The Bachelor of Business Administration requires a minimum of 120 s.h. of credit, including at least 48 s.h. earned in business courses and at least 52 s.h. earned in non-business courses.
BBA students must earn 45 s.h. in residence following admission to the Tippie College of Business. At least 24 s.h. in courses offered by the business college and at least two-thirds of the semester hours in a student's major must be earned in the student's major department at the Tippie College of Business. Nonresident instruction includes coursework at colleges and universities other than the University of Iowa.
To graduate, BBA students must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.00 in all college coursework attempted, all college coursework attempted in business, all college coursework attempted in the major, all coursework attempted at the University of Iowa, all business coursework attempted at the University of Iowa, and all coursework in the major attempted at the University of Iowa.
Common BBA Requirements
BBA students must satisfy the following minimum common requirements or approved equivalents. For approved equivalents, consult the college's Undergraduate Program Office.
General Education
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Diversity and Inclusion | 3 | |
| Historical Perspectives | 3 | |
| International and Global Issues | 3 | |
| Interpretation of Literature | 3 | |
| Natural Sciences (without lab) | 3 | |
| Rhetoric | 4 | |
| Social Sciences (excluding ECON:1100 and ECON:1200) | 3 | |
| Values and Culture | 3 | |
| World Languages | 0-10 | |
World Languages
Tippie College of Business students may complete the World Languages requirement using one of two options. One year of high school language study is generally equivalent to one semester of college language study.
Option One
Attain fourth-level proficiency in a single world language, usually by completing four years of that language in high school or four semesters in college or an equivalent combination of high school and college coursework; or pass an achievement test or evaluation at fourth-level proficiency.
Option Two
Attain second-level proficiency in each of two world languages, usually by completing two years of each language in high school or two semesters of each language in college or an equivalent combination of high school and college coursework; or pass achievement tests and/or evaluations at second-level proficiency in each language. Option two does not fulfill the World Languages requirement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or qualify students to earn credit under the Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP).
Students may not count courses taken to fulfill General Education Program requirements toward other requirements for the BBA.
Prerequisites for Admission to the College
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BAIS:1500 | Business Computing Essentials | 2 |
| ECON:1100 | Principles of Microeconomics | 4 |
| MATH:1350 | Quantitative Reasoning for Business | 4 |
| RHET:1030 | Rhetoric | 4 |
| STAT:1030 | Statistics for Business | 4 |
Prerequisites for Declaring a Business Major
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT:2100 | Introduction to Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ECON:1200 | Principles of Macroeconomics | 4 |
The accounting major has additional major declaration requirements. See Requirements in the BBA in accounting section of the catalog for further information.
Business Core
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT:2200 | Managerial Accounting Analytics and Data Visualization | 3 |
| BAIS:2800 | Foundations of Business Analytics | 3 |
| BAIS:3000 | Operations Management | 2 |
| BAIS:3005 | Information Systems | 2 |
| BUS:2200 | Foundations for Success in Business | 1 |
| BUS:3000 | Business Communication and Protocol | 3 |
| FIN:3000 | Introductory Financial Management | 3 |
| MGMT:2000 | Introduction to Law | 3 |
| MGMT:2100 | Introduction to Management | 3 |
| MKTG:3000 | Introduction to Marketing Strategy | 3 |
Experiential Learning Requirement: Tippie RISE
All Tippie College of Business students must successfully complete at least one of these four experiences—Research with Faculty, Internship Course, Study Abroad, or Experiential Course. Courses that satisfy Tippie RISE are listed below.
Research with Faculty
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT:4999 | Honors Thesis in Accounting | arr. |
| BAIS:4999 | Honors Thesis in Business Analytics | arr. |
| BUS:3600 | Mentored Research | arr. |
| BUS:4999 | Honors Thesis in Business | arr. |
| ECON:4999 | Honors Thesis in Economics | arr. |
| FIN:4999 | Honors Thesis in Finance | arr. |
| MGMT:4999 | Honors Thesis in Management | arr. |
| MKTG:3702 | Marketing Institute Seminar II | 2 |
| MKTG:4999 | Honors Thesis in Marketing | arr. |
| URES:3992 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 0 |
| URES:3993 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 1-4 |
| URES:3994 | Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects | 1-4 |
| URES:3995 | Undergraduate Research Fellow | 0 |
Internship Course
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BUS:3100 | Academic Internship or Cooperative Education | 0 |
| BUS:3900 | Business Communication Internship I | 3 |
| BUS:4900 | Academic Internship | arr. |
| CCP:1201 | Academic Internship | 1-3 |
| CCP:2020 | Washington Center Internship Program | arr. |
| CCP:2202 | International Student Full-Time Academic Internship | 9 |
| ENTR:4300 | Launching an Entrepreneurial Venture | arr. |
| ENTR:4900 | Academic Internship | arr. |
| EVNT:2110 | Internship in Event Management | 3 |
| LS:3011 | Leadership Certificate Capstone | 0,2 |
| SRM:4199 | Independent Sport and Recreation Field Experience | arr. |
Study Abroad
Any study abroad program is accepted for credit, including virtual programs, short term faculty-led programs, and summer, semester, or year-long programs. These courses may be study abroad courses (prefix ABRD) or select study abroad international activities courses (prefix INTL) but are not required to be; see Study Abroad in the catalog.
