University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
The Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business is a pre-eminent learning community, known for shaping business practice for tomorrow's converging economies. The Smeal College's seven academic departments, as well as its research centers and institutes, present programs and studies in leading-edge areas such as B2B marketing, supply chain management, e-business, and entrepreneurship along with the traditional areas of marketing, management, finance, real estate, accounting, and information systems.
The late Mary Jean Smeal and Frank P. Smeal both graduated from Penn State in 1942, she with a degree in arts and letters and he with one in economics. The Smeals were generous supporters of the University for more than thirty years and consistently supported excellence in education throughout their lives. Their generous $10 million gift to the college in 1990 provided a foundation of excellence for students and faculty, and the Smeal College of Business is named in their honor and memory.
RESIDENT EDUCATION--Through our innovative curriculum, students are prepared for the various fields in business administration. The curriculum offers a liberalized education, an integrated core, an international outlook, and is issues oriented. Students are required to complete a minimum of 130 credits for the Actuarial Science major and a minimum of 120 credits for all other majors. The undergraduate program leads either to a career in the operation or management of economic or social institutions.
DEGREES--The college offers the B.S. degree, as well as graduate work leading to the M.B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees, with a major in Business Administration. General requirements for these graduate degrees are described in the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin and the Manual for Graduate Students. The master of manufacturing management degree program is offered jointly with the College of Engineering.
Students who want to major in Economics are offered several alternatives: (1) They may qualify for a B.S. degree with a business administration emphasis by enrolling in the major in Smeal College of Business. (2) They may qualify for a B.S. degree, with specific technical skills courses emphasized, by matriculating in the College of the Liberal Arts and conforming to the requirements of that college. (3) They may qualify for a B.A. degree by matriculating in the College of the Liberal Arts and conforming to all graduation requirements of that college. In all cases, all economics courses would be taken in the College of the Liberal Arts. The Smeal College also cooperates with the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Earth and Mineral Sciences in selected degree programs offered by those colleges.
By careful planning, students may choose to meet University Faculty Senate requirements for earning a simultaneous or multiple degrees with a Smeal College major and a major in another college. Students completing one degree in Smeal College are not permitted to complete a second degree (simultaneous, multiple major, or sequential) in Smeal College.
MINORS--The Smeal College and the College of the Liberal Arts offer an interdisciplinary minor in Business/Liberal Arts for students outside Smeal College of Business. Students who complete the course requirements for the minor will have this fact recorded on the transcript. Students interested in the minor should refer to "Business/Liberal Arts Minor" in the minors listings at the end of the College of the Liberal Arts program listings.
The college offers minors in selected areas as resources permit, and they are open to all University Park students.
RESEARCH, EXECUTIVE, AND OUTREACH AND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION--The Smeal College of Business is a research leader among American business schools. Last year, more than $5.6 million was received to carry out studies that not only advanced the science of business, but enriched the classroom as well. Smeal College research develops new and improved solutions to significant managerial problems and helps ensure that what students learn in the classroom is on the cutting edge.
Penn State Executive Programs offers intensive professional development experiences for business and government leaders around the world. Open-enrollment programs benefit executives from diverse industries and cultures seeking to master competencies for leadership excellence. Custom programs are uniquely designed to help individual organizations enhance competitiveness and lead through cycles of change. In recognizing the needs of busy executives for flexible alternatives in development, Penn State Executive Programs offers specially designed executive degree programs, one- to two-day "Hot Topic" workshops, and one-of-a-kind programs for corporate vertical consortia and corporate board development.
The continuing and distance education programs of Smeal College are designed to provide continuing development of skills and knowledge for adults throughout the Commonwealth. These programs offer clients in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors new knowledge on business-related topics to develop and reinforce effective management.
DIVISION OF RESEARCH
RUSSELL R. BARTON, Associate Dean for Research
The Division of Research administers programs to support faculty research, and houses the following research units: Center for Global Business Studies; Center for Supply Chain Research; Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change; the Risk Management Research Center; Center for Research in Conflict and Negotiation; Center for the Study of Business and Public Issues; Institute for Real Estate Studies; Institute for the Study of Business Markets; eBusiness Research Center; Garber Venture Capital Center; and The Farrell Center for Entrepreneurship.
PENN STATE EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS
PATRICK A. CATALDO, Associate Dean for Executive Education
Executive Programs broke significant ground in the field of executive and organizational development when it was founded in 1954. Today, Smeal ranks among the top twenty-five providers worldwide and is among the top twelve in the United States. Renowned faculty are assembled from the college, other leading schools, and noted industry experts to provide the most current methodologies and research as well as world-class experience in business management practices. Each year more than 1,000 middle- and senior-level managers from some of the world's largest corporations participate in custom and open-enrollment programs to gain new business acumen, broaden their perspectives, and develop leadership competencies. Program areas of specialization include general management, supply chain, finance, and business-to-business marketing. For more information about all development opportunities available through Penn State Executive Programs, please visit http://www.smeal.psu.edu/psep (Opens New Window) on the Web.
