There are a number of prestigious, accredited business administration degree programs in Pennsylvania, each of them based in a different part of the state. Pennsylvania’s centuries-long commitment to offering an excellent higher education stretches back to its colonial days, including the founding of the University of Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Now an Ivy League school, Penn was just the beginning. Today, top-ranked, AACSB-accredited business administration programs are offered in every corner of the state and are bound to give local students an advantage as they seek their first jobs in this growing sector of the economy. To see more accredited business administration degree programs in Pennsylvania, visit Business Administration Degree Programs in Pennsylvania (A-K) and Business Administration Degree Programs in Pennsylvania (T-Z).
La Salle University
School of Business
La Salle University engages in an intense Philadelphia-area rivalry with schools like St. Joseph’s and Temple University. The school’s academic programs serve as the underlying reason for this: La Salle is a fierce competitor in terms of class sizes, job placement, perceived value, and overall prestige, in a city full of top-tier schools. The B.S.B.A. and M.B.A. programs at La Salle consistently rank in the top 50, with on-campus programs that emphasize liberal arts education, research, internship experience, and networking opportunities throughout students’ three or four years on the campus.
B.S. in Business Administration
La Salle offers a surprisingly large School of Business, despite the university’s overall smaller size in comparison to its competitors in Philadelphia. Students at La Salle take the school’s extensive liberal arts core before focusing on business courses in marketing, management, accounting, finance, and economics. The university has gained a reputation for two big areas outside of these core pursuits: Entrepreneurship and ethics. As a result, students will learn how to start, manage, and grow their own enterprise. They will also take significant coursework in ethical decision-making, morality, business ethics, and law, in order to prepare them for the ethical challenges and regulations of the modern business sector after graduation.
Master of Business Administration
The La Salle MBA is one of the fastest-growing, AACSB-accredited degree programs in the state of Pennsylvania, and for good reason. The university uses the MBA to further its core areas of entrepreneurship and ethics, and as a result has a program that’s top-ranked for entrepreneurship and successful startup inception. La Salle’s MBA also focuses on managerial accounting, managerial finance, advanced economics, organizational behavior, and management. Concentrations include marketing, entrepreneurship, executive leadership, finance, and accounting. La Salle’s MBA is one of the few in the Philadelphia area that can be taken entirely on-campus, entirely on Saturdays, entirely on evenings, or partially online through a hybrid program. This makes it versatile enough for virtually any existing professional who may not be able to attend a full-time day MBA program.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
La Salle University
School of Business
1900 W. Olney Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19141
Phone: (215) 951.1000
Website: http://www.lasalle.edu/business/#.VBHaF_STS0s
Lehigh University
College of Business and Economics
Easton’s Lehigh University is one of Pennsylvania’s most prestigious private universities. The school’s business programs only recently acquired AACSB accreditation, but that hasn’t stopped them from long being among the best in the state. Lehigh students engage in a significant amount of research activity in the MBA program, and they’re often encouraged to gain internships in Easton, Bethlehem, and Allentown, while teaching undergraduate classes on-campus. As a result, most Lehigh grads leave the institution with both an MBA and a wealth of essential job experience that helps them in their first job interviews.
M.B.A.
The Lehigh MBA is often described by publications like BusinessWeek as being one of the most comprehensive in the nation, and that can be seen in the curriculum required of all admitted applicants. Classes focus on domestic business policy and ethics, while also requiring students to take global business classes and international trade courses. Students must focus on communication both electronically and interpersonally within the program, and they must combine classroom theory with intensive laboratory time. Students will engage in research and teaching, but will also be presented with past Lehigh research and the instructional methods that have earned the program a top-12 ranking.
Managerial accounting and finance play a central role, as does business ethics. Concentrations in leadership, finance, and accounting, are the school’s most popular and constitute up to 9 credits of the program. Students can opt to draft a graduate thesis in these areas if they wish to advance into doctoral studies, though many students opt instead for a capstone class prior to graduation instead.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
Lehigh University
College of Business and Economics
621 Taylor St.
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Phone: (610) 758-3400
Website: http://www4.lehigh.edu/business
Robert Morris University
School of Business
Robert Morris University, located just outside the city of Pittsburgh, is a private institution that has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years. As the school continues to gain traction as a leading provider of professional education, it has earned AACSB certification for both its undergraduate and graduate business programs. Students at Robert Morris are required to seek internships, with many of them working in Pittsburgh firms that hire them almost immediately at graduation. For this reason, RMU is top-ranked for job placement, satisfaction with the business program, and perceived value among students and alumni alike.
B.S.B.A.
The Robert Morris B.S.B.A. program is designed to teach students the fundamentals of good business and great leadership. Through this program, Robert Morris undergrads will take six credits of accounting, six in economics and mathematics, and up to 18 credits in management and organizational communication. Marketing, finance, regulatory policy, business law, and professional ethics, will also be required as part of the business core. Students can opt for elective coursework in marketing, accounting, management, or finance at Robert Morris, and must complete at least one internship prior to graduation. This internship is often arranged in nearby Pittsburgh by the school’s career office, with most students opting to begin interning during their third year and pursue multiple internships in advance of earning their degree.
