Business Administration (General Business) BSBA
Earn your online Business Administration degree from Southern Miss!
Program-at-a-Glance (Undergraduate)
Credit Hours:
Total Hours: 120
Major Area of Study: 21
Additional Requirements: 55-58
Cost per Credit Hour:
$370.59
Completion Time:
2-4 years full-time
Accreditation:
Special Requirements:
No additional requirements
Explore the corporate world with an online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from Southern Miss. In an ever-changing economy, the opportunities to excel in the business world are limitless. The University of Southern Mississippi’s online business degree will provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to work in various arenas within the business industry.
The general business emphasis is a broad degree preparing students for careers in a wide range of business settings. This emphasis is appropriate for students who wish to obtain a business degree but who do not wish to specialize in a specific area of emphasis. The online business degree also allows students the most flexibility to custom design their program of study.
Through this affordable online program, you will earn an online business degree that will advance your career and open the door to more opportunities in the workforce without having to come to campus! Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Join The University of Southern Mississippi today! Looking for more? Our enrollment coaches are standing by. Click here for more info! This is your life, plus college.
A number of scholarship opportunities are available for online students! Our Online Student Scholarship gives first time, fully online students an opportunity for $500 towards their first semester. To get started with our Online Student Scholarship, or to view our list of available scholarships for which you may qualify, visit our Student Scholarship page now!
Your Future
- Branch/Store Manager
- Customer Service Manager
- Business Analyst
- Business Operations Specialist
- General Manager
- Business Continuity Planner
- Project Manager
- Consultant
- Purchasing Manager
- Executive Assistant
- Human Resource Administrator
- Insurance Sales Agent

We are here to help! Our enrollment coaches are standing by to help you take the next step.
We’ll call you soon! In the meantime, learn more about us from our blog or start your application.
General Education Curriculum
Written Communication (6 hours)
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Composition One
|
3 hrs. |
Composition Two
|
3 hrs. |
Natural Science (8-10 hours minimum)
Select 2 courses with labs:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Biology and Society
*
|
3 hrs. |
Principles of Biological Science I
*
|
3 hrs. |
Principles of Biological Science II
*
|
3 hrs. |
Chemistry and Our Environment
*
|
3 hrs. |
General Chemistry I
*
|
3 hrs. |
General Chemistry II
*
|
3 hrs. |
Weather and Climate
*
|
3 hrs. |
General Physics I
*
|
3 hrs. |
General Physics II
*
|
3 hrs. |
Humanities (9 hours)
Course | Credits |
---|---|
World Literature
|
3 hrs. |
Select 2 courses, 1 history required:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
World Civilizations: Beginnings to 1500 C.E.
|
3 hrs. |
World Civilizations: 1500 C.E. to present
|
3 hrs. |
Introduction to Philosophy
|
3 hrs. |
Ethics and Good Living
|
3 hrs. |
Comparative Religion
|
3 hrs. |
Aesthetic Values (3 hours)
Select 1 Course:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Art Appreciation
|
3 hrs. |
Dance Appreciation
|
3 hrs. |
The Enjoyment of Music
|
3 hrs. |
Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)
Select 2 courses:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
The Human Experience: A Global Perspective on Human Diversity
|
3 hrs. |
Basic Economics
|
3 hrs. |
World Geography: Dynamics of a Changing Earth
|
3 hrs. |
American Government
|
3 hrs. |
General Psychology
|
3 hrs. |
Understanding Society: Principles of Sociology
|
3 hrs. |
Mathematic (3 hours)
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Cognitive Reasoning
|
3 hrs. |
College Algebra
|
3 hrs. |
Higher-level MAT course
|
3 hrs. |
Writing-Intensive Requirement (Major Area)
Select 1 course:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Technical Writing
|
3 hrs. |
Organizational Communications
|
3 hrs. |
ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites
Capstone Requirement (Major Area)
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Global Managerial Policy and Strategy (Capstone)
|
3 hrs. |
Must be taken Senior year, ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites
Program Curriculum
Major Area of Study Requirements (21 hours)
Select 21 hours of 300 or 400 level College of Business courses beyond the College of Business Core with no more than 15 hours from any one discipline.
The following courses have been approved for online delivery and satisfy the requirements above.
Schools of Accountancy and Finance (Select 2):
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Accounting Essentials for Business
|
3 hrs. |
Short-Term Financial Management
|
3 hrs. |
Financial Analysis
|
3 hrs. |
Real Estate Principles
|
3 hrs. |
School of Management (Select 2):
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Human Resource Management
|
3 hrs. |
Organizational Behavior
|
3 hrs. |
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
|
3 hrs. |
School of Marketing (Select 2):
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Principles of Merchandising
|
3 hrs. |
Consumer Behavior
|
3 hrs. |
Customer Services Management
|
3 hrs. |
Additional Requirements (55-58 hours)
College of Business Core Courses
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Introduction to Financial Accounting
|
3 hrs. |
Managerial Accounting
|
3 hrs. |
Legal Environment of Business
|
3 hrs. |
Applied Business Analytics
|
3 hrs. |
Business Analytics II
|
3 hrs. |
Principles of Macroeconomics
|
3 hrs. |
Principles of Microeconomics
|
3 hrs. |
Select and approved College of Business international course
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Principles of Finance
|
3 hrs. |
Management of Organizations
|
3 hrs. |
Operations Management
|
3 hrs. |
Global Managerial Policy and Strategy
|
3 hrs. |
Management Information Systems
|
3 hrs. |
Principles of Marketing
|
3 hrs. |
Select 1 course:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Business Analytics I
|
3 hrs. |
Introduction to Statistics of the Behavioral Sciences
|
3 hrs. |
Statistical Methods I
|
3 hrs. |
Elementary Statistics
|
3 hrs. |
Additional BSBA Requirements
Select 1 course:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Technical Writing
|
3 hrs. |
Organizational Communications
|
3 hrs. |
Select 1 course:
Course | Credits |
---|---|
Business English
|
3 hrs. |
Computer Applications in Business Technology
|
3 hrs. |
English Grammar
|
3 hrs. |
a single foreign language course
Select 2 course (MAT 102 required):
Course | Credits |
---|---|
College Algebra
|
3 hrs. |
Brief Applied Calculus
|
3 hrs. |
a single foreign language course not used in another BSBA field
Electives
Choose electives as needed with adviser’s approval. Non-business courses recommended. (See Hours to Degree below.)
