Management, Public Administration Concentration, BA

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

Program Information

The Bachelor of Arts in Management provides students with a unique selection of specialized courses that address current, emerging, and future areas of management and leadership practice. Specifically, this degree offers students a solid foundation in essential management concepts, techniques, practices, and strategies all of which are designed to strengthen employee engagement, boost morale, and accelerate organizational performance.

With an emphasis on developing a strong portfolio of specialized knowledge and practical skills for managers and leaders in a variety of business environments, the Bachelor of Arts in management offers a solid foundation upon which students can build as they progress in their personal and professional development and in their careers. Students will learn to organize, motivate, and lead individuals in diverse public and private business enterprises. Students can also choose from a menu of course options and concentrations that allow them to tailor their studies around their unique professional and career interests.

Throughout their course of study, students will have the opportunity to learn from and interact with faculty who are themselves business owners, specialists, experts, and consultants in their fields. The faculty and staff who work with students in the Bachelor of Arts in Management program are deeply committed to the academic success as well as to the personal and professional development of students.

As a transfer-friendly degree, the Bachelor of Arts in Management is designed to maximize the number of transfer credits counted toward the degree which can facilitate accelerated degree completion that compliments the student’s schedule and career aspirations. The Bachelor of Arts in management also provides preparation for success at the master’s degree level in programs such as the Master of Science in Human Resource Management, the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, the Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, the Master of Public Administration, as well as the MBA.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the Bachelor of Arts in Management, including the general education curriculum, will be able to:

Construct written communications that clearly articulates and promotes business ideas, arguments, or solutions (written communication)
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills in collaborative projects, through persuasive speech, and in providing clear directions, instructions, and guidelines within a business setting (oral communication)
Address a complex problem in business management using strategies and tactics that lead to the development of actionable solutions (problem solving/critical thinking)
Demonstrate ethical decision-making in business and develops strategies, practices, and policies that advance ethical management practices and corporate social responsibility (ethics/specialized knowledge)
Locate, evaluate and apply information, using a variety of research tools, in analysis of a complex business management problem (information literacy/critical thinking)
Analyze and interpret quantitative data and apply results to improve business management strategy, tactics, and practice (quantitative fluency)
Demonstrate the self-awareness and habits required to identify, integrate, and apply new information and skills that increase personal and professional effectiveness in business contexts (lifelong learning)
Define, explain, and correctly apply concepts, theories and practices in business management (specialized knowledge)
Develop innovative approaches and solutions to an existing or emerging challenge in business management that also draw on disciplinary perspectives of ethics, other humanities and/or social sciences (broad integrative knowledge/creative thinking/problem solving)
Integrate and apply concepts, theories, strategies, and tactics of business management in the construction of summative projects (specialized knowledge/broad integrative knowledge)

Declaring Program Concentrations

Students may declare concentrations when they have completed the coursework required for their desired concentrations, or after the “Last Day to Drop Course without Tuition Charge” (per the Academic Calendar) for their final terms, if they will be able to complete their concentrations in their final terms.

To be eligible to declare concentrations, students must have already completed the required concentration coursework, or be able to complete it in their final terms without requiring waivers, substitutions, or directed study courses, unless they are approved in advance by the department chair, program director, or dean.

Students may declare up to two concentrations in a given degree program. Students seeking to declare more than two concentrations will be required to appeal to the dean or vice president of academic affairs for approval. Students’ diplomas will list the concentrations that they had successfully completed at the time their degrees were conferred. Students may not declare additional concentrations after their degrees have been conferred.

The following concentrations are available:

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Management

The BA in Management requires completion of 123 units as follows: 51 units of general education coursework, which includes 21 units of liberal studies core and 12 units of foundation courses in preparation for the major, 21 units required for the major and 51 units of general electives, or a combination of concentration and general elective units. Each course listed carries three semester units of credit, unless otherwise noted. A cumulative grade-point average of 2.00 “C” or higher is required in all courses taken at Golden Gate University.

All degree-seeking undergraduate students must complete their English, mathematics and critical thinking requirements within their first 27 units at Golden Gate University, unless they have already earned credit for the equivalent courses from another institution and have had those courses accepted in transfer by Golden Gate University. If either Math or English requirements for the degree have not been satisfied, newly enrolled students must take placement tests to ensure proper placement in the appropriate Math or English course. Students may also choose to waive the placement tests and enroll in the first course in either series, which are ENGL 10A and MATH 10 . (See the course descriptions below to identify courses that have prerequisite course requirements.)

