completed in the third year. The rationale behind this course is that the student takes the lead on gaining access to the problem to be solved. This could involve gaining access to collect primary data from a business or organization, acquiring historical data, or developing an analytical model. The goal is for the student to understand the research problem as it situated in practice. The deliverable for this course is not a finished paper. Deliverables could include, but are not limited to: progress in securing data access, development of analytical models, demonstration of data organization, culling valuable business contacts, and making applied presentations to business and academic Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Research
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
BUS 802: Teaching in the Field of Business. 3 credits.
This is a doctoral student level course designed to prepare business students to teach a college-level class in their discipline. The course takes an experiential approach, emphasizing practice of teaching techniques and peer feedback. At the end of the course students will have a working syllabus and course design that they can implement in future teaching assignments. The course is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on course design and instructional techniques. The second part focuses on developing teaching skills through a sequence of practice and critiquing sessions. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Seminar
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
BUS 850: Teaching Practicum. 3 credits.
Provides supervised teaching experience of selected business schools courses. Focuses on effective strategies for facilitating student learning, methods of assessment and testing, and using student and peer feedback for self-improvement. Examines the principles and practices of effective classroom management.
This course should be taken in the 3rd year of the PhD program. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment limited to students with a class of Advanced to Candidacy or Graduate.
Enrollment limited to students in a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Enrollment limited to students in the Costello College of Business college.
Schedule Type: Internship
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.
900 Level Courses
BUS 998: Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. 1-6 credits.
Work on research proposal that forms basis for doctoral dissertation. Note: Students must complete a minimum of 3 credits of BUS 998. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Dissertation
Grading:
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.
BUS 999: Doctoral Dissertation Research. 1-18 credits.
Research on approved dissertation topic under direction of dissertation committee. Notes: Students must complete a minimum of 3 credits of BUS 999. Offered by Costello College of Business. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 18 credits.
Registration Restrictions:
Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.
Students in a Non-Degree Undergraduate degree may not enroll.
Schedule Type: Dissertation
Grading:
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.
This course is graded on the Satisfactory/No Credit scale.