Business Administration Major
So you mean business? Good, so do we. Start gaining real business experience at great Vermont entrepreneurial companies like Burton Snowboards as early as your first year.
Start with the good stuff.
In your first semester, you’ll be taking classes like Business and the Entrepreneurial Mindset and Accounting for Decision Making to gain critical high-growth skills early on. Your deep, immersive, and practical business education at Champlain starts on your first day in the Stiller School of Business and continues to your last.
Along the way, you can add a minor like Social Justice (or any that interest you), take any number of internships (including one through our international summer internship options) , and network like a pro starting with on-campus clubs, like Stiller Women in Business. You’ll emerge a different kind of business graduate: experienced, confident, and ready to hit the ground running.
Why Get A Business Administration Degree?
A degree in Business Administration is the Swiss army knife of business degrees. It equips you with a versatile skill set that can be applied to a wide range of industries and career paths including marketing and advertising, sales in any sector, management, healthcare, human resources, hospitality, entertainment, among other industries and business types.
Through a Business Administration degree, you develop essential skills in areas such as management, marketing, finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, and strategic planning that will make you immediately employable or well equipped to pursue a masters in business.
Why Choose Champlain’s Business Administration Major?
In Champlain’s accredited Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) program, you’ll learn what you are excited about in the world of business—and what you aren’t. By learning all aspects of the business world early in your college career, you’ll have more time to build skills explore your career options and your interests, and change it up if you need to.
Champlain’s Business Administration major is designed to expose you to all aspects of business so you can learn what areas inspire you. You will also focus your business education in specific areas through concentrations like Cybersecurity or Sustainable Business that allow you to dig deep and tailor your degree to your professional goals and give you an edge when applying for positions.
Our location in Burlington, Vermont is a hotbed of entrepreneurism, and through our industry partners and advisors, you’ll be working with real businesses, big and small. Class speakers, live client projects, and internships with Burlington-area companies—including New Breed Marketing, Outdoor Gear Exchange, and Line Skis—will be the hallmark of your Stiller School business education.
In our small classes, you’ll learn power skills—not just basic business skills. In the Stiller School of Business, you’ll learn and practice the communication, interpersonal, team-building, organizational, and time-management skills. Through your hands-on learning, you will also gain critical skills in decision-making and collaboration that will prepare you for leadership and the professions of the future.
Different By Design
Take Risks and Experiment
Growth comes from moving beyond what you already know. The curriculum is intentionally built to give you flexibility, exploration, and international experiences through built-in study abroad options. You’ll deepen your exploration and learning in specific areas through a concentration and there’s room to choose from one of our career-focused minors to customize your degree.
Connect to Burlington
Champlain College partners with forward-thinking enterprises to create unmatched opportunity for business students. For example, you can take classes at Hula, a state-of-the-art co-working space (on the Lake!) for start-ups and score internships at places like Ben & Jerry’s, Seventh Generation, and Burton Snowboards.
The Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Got an idea for a start-up biz? The Center can provide consulting and funding help you get it off the ground—while you are still a student. Among other activities, the Center hosts entrepreneurship bootcamps. You can even get a job consulting at the Center on business proposals for other students and outside community members.
International Internships
Since 2013, Champlain students in the Stiller School of Business have had the option to travel to various countries in Asia for life-changing experiences that impact them academically, professionally, and personally through the Freeman Foundation Grant. Some of our students’ internships have even evolved into full-time jobs post-graduation. Other students completed international internships while studying abroad at one of our international campuses.
Facts & Stats
Median annual wage for business and financial occupations according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of all Business Administration students complete a hands-on management-level internship in a business or not-for-profit setting.
Over the last six years, 96% of our Business Administration major graduates were employed or continuing their education within six months after graduating.
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Sample Courses in the Business Administration Major
Our Upside-Down Curriculum lets you dive into important courses in your Business Administration major right away. You’ll take six business courses in your first year. Here are a few highlights of the full Business Administration curriculum.
Third Year
Concentrations
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Computer Science Concentration
Build a strong foundation in crucial mathematics and data management systems so that you can identify problems and formulate solutions. You’ll learn to reconcile conflicting objectives and find compromises in our Computer Science concentration.