Master of Business Administration
The Robert Morris MBA is growing quickly, thanks to its recent expansion into online education. Today, it’s one of the few programs that offers cohort-free learning either entirely online or based on the school’s main campus. A required MBA core includes managerial accounting, managerial finance and economics, business law and regulatory policy, tax policy, and corporate governance. Elective classes for MBA students correspond with concentrations in human resource management, marketing, business and executive management, information systems, taxation, and finance. The school also allows students to custom-design their own MBA curriculum if they wish to blend concentrations into a more comprehensive and general degree program.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
Robert Morris University
School of Business
6001 University Blvd.
Moon Township, PA 15108
Phone: (800) 762-0097
Email: admissionsoffice@rmu.edu
Website: http://sbus.rmu.edu
Saint Joseph’s University
Erivan K. Haub School of Business
Known in the Philadelphia area simply as “St. Joe’s,” this Catholic liberal arts institution operates one of the biggest and most respected business schools in the eastern United States. The Haub School of Business offers a B.S.B.A. program to students that is top-ranked for overall value, job placement, and small class sizes. The school’s Professional MBA program, also offered through Haub, comes in online and offline formats that make it uniquely accessible to busy professionals. The school’s chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honors society consistently ranks among the top chapters nationwide, and has earned the gold, silver, and bronze awards for Chapter of the Year several times over the past decade. This all adds up to one of the best professional networks and educational experiences in the Pennsylvania business community.
B.S., Business Administration
The Haub School of Business is known for its commitment to offering an excellent undergraduate education, with top rankings from BusinessWeek, the College Board, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, and the Princeton Review. All undergraduate students at Haub take an extensive liberal arts core that has long been the hallmark of a St. Joe’s education. They then move into the Haub School’s required business core. This includes two classes each in accounting, finance, economics, and behavioral studies. Students also must take courses in business law, international business, and a foreign language. The school offers concentrations in marketing, finance, economics, management, entrepreneurship, and ethics, each of which add a degree of specialization that can help students land their first job after graduation.
Professional M.B.A.
The MBA program at St. Joseph’s University can be taken online, offline, or through a combination of online and offline coursework to accommodate a student’s schedule. No matter which option they choose, students at this university will quickly find out that they’re in a unique program. St. Joe’s is one of the only schools in the country that requires a minimum of six semester hours in business ethics. There are several options for students to choose from, but they must take at least two classes in this area.
Additionally, advanced classes in marketing management, financial management, managerial accounting, organizational structure, global business leadership, and entrepreneurship, must be scheduled during this 33-credit program. Students must also take a 1-credit statistics course, though they’re able to test out of the class and receive a tuition refund if they score at least a “B” on the course’s first exam. Concentrations in accounting, economics, and leadership are available, though the school’s most popular choice is its concentration in business intelligence.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
Saint Joseph’s University
Erivan K. Haub School of Business
5600 City Ave.
Philadelphia, PA
Phone: (610) 660-1000
Email: sjumba@sju.edu
Website: https://www.sju.edu/haub-school-business
Shippensburg University
John L. Grove College of Business
Shippensburg is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which includes all of the most affordable public universities in the state. Shippensburg’s location just outside the state capital of Harrisburg allows it to offer students unparalleled access to local healthcare and corporate jobs, as well as to lobbying positions, public sector jobs in analysis, advising, or policymaking, and a number of other unique sectors. Shippensburg offers both undergraduate and graduate-level business programs, with a focus on local internships and laboratory experiences that give students practical, marketable experience as they begin interviewing for entry-level or mid-level positions near the end of their studies.
B.S.B.A.
Students in the Shippensburg BSBA program essentially progress through three distinct parts of their degree. The first is the school’s general education coursework, which ranges from composition to science and the humanities. The business core is next, which teaches the fundaments of accounting and finance, marketing and economics, management and organizational structure. The core also includes business law and ethics credits. All students must then choose a management concentration in in general management, human resources management, entrepreneurship, or international management. The concentration represents between 9 and 18 total credits, and is paired with at least three required internship credits during the student’s junior and senior years on the Shippensburg campus.
M.B.A.
The Shippensburg University MBA is primarily a general MBA, with students not required to choose a particular concentration if they don’t wish to specialize in a given area. As a result, the program features a broad array of topics that range from managerial accounting to business law, entrepreneurial leadership to tax policy. A total of 36 credits are required, with students able to take the program online, on-campus, or through an evening program that’s accelerated for degree completion in just one year. Students who do wish to choose a concentration can pick either Management Information Systems or Supply Chain Management, with a practicum component in nearby Harrisburg that will help students gain additional practical experience in those fields.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
Shippensburg University
John L. Grove College of Business
1871 Old Main Dr.
Shippensburg, PA 17257
Phone: (717) 477-7447
Email: business@ship.edu
Website: http://www.ship.edu/business/
Susquehanna University
Sigmund Weis School of Business
Susquehanna University is a small school located in a small town, but that doesn’t mean it can’t offer students a number of advantages in the classroom. Known for its strong commitment to top-quality undergraduate education, the school is typically top-ranked in the state for business education. Susquehanna also ranks as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, with a central Pennsylvania location that allows graduates to pursue corporate sector jobs in the state capital of Harrisburg, or nearby cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. AACSB accreditation and small class sizes give students the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in the workplace or in graduate programs after they leave SU.
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Susquehanna University students must complete the school’s extensive liberal arts core curriculum before they advance into business classes. Once they make this transition, they’ll start with business basics in accounting, macroeconomics, microeconomics, principles of management, and business law. All students must choose a concentration in global management, entrepreneurship, global finance, information systems, marketing, or human resource management. Students at the university have the option of taking their studies abroad, with a London-based semester in business that adds international business management to the list of courses students will take prior to finishing the degree program.
Accreditations
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Contact
Susquehanna University
Sigmund Weis School of Business
514 University Avenue
Selinsgrove, PA, 17870
Phone: (570) 374-0101
Website: https://www.susqu.edu
Pennsylvania universities offer some of the best business administration programs in the country. Whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, each of these programs will give students the skills, context, and experience they need to get ahead after graduation. When choosing from among the many accredited business administration degree programs in Pennsylvania, students simply have to choose a degree, a region of the state, and a concentration that will provide them with a long and enjoyable business career after they graduate.