Kenan–Flagler Business School
Introduction
The UNC Kenan–Flagler undergraduate business program offers a program of study that provides students with a thorough grounding in all areas of business and a broad introduction to the liberal arts. The UNC Kenan–Flagler undergraduate experience is distinctive because the school offers:
- An undergraduate business experience that is ranked highly in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (8), and Poets & Quants (8)
- Career development professionals who help students explore and identify career interests and build plans for pursuing them
- A curriculum connected to the liberal arts
- A global perspective relevant to the needs of business today
- Professional and identity-based activities and organizations for an active student life
- Personalized advising and coaching usually associated with smaller schools
- Experiential, action-based learning experiences
- Faculty who are outstanding in and out of the classroom
Students choose business electives to develop a specific area of business interest. Courses selected from other UNC–Chapel Hill schools and programs add to their depth of knowledge. The result is that students are able to engage in systems thinking to see “the big picture.” The school believes that completion of the undergraduate business program provides students with a distinct advantage in a highly selective and competitive job market.
Students may apply to complete a major, a minor in business administration, a specialized minor in real estate, or they may take a limited number of business administration courses as general electives for their chosen degree program.
The business administration program is considered a broad-based, general management degree, and the UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School encourages breadth in both the business curriculum and in the continuation of study in fine arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences. A second major may be possible and requires advance approval by both the undergraduate business program and the second academic unit.
Program Enhancement Fee
Business majors will be charged an additional fee of $1,000/semester and business minors will be charged an additional $500/semester. The money is directly applied to the undergraduate program to enhance the undergraduate student experience, including scholarships, programs, and advising.
BUSI Courses
BUSI courses are restricted to business majors and minors, unless permission is granted (see the section Taking Business Courses as a Nonmajor/Nonminor or otherwise noted). BUSI courses may run semester-long or may be a MOD (run half a semester). MOD courses may be assigned different deadlines from those provided by the Office of University Registrar. Due to the unique structure of MOD courses, these sections are not eligible for withdrawal or pass/fail.
Taking Business Courses as a Nonmajor/Nonminor
Undergraduate students who do not intend to major or minor in business administration may take a limited number of business courses (limits may change based on course availability) as free electives for their particular major. Non-business students may take one BUSI course per semester and a maximum of five BUSI courses over the course of a student’s academic career, regardless of credit hours. First-year students will not be permitted to enroll in 400-level or higher BUSI courses. Registration in business courses for nonmajors and nonminors is made on a space-available basis. Preference is given to students with an overall grade point average of 3.0. The process and guidelines can be found on the Undergraduate Business Program website. BUSI course enrollment dates and details will be updated each semester.
Advising
Once admitted to the business major, all academic matters, including academic advising, are handled through the undergraduate business office in McColl Building.
Students admitted to the business minor should continue to work with their major department for academic matters outside of business minor requirements. However, business minors have full access to Kenan–Flagler career, global, and community events and programs.
All students should meet regularly with their advisor and monitor their progress toward completion of both the business major and minor requirements utilizing Tar Heel Tracker. Upon admission, business majors and minors may utilize the Academic Resources page to connect with an academic advisor.
Admission to the Kenan–Flagler Business School
Kenan–Flagler’s Undergraduate Business program is an application-based program with approximately 530 majors and 160 minors admitted each year. Admission is competitive and based on academic achievement, motivation for business as demonstrated through involvement, career exploration and skill development activities, and personal qualities that align with our Kenan–Flagler core values as expressed through essays, résumé, and video interview.
Preparation for the Business Administration Major or Minor
A student admitted to the Kenan–Flagler Business School typically begins the Undergraduate Business program curriculum in the spring semester of the second year or fall semester of the third year depending on their business prerequisite progression. First- and second-year students in the General College who consider themselves pre-business majors or minors complete certain prerequisite courses as part of their General Education requirements.