Experiential Course
Experiential courses must be taken at the University of Iowa to satisfy Tippie RISE.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT:3451 | Tax Practicum (VITA) II (spring only) | 2 |
| BAIS:4150 | Business Analytics and Information Systems Capstone | 3 |
| ENTR:4100 | International Entrepreneurship, Culture, and Social Impact | 1-3 |
| ENTR:4200 | Entrepreneurship: Business Consulting | 3 |
| FIN:4250 | Applied Equity Valuation | 3 |
| FIN:4310 | Advanced Corporate Finance | 3 |
| FIN:4350 | Applied Wealth Management | 3 |
| FIN:4410 | Enterprise Risk Management | 3 |
| FIN:4420 | Property and Liability Insurance | 3 |
| FIN:4460 | Insurer Operations and Captive Management | 3 |
| LS:1024 | Hawkeye Service Breaks (spring only) | 3 |
| LS:3002 | Career Leadership Academy Part 2: Leadership in Action | 3 |
| MGMT:3600 | Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness II | 3 |
| MGMT:4600 | Nonprofit Ethics and Governance | 3 |
| MKTG:3100 | Marketing Research | 3 |
| MKTG:3103 | Advanced Marketing Research | 3 |
| MKTG:3700 | Marketing Institute Seminar I | 2 |
| MKTG:3701 | Marketing Institute Field Studies | 2 |
| MKTG:4250 | Marketing and Sustainability | 3 |
| MKTG:4800 | Marketing Consulting Project | 3 |
| SRM:4197 | Sport and Recreation Field Experience (not Fans First section) | arr. |
Major Area of Study
All BBA students must complete a major area of study. The college offers majors in accounting, business analytics and information systems, economics, finance, management, marketing, and risk management and insurance. The requirements for each major are established by the department that offers the major.
Students with Associate of Arts Degrees
Students who have been granted an Associate of Arts (AA) from a community college participating in the Iowa and Illinois Community College/Regents Articulation Agreements are considered to have met all high school unit requirements for admission to the BBA and all of the General Education Program requirements listed under "General Education Requirements" above, except the World Languages and the Diversity and Inclusion requirements. The program of study for which a student was awarded the AA must have included:
- a minimum of 60 s.h. (or 90 quarter hours) of credit acceptable toward graduation from the University of Iowa;
- mathematics courses comparable to MATH:0100 Basic Algebra I are not accepted toward graduation;
- completion of the agreed-upon group of courses at the community college; and
- a GPA of at least 2.00.
Completion of an Associate of Arts does not guarantee admission to the Tippie College of Business. See Admission in this section of the catalog for a complete list of requirements for admission to the BBA.
Students who use the provisions of the articulation agreement are granted a maximum of 60 s.h. of transferable credit from two-year colleges toward the 120 s.h. required for a BBA. Credit earned for the AA beyond the 60 s.h. transferable maximum is used in computing a student's grade-point average, and it may be used to satisfy course requirements, but it does not count toward the BBA. Transfer credit for business courses taken during the first and second years is counted toward the BBA only if such courses are usually offered as lower-division courses at the University of Iowa.
Transfer Courses
Students who have taken courses at another institution that are similar to those approved for the common business requirements at Iowa may request that these courses be evaluated for transfer credit. Students who transfer fewer hours than needed to meet a common business requirement may use only approved courses to complete the remainder of the requirement. Only third- and fourth-year-level courses taken at accredited four-year institutions may be used to satisfy common business course requirements numbered 3000 or above. Students must complete a minimum of 24 s.h. of business coursework and at least two-thirds of the coursework in the major at the University of Iowa. They also must meet the 45 s.h. residence requirement of the Tippie College of Business. Credit earned through online courses may be counted toward all requirements for graduation, subject to approval by a student's major department.
