2024-2025 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
The Pamplin College of Business offers a Bachelor of Science in Business degree, a Bachelor of Science in Business in Business Information Technology degree, a Bachelor of Science in Business in Finance degree, and a Bachelor of Science in Business in Management degree. Majors in Accounting and Information Systems; Business Information Technology; Cybersecurity Management and Analytics; Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Technology Management; Finance; Financial Planning and Wealth Management; FinTech and Big Data Analytics; Hospitality and Tourism Management; Human Resources Management; Management; Management Consulting and Analytics, Marketing; and Real Estate Finance are available. The College also offers a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate degree with majors in Real Estate for Commercial Properties and Real Estate for Residential Properties. On-campus enrollment is over 5,000 undergraduate and about 200 full-time graduate students in the MS-BA in Business Analytics, Master of Accounting and Information Systems, and Ph.D. programs resident in Blacksburg, VA. The college also enrolls approximately 140 Evening MBA, and about 50 MS-BA students in Hospitality and Tourism at Virginia Tech’s campuses in greater Washington, D.C., metro area. In addition to offering the in-person Evening MBA program, the college offers a fully virtual Online MBA program. The OMBA program was launched in the summer of 2021 and enrolls a cohort of approximately 30 students once per year. Virginia Tech’s Master of Information Technology (VT-MIT) is a 33-credit interdisciplinary degree program offered jointly by the College of Engineering and Pamplin College of Business. Designed for working professionals, the program is fully online, asynchronous, and offers a highly customizable curriculum in areas such as big data, data analytics, cybersecurity, health IT, and software development. The VT-MIT program also offers 10 graduate certificates that can be earned with the degree or as a stand-alone credential. In addition, the College also has about 50 students in the Executive Ph.D. in Business with residencies at the Falls Church and Blacksburg campuses.
The college offers five distinct competitive advantages:
Pamplin faculty members are tackling major issues in industry, finance, management practice, and information technology, to name a few areas. Their research has contributed to greater understanding of business issues, been cited in government hearings and court testimony, and played a role in policy making. Though sponsored research is not a central aspect of the research programs of business schools, several Pamplin faculty members have attracted national funding for their research, working as members of interdisciplinary teams. The college's departments are also regularly ranked among the nation's or world's top programs for scholarly productivity, based on article publication in the leading academic journals in their fields.
The college offers two centers devoted to helping students and corporations gain more knowledge. The Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship helps students to learn, lead, and launch. Students will learn to be empowered with skills, tools, and information to create successful ventures. They will launch ventures through support and resources that will help them transform vision to reality. Finally, the center will lead the next generation of entrepreneurs and help them to have courage to build exceptional ventures. The Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics will assist with big data and harnessing analytic techniques to transform raw data into useful information for better business decisions.
The curriculum for the business degrees includes a broad liberal education and business core foundation of two years, followed by a college core in the fundamentals of business theory and concentration in one of the following majors:
The Blackwood Program in Real Estate offers a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate degree, with majors in Real Estate for Commercial Properties and Real Estate for Residential Properties. Real estate is integral to where one works, shops, lives and recreates. Thus, Real Estate courses integrate the material students learn in disciplinary courses such as finance, law, and property management through experiential learning within the academic program. The integration occurs though a university-industry partnership where real estate professionals are actively involved in students' education through guest lectures, mentoring experiences, and by providing internship opportunities.
Academic advising is an important aspect of each student's college career. Students are assigned to a professional academic advisor to assist from entry in Pamplin until graduation. All business degree students are assigned to an advisor in Pamplin Undergraduate Programs, 1046 Pamplin Hall. Real Estate degree students are assigned to an advisor in the Blackwood Real Estate program, also located within Pamplin Hall.
Undergraduates are strongly encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities, particularly the annual career fairs in September and January, ethics and leadership seminars, college international programs and study abroad, and the various events of the over 30 different student clubs in the college. Many of these programs provide critical insights into the careers for which students are preparing, as well as valuable opportunities for leadership.
Undergraduates are required to bring a computer to the university, as well as purchase university and Pamplin software bundles. The computer is used extensively in the curriculum. Purchase information and required configuration will be available each spring.
Administrative and faculty offices for the college are located in Pamplin, Wallace, and Bishop-Favrao Halls. Our facilities also include study rooms, computer labs, conference rooms, a behavioral laboratory, kitchen laboratory, atrium filled with furniture conducive to studying and group work, and a student organization office center.