A pre-business track includes successful completion (defined as earning a final grade of at least a C, not C-) of the following courses (or their equivalents):
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Calculus: The calculus mathematics requirement can be fulfilled by taking one of the following: 1 | 3-4 | |
Calculus for Business and Social Sciences F | ||
|
Calculus of Functions of One Variable I H, F | ||
|
Calculus of Functions of One Variable II H, F | ||
|
Decision Models for Business and Economics | ||
| Statistics: The statistics requirement can be fulfilled by taking one of the following: | 3-4 | |
|
Introduction to Data Science H | ||
|
Foundations of Statistics and Data Science H, F | ||
|
Introduction to Data Models and Inference H, F | ||
| ECON 101 |
Introduction to Economics H, F | 4 |
| BUSI 100 | Introduction to Business: People, Profits, Planet | 1.5 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| F | FY-Launch class sections may be available. A FY-Launch section fulfills the same requirements as a standard section of that course, but also fulfills the FY-SEMINAR/FY-LAUNCH First-Year Foundations requirement. Students can search for FY-Launch sections in ConnectCarolina using the FY-LAUNCH attribute. |
- 1
Calculus is not required for Business minors, including Business of Health or Real Estate.
Prerequisite courses do not need to be complete at the time of application. However, it is typically beneficial for the admissions committee to see grades in as many prerequisites as possible during the admissions review. Students must complete all business school prerequisites before they are eligible to start business courses in the Undergraduate Business program.
Students are encouraged to take several of the business prerequisite courses in their first year at UNC. It is common for students to leave 1–2 of the business prerequisites to take in their second year. If students wish to start the business curriculum in spring semester of the second year, they need to complete all requirements by the end of the first semester of the second year. Otherwise, all requirements should be completed by the end of the second year.
For the foundational skills in foreign language, the business school neither requires a particular language nor requires coursework beyond level 3. Please note, however, that some overseas study programs are language-based and may necessitate a student’s proficiency beyond level 3.
The business school makes no other specific recommendations about courses for other General Education requirements. The school encourages students to challenge themselves by exploring unfamiliar, new disciplines and by strengthening written and verbal communication and critical thinking. It is possible for a business major to earn a second major and a minor, or two minors. First- and second-year students may wish to build a foundation for such a complementary academic track.
Pre-Business Advising
First- and second-year students in the General College who are considering applying to the business school are encouraged to seek pre-business academic advising through the Academic Advising Program. The admissions staff from the Kenan–Flagler Business School also host regular drop-in admissions counseling hours and group workshop programming, which can all be accessed via the school's website.
Admission from the General College
Students can apply to the business major or minors after their first year at UNC. Admitted students are notified in October to start in the subsequent spring semester. Admission decisions are contingent upon the successful completion of all in-progress or remaining business prerequisites in the regular term (fall/spring) of that academic year. If students are not admitted sophomore year, they have the option of re-applying at the beginning of their third year. Seniors are not eligible to apply.
Admission to the business administration minor or other specialized minors through the Undergraduate Business program follow the same application schedule and process as the business administration major. Students from any discipline excluding quantitative physics may apply.
The business administration major requires completion in a minimum of three semesters, preferably four or five. Business minors require completion in a minimum of two semesters, preferably three. Students are required to graduate from UNC–Chapel Hill in eight semesters.
Transfer Admission
Transfer students are an integral and vibrant part of the Carolina community. In the Kenan–Flagler Undergraduate Business program, we understand that transferring is a complex process and have outlined below the policies and guidelines to help students make informed decisions and achieve as smooth a transition as possible.
Students applying to the business major as sophomore transfers, or after one year at university, should apply directly to the College of Arts and Sciences (as opposed to the direct admit process). The admissions process is competitive; therefore, we recommend that students review admissions criteria and make the very most of the spring and summer months prior to application.
Students applying to the business major as junior transfers, or after two years of secondary study, should select the Business Administration program as part of their application to UNC (Common Application). Applicants must meet the University’s requirements for admission in addition to the business major prerequisite requirements.
Transfer students who transfer more than 30 hours to UNC are eligible to take an additional ninth or tenth semester at the University. This is sometimes useful and necessary for transfer students to complete the business prerequisites and/or business degree.
