• Four full-time advisors are available to assist in students' academic planning.
• WSU's Carson College of Business is among only 2% of business programs worldwide whose programs are fully accredited by AACSB International (the world's foremost business accreditation) at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.
• All business and courses are in a centralized, state-of-the-art building with wireless computing capability throughout.
• Learn from internationally recognized professors. Management faculty are ranked among the top 20 for published research output.
• WSU's management faculty form close relationships with students, bring current research into courses, and provide career guidance.

Students on all campuses must meet the following requirements to qualify for certification into a business major:

• Complete the following certification courses with a GPA of 2.50 or better:
  - Economics 101 and 102
  - English 101
  - Accounting 230 and 231
  - Business Law 210
  - Management and Operations 215
  - Math 201 and 202
  - Management Information Science 250
• Have a cumulative WSU GPA of at least 2.5
• Have earned at least 60 credits

On the Pullman campus, certifying as a business major is competitive and course enrollments are limited. Pullman campus students are required to apply online to be considered for certification. Applicants who meet the minimum requirements above are then ranked by academic performance.  The top students are then certified based on the number of spots available that semester.

On all campuses, transfer course grades will be used to calculate the certification GPA, but they are not included in the WSU cumulative GPA.

Students desiring to certify their business major on the Online, Tri-Cities, or Vancouver campuses should contact a business advisor on that campus for specifics about certifying their major.

Note: Certification is required for enrollment in all 300- and 400-level business courses.

Graduation requirements

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

Management major requirements

Effective Fall 2015(21 credits)

Required core courses (6 credits)

• Mgmt 401—Leading People and Organizations [M course]
• Mgmt 487—Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

In addition to the core courses, you can focus your degree by choosing a specialization track.

Innovation and change track

Core courses (6 credits):

• Mgmt 483—Management of Innovation and Change [M course]
• Entrp 489—Entrepreneurial Management

One course from the following (3 credits):

• MIS 441—E-commerce
• MIS 420—Business Intelligence
• MgtOp 470—Business Modeling and Spreadsheets
• Mgmt 496—Special Topics

Two courses from the following (6 credits):

• Any 300 or 400 level College of Business course

Human resource management track

Core courses (6 credits):

• Mgmt 450—Managing Human Resources
• Mgmt 456—Evaluating and Rewarding Employees [proposed new M course]

One course from the following (3 credits):

• Mgmt 455—Recruiting and Hiring Human Capital (Current M course)
• Mgmt 485—Negotiation Skills
• Mgmt 496—Special topics – to allow for some flexibility

Two courses from the following (6 credits):

• Any 300 or 400 level College of Business course

Graduation requirements

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

You can add a minor in human resource management to virtually any major by fulfilling these requirements.

Human resource management minor requirements

Effective Fall 2015 (18 credits)

Required courses (9 credits):

• MGTOP 215 or Psych 311 Elementary Statistics in Psychology
• MGMT 301 Principles of Management and Organization
• MGMT 450 Managing Human Resources

One course from the following (3 credits):

• HD 205 [C] — Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills 4 (3-2)
  - Enhancing interpersonal communication, leadership, and team skills through action-based learning.
• MIS 250 — Managing Information Technology 3 (2-2)
  - Comprehensive overview of the role of management information systems in business, principles and application of MIS, and hands-on computer labs.

Two courses from the following (6 credits):

• MGMT 455 — Recruiting and Hiring Human Capital
• MGMT 456 — Evaluating and Rewarding Employees
• MGMT 496 — Special topics
  - Allows extra flexibility for pursuing your interests and integrating human resource management into your major.

Plan ahead

To certify your major in the Carson College of Business, you will need to complete specific prerequisite courses. Use our list of transfer equivalencies to make sure you take the right transfer courses at your current college.

Also check out our transfer student guide for more information on transferring to WSU. 

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

For all students at WSU

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, start by doing these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application so you can be eligible for scholarship consideration.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need.

Click here for more about WSU scholarships and financial aid

For management majors

In addition to general university scholarships and other financial aid, WSU offers scholarships specifically for students in business majors.

The Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship provides scholarships to students each year. Many business college scholarships are also available to management and operations students. For information, see the College of Business scholarships page.

The Student Leaders in Management club hosts guest speakers from industry who, among other things, provide advice on resume writing and interview techniques. The club also provides a link with the Department of Management and Operations and the College of Business for information on internship and job opportunities.

Management students are welcome to join any of eleven student clubs that are affiliated with the Carson College of Business.

A wide variety of internships are available for juniors and seniors for a summer, semester, or full academic year.

The Carson Center for Professional Development provides numerous options for students to develop personal and professional skills that go beyond academics, and to seek internships and jobs.

WSU students can benefit from career fairs that bring recruiters to campus and the region each year to talk about opportunities. The University also maintains a database of organizations seeking student interns.

A major in management prepares students for work in manufacturing, service, for-profit, non-profit, and government organizations.

Typically, graduates start in entry-level positions that can include (but are not limited to) management-training programs, supervisory positions, section or team leaders, or junior management positions.

Graduates have accepted jobs at large organizations such as Battelle, Boeing, Boise Cascade, Enterprise, Ferguson, Microsoft, and Weyerhaeuser. They have also accepted jobs at smaller organizations, gone into family firms, or started their own business.

Salaries vary widely, from those who start their own business and sacrifice present income for future growth to those who enter large organizations with established pay scales. Typical starting salaries may range between $35,000 and $55,000.