Curriculum
The undergraduate curriculum integrates core management competencies, key business disciplines, and the arts and sciences in three phases through four years. Our approach breaks down the barriers between disciplines. As students progress, Babson’s learning goals are introduced and reinforced.
The Foundation Program
The Foundation Program lays the groundwork during the first year. Business and arts and sciences courses raise students’ abilities to formulate, explore, and reflect critically. Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship provides a yearlong immersion in the world of business. History and society and arts and humanities courses introduce analytical and cognitive skills necessary to succeed. Other courses include quantitative methods, science, business law, accounting, and rhetoric. Weekly First-Year Seminar focuses on teamwork, communication skills, study skills, and community living. Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork Program is an opportunity to help students develop leadership, teamwork, listening, oral communication, and ethical decision-making skills through alumni feedback.
The Foundation Program consists of 11 courses (35 credits):
Liberal Arts: (22 credits)
Rhetoric A (3 credits)
Rhetoric B (3 credits)
Arts & Humanities Foundation (3 credits)
History & Society Foundation (3 credits)
Quantitative Methods with Calculus (3 credits)
Probability & Statistics (3 credits)
Foundation Science (Science A) (3 credits)
First Year Seminar (1 credit)
Management (13 credits)
Foundations of Business Law (3 credits)
Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship (7 credits)
Transfer students can take a one-semester alternative that consists of 2 courses:
- MOB1000 General Management (4 credits)
- MIS1000 Introduction to Information Systems (4 credits)
- Financial Accounting (3 credits)
First year students can expect to complete 10 of these courses (or 32 of these credits) in their first year. One course (or 3 credits) rolls over and gets is completed in a student’s sophomore year.
The Intermediate Program
The Intermediate Program in the second year and half of the third adds breadth and exposes students to more issues; it challenges students to think with increased confidence, independence, and creativity. An integrated core of management courses incorporates accounting, economics, finance, marketing, organizational behavior, and operations, taught by an interdisciplinary team of professors and addressing the relationships among key facets of business. Case studies enable students to examine actual business problems. Real-world experience offer opportunities to study, tour, and make presentations on local companies. Arts and sciences courses help students develop their knowledge in history and the social sciences, literature and visual arts, and culture and values. Intermediate-level courses focus on quantitative methods and science. An advanced version of the Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork Program is available.
The Advanced Program
In the final half of the third and throughout the fourth years, students expand and fine-tune learning goals as they reflect on their career and life goals. The Advanced Program includes: a management capstone course that emphasizes the fundamentals of strategy while integrating all of the other business disciplines; courses in advanced management and liberal arts electives; field-based experiences, such as an internship or consulting experience; and optional concentration in an area of interest.