Additional Note
Please note that the above information is meant to be a guide and is not official. For further information regarding courses for this degree, see the University Bulletin. Please be aware that not all course choices listed in the University Bulletin are available online. However, sufficient online options are available to complete this degree.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there are lab fees which range from $20 – $50 for this degree.
The Undergraduate Admissions website will provide information for the steps you’ll need to complete in order to be admitted to Southern Miss.
As an online student, you may complete an online application to Southern Miss and do not have to make an in-person visit to the campus. The online student academic adviser for the College of Business and Economic Development will advise you via e-mail, phone, Skype or by other mutually agreeable methods. Once you’ve been advised and cleared to register for classes, you may add classes via SOAR (Southern’s Online Accessible Records).
To find pricing information, visit our pricing page. For financial aid information, view our financial aid page. For detailed tuition information, visit our business services page.
Follow this link and choose the term that applies to view the costs associated with part-time enrollment.
You should NOT be charged out-of-state fees, because the online classes are considered in-residence.
Contact the online Business Administration degree academic adviser, Linda Jordan, at linda.jordan@usm.edu or 228.214.3433. In your correspondence please include your USM student ID# and the semester for which you are seeking advisement as well as the number of classes or credit hours you want to take.
You may not be able to enroll in an online Business Administration degree course if you do not have the necessary pre-requisite(s), all sections of the class are full, or the class is not offered that semester.
An online academic adviser from the College of Business can perform an Unofficial Transfer Evaluation if you email (linda.jordan@usm.edu) or fax (228.214.3475) a copy of all college-level courses completed at other institutions. However, the evaluation is only an estimate of possible transfer of classes and only the official Southern Miss transcript reflects the courses that the university accepts.
Yes, the College of Business has a career services office that assists students in finding career positions after earning your online Business Administration degree.
All students in the College of Business are encouraged to be advised prior to enrolling in classes for the next semester. Please contact your academic adviser, Linda Jordan, at linda.jordan@usm.edu or 228.214.3433. Once you have been advised you will be given access to register for courses in SOAR (Southern’s Online Accessible Records).
Follow this link and choose the term that applies.
You must enroll in at least 12 credit hours in order to have full-time status in the spring and fall semesters and at least 9 credit hours in order to have full-time status in the summer semester.
Yes, you’ll start and end classes on the same dates as face-to-face students.
Yes, the major specific courses (business courses) required for the degree are offered in an on-line format as are a growing number of other required courses. The General Business program has an alliance with Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC) that offers additional on-line core courses (English, History, Psychology, etc.).
Once you’ve transferred to Southern Miss, you can complete a “Permission to Transfer Credit” form prior to taking a class offered at another institution if you want to use the class to satisfy the requirements of the General Business degree at Southern Miss. Completing this form ensures that the course you take somewhere else will be an acceptable substitute for the Southern Miss class. A few rules must be noted related to this process:
- Earn at least 25% of the credit hours needed for the degree from Southern Miss.
- Earn at least 21 of the last 30 hours of course work from Southern Miss.
- 50% of credit hours must be from a senior university.
- Earn at least 50% of all business courses at Southern Miss, including the capstone course (MGT 400)
No, you will not be required to conduct face-to-face meetings. However, in an on-line course an instructor may also require synchronous meetings (often in the form of chats or web cam real-time meetings).
The instructor of the course determines how he/she sets up the labs. You may be asked to perform job site visits and observations or a course lab may involve the use of simulation or Virtual Reality to learn concepts and perform lab assignments.
It is up to the instructor of a course if exams require a proctor. You should always read the content in the syllabus and on-line course site to determine if a proctor is needed. There is an application that must be completed at least 15 days prior to taking an exam. For information about proctoring click here.
Other classes that aren’t listed may count towards your degree once your transcript has been evaluated and posted.
If yes, visit online.usm.edu/military for more information on how Southern Miss can serve you and your needs. We will help you with funding and scholarship information, admissions and course enrollment.
Please visit our programs page here: https://online.usm.edu/programs/
If you still have questions, please visit our FAQ page, or take a moment to fill out our form at the bottom of the screen, and we will reach out to you!
Admission Requirements
The following is required from all undergraduate applicants:
- Application for Undergraduate Admission
- $40 non-refundable application fee
- An official high school transcript for freshman (high school) applicants OR official transcripts from all institutions attended after high school for transfer applicants
- Submission of ACT or SAT scores for freshman (high school) applicants
- Documentation of two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization. Upload a copy of your proof of immunization.
Students should be mindful of admission deadlines. For a full list of admission requirements, see the University Admission Policies.
Academic Policies and Requirements for Programs:
- See University Academic Policies and Requirements
- See College of Business and Economic Development Academic Policies
The University of Southern Mississippi is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools of Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Additionally, the online Business Administration degree is also accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). That means you can expect a program with the highest standards and quality.
Questions about this degree?
Talk to one of our enrollment coaches today for more information.