Multiple Majors in Business
Students may earn the BBA degree with more than one major. The Four-Year Graduation Plan is not available to students earning more than one major. Students have access to degree audits in MyUI for all of the programs of study they have officially declared. They also have access to all program courses, with some limitations, during early registration. A student must be in good academic standing in order to declare more than one major. See Double Majors and Joint Degrees on the Tippie College of Business website.
Undergraduate students may earn combined undergraduate degrees from the Tippie College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or the College of Engineering. The following rules apply to all students in combined degree programs.
- To enter a combined degree program, students must have approval from the Tippie College of Business and must be admitted to both colleges. Interested students should see an advisor in the college's Undergraduate Program Office.
- Students in combined degree programs are allowed a combined maximum of three second-grade-only options.
- All students in combined programs must meet all requirements for both degrees, including all General Education Program requirements.
- Students are assigned two advisors (one for each major).
- Students in combined degree programs are assessed tuition only for the primary (first) major.
- First-year students in combined degree programs who are direct admission students in the Tippie College of Business must enroll in BUS:1200 Tippie College Direct Admit Seminar during their first semester at the UI.
BBA/Liberal Arts and Sciences Degree
The Tippie College of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offer a combined degree program in which students earn two University of Iowa bachelor's degrees: a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the Tippie College of Business and a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), or Bachelor of Music (BM) from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Students in the combined business/liberal arts and sciences degree program must declare the Tippie College of Business program of study as their primary (first) major.
To learn about liberal arts and sciences majors, see the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section of the catalog.
BBA/BSE
The Tippie College of Business and the College of Engineering offer a combined degree program in which students earn two University of Iowa bachelor's degrees: a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the Tippie College of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) from the College of Engineering. Students in the combined business/engineering degree program must declare the College of Engineering program of study as their primary (first) major.
Students in the combined business/engineering degree program must enroll in appropriate mathematics and engineering courses early during their course of study in order to complete the program in a timely way. Because courses in natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences count toward the BBA and the BSE, students may be able to count certain courses toward both degrees.
BBA/BSE students usually meet the degree requirements of both colleges in about five years; time required depends on a student's choice of major study areas.
For information about engineering majors, see Bachelor of Science in Engineering (College of Engineering) in the catalog. To learn more about requirements for the combined business/engineering degree, consult the Undergraduate Program Office in the Tippie College of Business and the Student Development Center in the College of Engineering.
BBA/MS in Business Analytics or MS in Finance
The combined Bachelor of Business Administration/Master of Science in business analytics or Master of Science in finance allows undergraduate students majoring in any of the six BBA majors the opportunity to begin work toward the MS while completing the BBA. The program allows students to count a limited amount of credit toward both degrees, enabling students to finish the MS one semester early.
Students apply to the Master of Science program in the third year of undergraduate study and begin masters-level work in the fourth year of undergraduate study. For information on these graduate programs, see MS in business analytics and MS in finance in the catalog.
BBA/JD
The Tippie College of Business 3+3 agreement with the College of Law allows well-prepared students the opportunity to apply for admission to the College of Law during their third year, and if accepted, to begin work on the Juris Doctor degree during their fourth year of study in the BBA degree program. Students participating in the 3+3 program apply to the College of Law and are required to submit a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score. If a student is admitted into the JD program, the Tippie College of Business accepts all credit earned during the first year of law school to satisfy the remaining elective hours required to earn the BBA degree.
The 3+3 option is open to students in all BBA majors. Students who wish to pursue this opportunity are required to plan early in their undergraduate career, as all degree requirements except elective hours must be completed in the first three years of BBA study.
For more information, see the 3+3 Program for Undergraduates on the College of Law website.
Honors in the Major
Outstanding students in the college have an opportunity to undertake independent research under the supervision of a faculty member. To graduate with honors in the major, students must complete an honors thesis under the supervision of a Tippie College of Business faculty member. Students begin by completing BUS:1999 Introduction to Research in Business prior to the commencement of their thesis work. This course introduces students to research in the college and provides an opportunity to develop thesis questions and meet faculty members engaged in research.
Students then identify a faculty thesis advisor and complete their research and thesis writing over the course of two semesters, registering for the appropriate honors thesis course for both semesters from the following list. With faculty permission, students may elect to complete the thesis with another Tippie College of Business student.