The college is a member of The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB International. All programs are accredited by the AACSB. Additionally, the ACIS program holds an accreditation from AACSB: AACSB Accounting Accreditation. The Finance department is accredited through the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc.
A minimum of 125 credit hours is required for graduation in the Bachelor of Science in Business, Bachelor of Science in Business in Business Information Technology, Bachelor of Science in Business in Finance, and Bachelor of Science in Business in Management degrees. The Bachelor of Science in Real Estate requires 120 credit hours.
Students must have an overall average and in-major GPA of 2.0 ("C") to graduate.
To ensure credit, a student desiring to take courses at another institution must secure approval from Pamplin Undergraduate Programs before registering for the course at another institution. Completion of the "Authorization to Take Courses Elsewhere" must be submitted online. The student will be notified of the outcome via email.
General university limitations on acceptability of transfer credit are shown elsewhere in this catalog.
All business degree-seeking students generally take the same required courses for the first two years. Courses consist of business foundation courses as well as general education requirements and free electives. Pamplin enforces a strict policy of progress toward degree (Policy 91). Policy 91 states that students must complete the following courses with grades no lower than C- by the time they have attempted 72 credit hours (90 hours for transfer students): ACIS 1504 Introduction to Business Analytics and Business Intelligence, MATH 1524 Business Calculus, BIT 2405 Introduction to Business Statistics, Analytics, and Modeling-BIT 2406 Introduction to Business Statistics, Analytics, and Modeling, ACIS 2115 Principles of Accounting-ACIS 2116 Principles of Accounting, and ECON 2005 Principles of Economics-ECON 2006 Principles of Economics. Students who do not meet this progress towards degree requirement will be dismissed from their major.
All business degree-seeking students complete a business core that creates a strong foundation in all aspects of business and includes coursework in accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management, information technology, and international business. All core courses require a grade of C- or better or else the course must be repeated. However, students at the university may only attempt a course three times.
ACIS, BIT, CFPF, CMA, EIT, FIN, FBDA, HTM, MCA, MGT,MHR, MKTG, and FREL are considered restricted majors and require application from students who did not start at VT enrolled in one of those majors. Students must complete certain business courses and obtain a minimum GPA for eligibility to apply to a restricted major. Applications are accepted online three times per year – January, May, and August.
Real Estate students not double majoring in a business degree and students pursuing a major outside the Pamplin College may apply for a minor in business if they have a minimum 2.0 overall GPA and have completed the math requirement. The minor consists of approximately 46 credit hours of foundational coursework in various areas of business. To complete the minor in business, students must have a 2.0 GPA in all required courses.
The requirements to earn a minor in business can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
Digital marketing encompasses many areas of application, including mobile marketing, Internet marketing, e-commerce, and social media marketing. The Digital Marketing Strategy minor enables students to acquire knowledge and skills in online and digital business and digital product delivery, as well as development, analysis, and enhancement of a company's presences on the web, mobile, and social networks. The minor is open to all majors and requires 21 credit hours of coursework.
The requirements to earn a minor in digital marketing strategy can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
The Entrepreneurship-New Venture Growth Minor is intended to focus on the knowledge and skills needed to create new ventures and lead their early growth. The objective is to provide students with the knowledge to convert ideas into business successes, particularly in the context of engineering and science-based technology commercialization.
The minor is open to students pursuing a major outside the Pamplin College of Business and Real Estate students not double majoring in a business degree and requires 18 credit hours of coursework.
The requirements to earn a minor in entrepreneurship can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
Environmental, social, and governance policies and practices are increasingly a focus in the conduct of business and finance. The Department of Finance has developed an ESG minor to make students, especially Business majors, aware of environmental, social, and governance criteria that are used in evaluation of companies and investments. The minor will prepare students to understand the effect of ESG on investment performance, access to funding, and evaluation of corporate policies. The minor requires 24 credit hours, a grade of C or better in each relevant course, and that students maintain a GPA of at least 2.0 in the required course work.
The Hospitality & Tourism department's Pathway's minor in Event and Experience Management is available to all students across campus and provides options of emphasis in sales management or event operations management. The minor consists of 18 hours of study and provides students with content and practical experiences leading to professional growth opportunities in the event management industry. In the United States alone, there are over 18 million events and meetings organized every year creating career opportunities for students who aspire to design, plan and manage the execution of events or for those who prefer the challenge of sales and the techniques involved in building customer relationships through effective communication and interpersonal skills.