OUTREACH AND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
JOHN M. STEVENS, Smeal Director of Outreach and Cooperative Extension
The Smeal College's mission is to provide professional education in a variety of business-related subjects for men and women. Since 1915, the University has offered management development services for business, industry, nonprofit, and public institutions throughout the Commonwealth. The programs are designed to update management theory and practices, develop and reinforce effective managerial skills and attitudes, and provide an opportunity for career development and lifelong learning.
Professional development programs are offered in real estate, insurance, general management, marketing, accounting, finance, business law, business logistics, and many other fields. Among the more than 1,400 programs providing these learning experiences are credit and noncredit certificates, informal seminars, workshops, conferences, associate and baccalaureate degree courses, distance education, and independent learning by correspondence. Annually, more than 20,000 people participate in Smeal College continuing and distance education programs throughout the Commonwealth.
CREDIT SCHEDULING RECOMMENDATION
The suggested minimum schedule for students is 16 credits per semester, 32 credits per year. The maximum credit load in any semester is 19, unless permission is obtained from the office of the associate dean for undergraduate programs.
The Smeal College does not accept credits with pass/fail grades. Students enrolled in Smeal College must enroll in all courses for a letter grade and may never enroll in courses for pass/fail grades.
Smeal College of Business courses numbered 150 through 199 may not be used to satisfy college or departmental baccalaureate degree requirements. Other courses not acceptable for meeting the requirements of the B.S. degree are FIN 100, FIN 108, FIN 301, MGMT 100, MGMT 301, MKTG 221, MKTG 301, OPMGT 301, R EST 100, and SCM 301.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT--Effective in summer 1998 and thereafter, all first-year students intending to enter Penn State's Smeal College of Business will be required to attain level-three proficiency in one language other than English as a condition of graduation. The criteria for placement in a foreign language are outlined in the "Placement Policy for Penn State Foreign Language Courses." This and all other foreign language policies are located in the general information section of this bulletin.
ADMISSION TO A MAJOR
Under certain circumstances, the University may need to limit enrollments in certain majors because of space limitations. Information about majors that may have enrollment controls is available in the office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, 104 Beam Business Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-1911; 814-863-1947; or on Web at http://www.smeal.psu.edu/ (Opens New Window).
To be eligible for entrance to a major in this college, a degree candidate must be enrolled in Smeal College or the Division of Undergraduate Studies and satisfy requirements for entrance to the college. In addition, the degree candidate must meet the following requirements:
1. The degree candidate must be taking, or have taken, a program appropriate for entry to that specific major, as shown in the bulletin, including approximately 60 credits of course work.
2. To be eligible for consideration for entrance into Business Administration majors, a student must have a competitive cumulative grade-point average and must have completed the following requirements: ACCTG 211; B A 243 or B A 241 and B A 242; ECON 002 GS, ECON 004 GS; MIS 204 or IST 110; SCM 200 or STAT 200; ENGL 015 GWS or ENGL 030 GWS; MATH 110 GQ or MATH 140 GQ; and CMPSC 203 GQ. Students must have completed an approved First-Year Seminar. Additional information about applying for these majors is available in the office of the associate dean for undergraduate programs of Smeal College.
BACCALAUREATE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS AND COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS--Smeal College courses numbered 150 through 199 may be taken for credit, but such credits may not be used to satisfy college or departmental degree requirements. Other courses not acceptable for meeting the requirements of the B.S. degree are SCM 301, FIN 100, FIN 108, FIN 301, MGMT 100, MGMT 301, MKTG 221, MKTG 301, OPMGT 301, and R EST 100.
SMEAL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
JAMES B. THOMAS, Dean
EDWARD T. REUTZEL, Senior Associate Dean
JOHN M. STEVENS, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs; Director of Outreach Programs
GERALD SUSMAN, Associate Dean for Research Programs
PATRICK A. CATALDO, Associate Dean for Executive Education
DENNIS SHEEHAN, Associate Dean for MBA Programs
COLLEGE ACADEMIC ORGANIZATION
Accounting -- DAN GIVOLY, Chair
Finance -- WILLIAM A. KRACAW, Chair
Insurance and Real Estate -- AUSTIN JAFFE, Chair
Management and Organization -- CHARLES SNOW, Chair
Marketing -- HANS BAUMGARTNER, Chair
Supply Chain and Information Systems -- JOHN EUGENE TYWORTH, Chair