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT:4999 | Honors Thesis in Accounting | arr. |
| BAIS:4999 | Honors Thesis in Business Analytics | arr. |
| BUS:4999 | Honors Thesis in Business | arr. |
| ECON:4999 | Honors Thesis in Economics | arr. |
| FIN:4999 | Honors Thesis in Finance | arr. |
| MGMT:4999 | Honors Thesis in Management | arr. |
| MKTG:4999 | Honors Thesis in Marketing | arr. |
To earn the BBA with honors in the major, students must successfully complete all college requirements with a grade-point average of at least 3.50 in all courses taken at Iowa, all business courses taken at Iowa, all courses taken (including transfer courses), and all business courses taken (including transfer courses). Students also must present their research in a poster format at the spring or fall Undergraduate Research Festival.
See Tippie Honors on the Tippie College of Business website to learn more.
University of Iowa Honors Program
Completing the honors in the major requirements also satisfies the experiential learning requirement for the University of Iowa Honors Program. To learn more about graduating with university honors through the University of Iowa Honors Program, visit the Honors at Iowa website.
Pre-business students interested in honors study are encouraged to participate in the University of Iowa Honors Program until they are admitted to the business college. Visit Honors at Iowa to learn about the university's honors program.
Students enter the Tippie College of Business in one of two ways: direct admission or standard admission. All students admitted to the Tippie College of Business must follow the Tippie Honor Code. Students who meet the admission requirements may be denied admission upon evidence of postsecondary academic misconduct or other violations of the honor code. Students are required to meet with the associate dean, undergraduate programs, to discuss incidents of academic misconduct.
Admission standards are set by the Undergraduate Program Committee. All admission appeals are reviewed by the Undergraduate Program Office. Prospective students must submit acceptance of admission offers and all transcripts showing coursework that satisfies the Tippie College of Business admission requirements to the university's Office of Admissions by the appropriate deadline. Letters of recommendation are not accepted. For more information about application and admission, contact the Undergraduate Program Office.
Direct Admission
Direct admission is designed to enable highly qualified high school students to enter the college directly after high school. Applicants must have a composite ACT score of 26 or higher (or SAT equivalent) and a high school grade-point average (GPA) of 3.60 or higher (on a 4.00 scale) to qualify. Applicants who meet one of the two published criteria for direct admission will be pooled for individual review with decisions made at the beginning of each month, December through March. Applicants who do not meet these criteria but who present a strong academic record are carefully considered through a petition process.
Incoming high school students who are admitted to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as pre-business students may inquire about their admission decision by contacting the associate director of admissions and recruiting in the Tippie College of Business Undergraduate Program Office. For more information about admission requirements, see Undergraduate Program Admissions on the Tippie College of Business website.
Students granted direct admission to the college are eligible to apply for first-year scholarships. The application process is competitive and is based on high school record and an application essay.
Students who are directly admitted take BUS:1200 Tippie College Direct Admit Seminar in their first semester. The course, taught by a Tippie advisor in the Undergraduate Program Office and by undergraduate peer mentors, spans nine weeks and orients students to the University of Iowa and the Tippie College of Business.
Standard Admission
University of Iowa students are eligible to apply to the Tippie College of Business through standard admission if they have completed or are completing the five prerequisite courses for admission to the college listed under "Common BBA Requirements" (see Requirements in this section of the catalog) and have a GPA of at least 2.75 on the prerequisite courses, on all college coursework completed, and on all University of Iowa coursework. Applicants also must complete a University of Iowa ICON module, which opens after the application deadline, that provides information on collegiate policies, major selection, and course planning.
Transfer students who have completed the prerequisite courses and meet the GPA requirements also may apply through standard admission. Transfer students are not required to complete the University of Iowa ICON module but instead receive similar information through the orientation program.
Applications for standard admission must be submitted online. Application deadlines for current University of Iowa students are March 1 for fall admission and Oct. 1 for spring admission. Application deadlines for transfer students are May 1 for fall admission and Dec. 1 for spring admission.
Applicants should meet all admission requirements by the end of the semester in which they apply. Admission is not granted for the summer session or the three-week winter session. Grades from the three-week winter session do not count toward admission for the following spring semester, but grades from a summer session can count toward admission for the following fall semester.
Students who are denied admission may file an appeal for denial of admission to business if they can provide documentation of extenuating circumstances that affected their academic performance.
Nondegree Admission
Students visiting from another institution who wish to enroll in undergraduate courses in order to earn credit that they can transfer to their home institution may be granted admission as undergraduate nondegree students. Nondegree students are not guaranteed access to specific courses; they must have the approval of the Undergraduate Program Office and may earn no more than 9 s.h. in nondegree status.
Reentry Policy
All students who have been enrolled in another college or university since leaving the University of Iowa are required to submit official transcripts along with an application for reentry. Completed application materials must be received at least two weeks before the opening of classes. Reentry students are held to the requirements that are published in the University of Iowa General Catalog for the session in which they reenter.