The requirements to earn a minor in event and experience management can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
Students pursuing a major outside the Pamplin College of Business and Real Estate students not double majoring in a business degree, may apply for a minor in Finance if they have a minimum 2.50 overall GPA, have completed 24 hours at Virginia Tech, and have completed the math requirement. The minor consists of 27 credit hours of coursework in Finance and supporting areas of business. To complete the minor in business, students must have a 2.0 GPA in all required courses.
The requirements to earn a minor in finance can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
Any student at Virginia Tech can put Ut Prosim into action by completing the Minor in Global Business Practices (GBP) to Improve the Human Condition. This interdisciplinary minor will teach students how to address societal issues using sound business practices in an international setting. The GBP minor was designed for any Virginia Tech student with a GPA of at least 2.0. Students will complete coursework in Pathways 3, 5f, and 7. The 21-credit minor includes 12 credits of required core courses, 6 credits of elective courses concentrating in either the social change or prosperity track, and a 3 credit capstone experience.
The requirements to earn a minor in global business practices can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
The International Business (IB) Minor was designed for all Virginia Tech students who wish to learn how to conduct business in an international setting. Students will be exposed to a wide variety of business, cultural, and global perspectives. The international business minor provides students with a rigorous foundation for success in today's global business environment. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have at least a 2.0 overall GPA are eligible for the International Business minor. The minor consists of 18 credit hours of course work, four years of a foreign language (may be satisfied from high school), and an approved international experience. Non-Pamplin students who wish to earn the minor must go on a Pamplin-specific study abroad or international internship.
The requirements to earn a minor in international business can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
The Business Leadership Center (BLC) within the Department of Management provides multi-disciplinary, experiential education in the history, values, skills, and theory of organizational and team leadership. It acts as an educational center that coordinates programs to help students develop leadership skills that are necessary to excel and prosper in the workplace of the twenty-first century.
The 18-credit minor in Organizational Leadership is open to students in all majors who have at least a 2.5 overall GPA at Virginia Tech. It includes required courses in team and organizational leadership; elective courses that address a broad range of competencies in four areas, including Creativity and Innovation, Critical and Strategic Thinking, Intercultural Communications, and Holistic Thinking and Ethical Reasoning. and a required leadership experiential activity. For additional information, contact Mr. Ron Poff, Interim Business Leadership Center Director, (540) 231-1279, leadershipcenter@vt.edu.
The requirements to earn a minor in organizational leadership can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
Housed within the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC), the mission of the Major General W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development is to foster the next generation of public leaders by integrating theory and practice through scholarly dialogue and experiential learning in the areas of leadership, civic responsibility, service, and moral values thus contributing to the development of informed and responsible individuals who are committed to making a difference in their nation and in the world. The Rice Center oversees the 22-credit leadership Minor Corps of Cadets (LMCC). This minor is only available to graduates of the VTCC. For more information on the minor in leadership, please contact the Rice Center for Leader Development at (540) 231-9455.
Sales positions are critical to all firms and sales positions are expected to increase by as much as 25% over the next several years. This has created strong competition among employers to recruit the very best graduates. The Professional Sales minor is designed to prepare students to excel in this highly lucrative field. The focus of the program is to provide students with critical communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills key to helping organizations build long-term customer relationships. These skills will be valuable not only to those pursuing sales careers but also to anyone aspiring to managerial positions - positions that involve presentation of plans and ideas, negotiations, and persuasion. This minor requires 21 credits to be completed with at least a 2.0 GPA overall and within the courses. The minor is open to all Virginia Tech students
The requirements to earn a minor in professional sales can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
The Real Estate minor allows students with a general interest in real estate to select a set of courses that will advance their knowledge the industry. The minor requires 28 credit hours in coursework across various disciplines including property management, finance, marketing, building construction, and real estate. The minor is open to all Virginia Tech students.
The requirements to earn a minor in real estate can be found on the University Registrar website https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html.
The college participates in the Cooperative Education Program in which qualified students may alternate semesters of study in the major with semesters of professional employment. Additional information pertaining to the program is included in the "Academics" section of this catalog.
Graduate instruction and opportunities for research are offered to students who have bachelor's degrees from accredited colleges. The college offers Master of Business Administration programs, and master's and Ph.D. degrees in all departments. All graduate students are required to attain a satisfactory score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
The four-year course work leading to the B.S. in Business degree in any major in the college provides a sound preparation for law school, and pre-law advisors from the Pamplin faculty are provided.
Dean: Saonee Sarker
Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration: Beth Osborne
Associate Dean for Graduate Programs: Parviz Ghandforoush
Interim Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs: Lara Khansa
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs: Lara Khansa
Assistant Dean for Outreach and Engagement: Michelle Seref
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