Hi! So I was just admitted into UCI’s business economics major, and was wondering if anyone could give me any info about it? What career path would this allow you to potentially have and how is the major difficulty? Is it a good path for accounting? Thank you!
I’m a second year Economics major with a minor in Accounting. Business Economics is at its core, an Economics major, with some sprinkled in business and management electives that center around finance and econ-related topics. It is far more quantitative than our Bus Admin program and more challenging in my opinion. You can enter any career path in business with this major, a lot of folks go for accounting, finance, marketing, and consulting. The major is not difficult but again is more quantitative than Bus Admin programs as you’ll be taking some more more math, statistics, and econometrics. Your upper-division courses will also incorporate knowledge from the math and stats courses. Class sizes are huge and it is one of the most popular majors on campus. For Accounting, you must do the accounting minor and you’ll be fine. Our school does well for Accounting as we have big 4 and mid-tier firms come to our campus and recruit for SLP’s, internships, and full-time opportunities. Although if you’re set on Accounting, I recommend switching into Bus Admin as the classes are easier and class sizes are smaller. Bus Admin receives more specialized career advising and there seems to be more of an active community in Paul Merage compared to Social Sciences.
isn’t it hard to switch into Bus Admin tho? @brendans406
@brendans406 yeah isn’t it like super hard? Would I have to wait a year later or something?
Yes, Bus Admin is difficult to switch into but from what I have seen it has been getting slightly easier to get in due to the school growing. You’ll have to complete the lower div management courses, which consist of management, statistics, econ, and accounting. Try to get an A in each of these courses and keep a cumulative 3.5+ to be competitive for the major. The application also requires an essay as well. Also note that to get into these lower div management courses you will have to deal with class restrictions in which you will need to wait until after all BusAdmin majors register for the course for you to enroll in the class. Many complete the pre-reqs their first year and apply fall quarter of their second year. I think it’s worth it to apply and if you don’t get in you can also do a management or accounting minor. Lastly, I want to emphasize that employers do not care if you are in Bus Admin or Bus Econ, but studying Bus Admin might make your academic life a lot easier since it is less quantitative.
Challenge is good sometimes, LOL but thanks! I may minor in accounting instead- is that difficult to get into as well?
Accounting minor is competitive to be formally accepted to but you can complete the minor by just enrolling in the courses. The benefit of formally being a part of the program is some registration priority but the classes don’t always fill up and I know plenty of people who have completed the minor without being accepted.
Wow I didn’t know you could do that!! Yeah I just want to learn the subject it’s ok if it’s not formal
@brendans406 Hi, I got into the Business admin major and I want to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam by the time I graduate. If I declare an emphasis in accounting with my business admin major, am I able to sit for the CPA exam? If not, what are the paths I can take in order to fulfill the CPA requirement? Does Big4 recruit at UC Irvine ?