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Cybersecurity Concentration
Develop the critical skills to help protect businesses and organizations from ever-evolving cyber threats. You’ll learn to detect vulnerabilities and recommend physical, logical, or administrative controls to mitigate the risks.
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International Business Concentration
The world of business is increasingly interconnected. Develop the skills to navigate international markets and develop market strategies that address ethical, sustainability, and profitability objectives in our International Business concentration.
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Information Systems & Technology Concentration
Become an information system analyst and develop the critical skills needed to successfully support organizations in our Information Systems and Technology concentration.
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Management Concentration
Management is all about resources–maintaining, supporting, and administering the assets of an organization from financial to people resources. Learn to create and implement policies and processes to support a common organizational mission in our Management concentration.
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Sustainable Business Concentration
An organization must think beyond finances. How a company impacts its community, environment and society as a whole determines its long-term sustainability. Learn to consider complex social, environmental, and economic factors as a purpose-driven leader with our concentration in Sustainable Business.
You might also be interested in these…
Based on your interest in the Business Administration major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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Majors
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Game Business & Publishing Major
Gaming is global, and its future requires business leaders who understand the industry. Champlain College is a hub for gaming – study Game Business & Publishing and learn alongside your future peers.
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Integrative Professional Studies Major
Design your own major through Champlain’s Degree Design Lab. You’ll combine courses and real-world learning experiences to personalize your own education.
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Game Production Management Major
This one-of-a-kind program prepares you to guide the teams creating tomorrow’s games. Immerse yourself in collaborative, hands-on projects in the Game Production Management major at Champlain College.
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Marketing Communication Major
Businesses run on stories and data. Tune in to emerging marketing strategies and graduate ready for your career, with impressive industry-standard certifications.
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Minors
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Human Resource Management Minor
Discover the best practices for working with employees and management within an office while following legal requirements and effectively enforcing company policies.
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Entrepreneurship Minor
Learn how to turn ideas into profitable businesses or non-profit with an Entrepreneurship minor.
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Areas of Study
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Business & Data Analytics
Drive change at the intersection of information and impact with one of these majors.
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Individualized Studies & Undeclared
Learn what you love, and love what you learn with one of these professional pathways.
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Law & Society
Want to uphold a system of justice through meaningful public service? Check out these majors that revolve around “doing good.”
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Seamless Transition to Grad School
Are you thinking about going to graduate school? Through Champlain College Online, you can seamlessly go from undergraduate to graduate student, enhancing your skills and career opportunities.
Pathways to Advanced DegreesCareer Success
The Business Administration program gives you skills employers value most. Within six months of graduation, 88% of Business Administration graduates from the Class of 2023 were employed.
Your Career Outlook
By the time you graduate, you will …
- Be able to adapt and thrive while moving confidently across jobs and industries.
- Recognize and respond to a dynamic business environment, equipped to create new knowledge, identify and question assumptions and biases, and bring new insights to address these complex challenges.
- Influence positive change within your business environments using business/management principles such as interpersonal and leadership skills, organizational theory, risk assessment, design thinking, and courage.
- Employ a range of strategies to facilitate communication and collaboration to address the needs of all affected stakeholders to achieve desired organizational objectives.
- Be courageous, purpose-driven, have the capacity to deal with ambiguity and paradox, see broad perspectives of issues, show energy and resilience, hold both entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial mindsets, and be a driver of change.
You’ll Find a Career In…
- Procurement Officer
- Human Resources Manager
- Municipal Manager
- Franchising Manager
- Loan Officer
- Health Service Manager
- Auditor
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Pre-College Summer Program: Champlain Game AcademyThe Champlain Game Academy offers an intensive residential pre-college program for high school students entering grades 10-12 and recent high school graduates. Like the Game Studio, our program emphasizes teamwork and creative collaboration across all the game development disciplines. In order to understand how a professional game development team works, students will be introduced to all aspects of game development.
Learn More on the Pre-College Summer Program Website
More Inside Business Administration Major
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Overview
So you mean business? Good, so do we. Start gaining real business experience at great Vermont entrepreneurial companies like Burton Snowboards as early as your first year.
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Curriculum
Your career in business begins now with Champlain’s Upside-Down Curriculum. Discover the difference that doing on day one has on your success.
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Faculty
Our Business Administration faculty go above and beyond to inspire your curiosity, learning, and growth. Small class sizes foster personal connections and mastery.