Absent for 12 Months or More in Good Standing
Students absent from the University of Iowa for 12 months or more who left in good standing must apply to the UI Office of Admissions as returning students and must contact the Tippie College of Business Undergraduate Program Office for advising before registration. Good standing is defined as not on probation and not dismissed for any reason.
Absent for 12 Months or More Not in Good Standing
Students absent from the University of Iowa for 12 months or more who were not in good standing when they left the university must file a petition with the Tippie College of Business Undergraduate Program Office to be reinstated. If the petition is approved, the student must apply to the UI Office of Admissions as a returning student; the Undergraduate Program Office notifies the Office of Admissions that a student's petition for reinstatement has been approved. The student also must schedule an appointment to see an advisor in the Tippie College of Business for advising before registration. Not in good standing is defined as being on probation or having been dismissed from the Tippie College of Business due to unsatisfactory scholarship, academic misconduct at the University of Iowa or at another institution, or a violation of the Tippie College Undergraduate Honor Code. Students who have been officially dismissed follow the procedures for reinstatement.
Absent for Less Than 12 Months in Good Standing
Students absent for less than 12 months are not required to file an application for reentry. Students who were in good standing when they left the university should contact the Tippie College of Business Undergraduate Program Office for advising before registration. Reentry is approved regardless of any admission requirement changes.
Absent for Less Than 12 Months Not in Good Standing
Students absent for less than 12 months are not required to file an application for reentry. Students who were not in good standing when they left the university must consult with an advisor in the Tippie College of Business; the student may be readmitted on probation. Readmitted students should contact the Tippie College of Business Undergraduate Program Office for advising before registration. Reentry is approved regardless of any admission requirement changes. Not in good standing is defined as being on probation or having been dismissed from the Tippie College of Business due to unsatisfactory scholarship, academic misconduct at the University of Iowa or at another institution, or a violation of the Tippie College Undergraduate Honor Code. Students who have been officially dismissed follow the procedures for reinstatement.
Tippie College of Business graduates enjoy a high placement rate. Over 90% of students reported that they found permanent employment, were pursuing graduate degrees, or were not seeking employment six months after graduation.
Tippie Undergraduate Career Services supports Tippie students with targeted career support and seeks to improve the job search experience and outcomes for Tippie undergraduate students. Visit their website or the Pomerantz Career Center website for more information.
Four-Year Graduation Plan
The following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the university's Four-Year Graduation Plan.
The following checkpoints are designed for students who enter the university as direct admission or pre-business students. In order to stay on the plan, pre-business students must maintain the grade-point averages required for admission to the Tippie College of Business and must apply for admission to the college the semester that the five prerequisite courses will be completed, but no later than before the fifth semester begins. The Four-Year Graduation Plan is not available to students who choose to pursue a double major in the college or to those enrolled in a combined degree program.
Before the third semester begins: RHET:1030 Rhetoric, ECON:1100 Principles of Microeconomics, MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business, STAT:1030 Statistics for Business, and BAIS:1500 Business Computing Essentials, or equivalents; and at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation.
Before the fifth semester begins: ACCT:2100 Introduction to Financial Accounting and ECON:1200 Principles of Macroeconomics, or equivalents; business core courses that satisfy prerequisites in a student's intended major; three-quarters of General Education requirements; and at least half of the semester hours required for graduation.
Before the seventh semester begins: three-quarters of business core requirements, approximately half of the coursework in the major (varies by major), and three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation.
Before the eighth semester begins: approximately three-quarters of coursework in the major (varies by major).
During the eighth semester: all remaining coursework in the BBA degree and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate.
Iowa Degree in Three
Iowa Degree in Three is designed for students who are academically prepared to complete more semester hours per term than average or who come to the University of Iowa with completed college credits. It is a flexible, affordable option developed to meet the needs of highly motivated students. Students sign an agreement during their first semester of enrollment; meet with an advisor at least once a semester to review their plans and progress; take courses during summer sessions, if necessary; meet specific course checkpoints; and maintain the grade-point average required for the major.
The Tippie College makes several assumptions about candidates for the Iowa Degree in Three:
- students are prepared to enroll in MATH:1350 Quantitative Reasoning for Business during their first enrollment at the University of Iowa;
- students have fulfilled the General Education World Language requirement before matriculation;
- students are direct admits to the Tippie College of Business;
- students have earned at least 15 s.h. of college credit before matriculation; and
- students are not held for more than two English as a Second Language classes.
The Iowa Degree in Three is available for any of the majors offered by the Tippie College of Business.