General Education Requirements - 51 units

UGP 10 Gateway to Success 3 unit(s) (to be taken in first term of program)
CRTH 10 Critical Thinking 3 unit(s)
ENGL 1A Expository Writing 3 unit(s)
ENGL 1B Research Writing 3 unit(s)
ENGL 120 Business Writing 3 unit(s)

One of the Following:

COMM 35 Speech Communication 3 unit(s)
COMM 40 Understanding Communication 3 unit(s)

Liberal Studies Core - 21 units

ARTS 50 Contemporary Arts and Culture 3 unit(s) (or any other ARTS course offered)
HIST 50 Contemporary American Economic History 3 unit(s) (or any other HIST course offered)
HUM 50 Examining the Humanities 3 unit(s) (or any other HUM course offered)
LIT 50 Principles of Storytelling 3 unit(s) or LIT 160 Business in Movies 3 unit(s) (or any other LIT course offered)
PHIL 50 Professional and Personal Ethics 3 unit(s) (or any other PHIL course offered)
SCI 50 Science, Technology and Social Change 3 unit(s) (or any other SCI course offered)
SOSC 50 American Government in the 21st Century 3 unit(s) (or any other SOSC course offered)
OR
PSYCH 10 Introduction to Psychology 3 unit(s) (or any other PSYCH course offered)

Foundation Requirements - 12 units

MATH 20 Intermediate Algebra 3 unit(s)
OR
MATH 50 From Numbers to Decisions 3 unit(s)
MATH 40 Statistics 3 unit(s)
ACCTG 1A Introductory Financial Accounting 3 unit(s)
ECON 1 Principles of Microeconomics 3 unit(s)
OR
ECON 2 Principles of Macroeconomics 3 unit(s)

Major Requirements - 21 units

MGT 100 The Manager as Communicator 3 unit(s)
MGT 140 Management Principles 3 unit(s)
MGT 141 Organizational Leadership 3 unit(s)
MGT 160 Management and Leadership Strategy 3 unit(s) (Capstone course to be taken in final term of program.)
OLHS 115 Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations 3 unit(s)

Two courses from the following two groups:

Students may select one course from each group or both courses from the same group.

Emphasis on Leadership, Human Skills Development, and Diversity Skills and Knowledge

MGT 165 Corporate Social Responsibility 3 unit(s)
MGT 190 Entrepreneurship and Small Business 3 unit(s)
OLHS 110 Emotional and Social Intelligence at Work 3 unit(s)
OLHS 114 Leading Effectively through People, Teams, and Organizations 3 unit(s)
OLHS 116 Innovation and Creativity in Organizations 3 unit(s)
OLHS 117 Adaptability and Agility in a Disruptive World 3 unit(s)
PSYCH 143 Psychology of Leadership 3 unit(s)

Emphasis on Qualitative and Technical Skills and Knowledge

ACCTG 1B Introductory Managerial Accounting 3 unit(s)
DATA 50 Introduction to Business & Data Analytics 3 unit(s)
DATA 101 Data Visualization for Business 3 unit(s)
FI 160 Personal Financial Planning 3 unit(s)
MGT 173 Human Resource Management 3 unit(s)
MGT 179 Introduction to International Business 3 unit(s)
MKT 100 Principles of Marketing 3 unit(s)

Public Administration Concentration - 51 units

Today’s public administrators deliver public services in close coordination and partnership with businesses and community-based organizations, domestically and internationally. Public service coverage has also grown from the traditional health and sanitation, education, public works and agriculture to include immigration, security and environmental concerns. Thus, there is a compelling need to deepen the student’s critical understanding of governance institutions, policy-makers, legal and regulatory processes, business-government-civil society relations, as well as ethics, accountability and anti-corruption strategies. Students have the option to take graduate-level courses from the Executive Masters in Public Administration program and apply them to both the undergraduate degree requirements and the EMPA.

Required Courses - 15 units

PAD 100 Public Policy and Administration 3 unit(s)

Undergraduate Public Administration Courses - 12 units

Select four of the following:

PAD 102 Policy Making and Analysis 3 unit(s)
PAD 104 Privatization and the Public Service 3 unit(s)
PAD 105 Public Budgeting Techniques and Processes 3 unit(s)
PAD 106 Administrative Law and Justice 3 unit(s)
PAD 197 Internship: Public Administration 3 unit(s)
PAD 198A-ZZ Special Topics in Public Administration 3 unit(s)
PAD 199 Directed Study in Public Administration 1-3 unit(s)

EMPA Program Courses - 12 units

Or select three of the following:

EMPA 302 Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation 4 unit(s)
EMPA 304 Public Enterprise Management and Public Sector Business Relations 4 unit(s)
EMPA 305 Budgeting and Financial Management 4 unit(s)
EMPA 306 Public Service and the Law 4 unit(s)
Students must earn a “C-” or better grade in order for these courses to count toward the Executive Public Administration degree program.

Elective Courses - 36 units

Twelve 3-unit upper or lower-division courses from any subject.