Introduction
Graduate Outcomes
The Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship provides instruction, knowledge, and experience in an environment that encourages students to develop motivation and the ethical standards essential to becoming citizens in the global business community. The Lindenwood University Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship expects that its graduates should
- Have the contemporary business competencies of their chosen discipline and the aptitude required for life-long learning and personal development.
- Have the technical, human, and conceptual skills that would contribute to critical analysis, problem solving, operational recommendations, and continuous improvement of dynamic and changing organizations and the ability to professionally communicate those recommendations and improvements.
- Demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit of being enterprising, resourceful, and productive in their professional lives.
- Be able to act and build upon the foundation of their coursework for the furtherance of their professional careers.
Business Administration with an Emphasis
Students pursuing a BA or BS in business administration may also opt to pursue an additional area of emphasis. An emphasis is earned when 12 credit hours of the student’s elective coursework (out of the 21 elective credit hours required for a degree in business administration) are completed from within a single business discipline. Emphases are offered in the following business areas:
*Emphasis is available online.
Minors for Business Majors
Students of business degrees may pursue a minor beyond their first PSB&E major. A minor is earned when the student has completed an additional 12-15 credit hours of coursework in the minor area (as dictated per minor) in addition to completing all degree requirements for the student’s first major. Note that each required major course will satisfy the requirements for only one of the student’s majors, minors, or emphasis areas. Minors for business students may be earned in one of the following business areas:
Minors for Non-Business Majors
Students pursuing undergraduate majors in fields other than those offered by the PSB&E may declare a minor in one of the following business areas by completing 21-30 credit hours of coursework (as dictated per minor) in one of the following business areas:
Selecting a Double Major
Students may pursue a major beyond their first PSB&E major. A second major is earned when the student has completed (in addition to the core business courses) all required major courses and elective major courses for the second major. Note that each required major course and elective major course the student completes will satisfy the requirements for only one of the student’s declared majors.
Transferring Credit from another Institution
The Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship accepts credit in transfer from other regionally accredited institutions except for in the following cases: (1) No grade of D will be accepted in transfer for classes equivalent to ENGL/EPP 15000 or ENGL 17000, which must be transferred with a grade of a C or better. (2) Courses in which a grade of D was earned may not be applied to any business major, minor, or emphasis area (including prerequisite courses for the major, minor, or emphasis). The transferred grade of D may instead be counted for credit toward other general education or free elective requirements. Alternatively, the student may retake the course in question to apply it to a business major, minor, or emphasis area. (In this case, the transferred course credit will be removed from the transcript.)
Early Access to PSB&E Graduate Programs
Full-time PSB&E students maintaining an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher may take up to nine credit hours of graduate level PSB&E coursework during their senior year, taking no more than six graduate credit hours concurrently. Such graduate credit hours will count toward a graduate degree and not toward the bachelor’s degree. Students in the early access program must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all graduate level courses.
Notes: (1) Early access students enrolled in graduate coursework must also be concurrently enrolled in a minimum of 12 undergraduate credit hours during the semester in which any graduate courses are taken.
(2) Any student whose enrollment exceeds 18 credit hours per semester (including both graduate and undergraduate courses) will be subject to the university overload fee.
Course Formats and Schedules
The Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship offers many of its undergraduate courses in two formats: (1) the traditional face-to-face format, taught on campus through weekly course meetings and (2) a web-based, online format, conducted asynchronously, (i.e. without fixed course meetings), requiring students to participate independently multiple times throughout each week. Currently being offered online are the school’s core business courses (required for completion of all business degrees), core marketing courses and a selection of business elective courses, the combination of which will permit a student to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration or Marketing online if desired. (See the descriptions of the business administration and marketing degrees for more information.)
Notes: (1) Traditional courses are offered on a semester schedule, with the fall semester beginning in August, and the spring semester beginning in January. Online courses are eight weeks in length, with two online terms fitting within each traditional semester, one beginning at the start of the semester and the other beginning at the mid-point of the semester. Both traditional and online courses are also offered during the summer.
Internship Eligibility Requirements
Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship recognizes the value of student internships within their academic discipline. Students should consider the contribution that an internship can make in their education and starting their working careers. The school strongly recommends that students consider taking one internship during their junior or senior year. Students may include three credit hours at the 40000-level internship as credit towards the hours required in their major elective courses. Students may include additional internship credit hours as credit towards their free elective hours.
Undergraduate students must have completed the equivalent of four full semesters (60 credit hours) with a minimum of 12 credit hours of core courses in the Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship degree program. A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 overall and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all required degree courses.
Degree and Major Requirements
To earn a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in any business discipline, students must complete the following requirements:
- GE business courses (15-21 credit hours, required for all majors)
- Core business courses (36 credit hours, required for all majors)
- Required major courses (credit hours vary by major)
- Elective major courses (credit hours vary by major; courses are selected from among a list of courses available in the major*).
* Elective courses at or above the 30000-level may require prerequisites.