Transfer students should know that admission to the business school is extremely competitive. We admit approximately 50 percent of our applicants each year. Students should review the eligibility requirements and class profile at the undergraduate business admissions section of the Kenan–Flagler website. For more information regarding the admissions process, please visit the transfer admissions page of the website.
Distinguished Professors
Barry L. Bayus, Chris Bingham, Greg Brown, Robert M. Bushman, Jennifer S. Conrad, Vinayak Deshpande, Jeffrey R. Edwards, Paolo Fulghieri, Raj Grewal, John Hand, David J. Hartzell, David A. Hofmann, James H. Johnson Jr., Eva Labro, Wayne R. Landsman, Mark H. Lang, Christian Lundblad, Arvind Malhotra, Edward Maydew, David J. Ravenscraft, Albert H. Segars, Douglas A. Shackelford, Anil Shivdasani, Brad Staats, J.B. Steenkamp, Jayashankar M. Swaminathan.
Professors
Sridhar Balasubramanian, Michael Christian, Riccardo Colacito, Katrijn Gielens, Steve Jones, Saravanan Kesavan, Camelia Kuhnen, Will Maddux, Adam Mersereau, Atul Nerkar, Paige Ouimet, Ali Parlaktürk, William P. Putsis, Adam V. Reed, Jacob Sagi, Sriraman Venkataraman.
Associate Professors
Jeffery Abarbanell, Sekou Bermiss , Richard S. Blackburn, Sreedhari Desai, Seyed Emadi, Alison Fragale, John Gallemore, Wendell G. Gilland, Isin Guler, Olga Hawn, Jeffrey Hoopes, Shimul Melwani, Mahka Moeen, Matthew Pearsall, Jana Smith Raedy, Elena Simintzi, Nur Sunar.
Assistant Professors
Yasser Boualam, Andrew Boysen, Jesse Davis, Daniela De la Parra, Chloe Glaeser, Stephen Glaeser, Bradley Hendricks, Yunzhi Hu, Pranav Jindal, Kristopher Keller, Minkyung Kim, Jeffrey Kuhn, Fei Long, Patia McGrath, Sajad Modaresi, Timothy Ott, Sandeep Rath, Daniel Ringel, Andrei Gonçalves, Gill Segal, Elad Sherf, Donghwa Shin, Longxiu Tian, Yuqian Xu.
Clinical Professors
Sharon Cannon, Patricia Harms, Claudia Kubowicz Malhotra, Mabel Miguel, Heidi Schultz, Charles Skender, Chip Snively, Judy Tisdale, Ted Zoller.
Clinical Associate Professors
Tamara Barringer, Lori Boyer, Larry Chavis, Jessica Christian, Travis Day, Elizabeth Dickinson, Timothy Flood, Paul Friga, Courtney Knoll, Michael Meredith, Arzu Ozoguz, Patrick Vernon.
Clinical Assistant Professors
Alexander Arapoglou, Mike Beeler, Lynn Dikolli, Tiesha Douglas, Jason Doherty, Melissa Geil, Jenna Haugen, Gregory Hohn, Stephanie Mahin, Breagin Riley, Allison Schlobohm, Tanja Snively, Amanda Thompson, Kristin Wilson, Courtney Wright.
Adjunct Professors
Anusha Chari, Maryann Feldman, Chirag Saraiya.
Adjunct Assistant Professors
Cooper Biersach, Don Rose.
Professors of the Practice
Stephen Arbogast, Karin Cochran, Alex Dickey, Scott Maitland, Mark McNeilly, Jeffrey Mittelstadt, Christopher Mumford, Shawn Munday, Randy Myer, Stuart Pearman, Barbara Nobles Crawford, Markus Saba, Robert Slater.
Professors Emeriti
Edward Blocher, Alan Neebe, Barry Roberts, Ben Rosen, Ann Marucheck, Valarie Zeithaml.
Dean
Mary Margaret Frank
Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Academics
Bradley Staats
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs
Shimul Melwani
Undergraduate Business Help Desk
