Completing a business degree can be a good strategy if you have a clear goal of what type of job you want to open the door to. The degree can also be a very reachable goal even if the course credits you got in the past are not in business subjects.
Business Administration is the most popular, and the most general, type of bachelor’s degree in the business world. More specialized degree options include everything from international business or business marketing to finance, accounting, retail and healthcare management.
Using Your Old Credits
The general structure of the bachelor’s degree is about the same across all specialties. It will require approximately 120 credits in total, and include a foundation of “general education” courses in English, psychology, communications, social science and other liberal arts subjects that come before the more specialized “core” business courses. If you completed some of the liberal arts courses at another school, you may have a good opportunity to transfer those credits toward your business degree, even if you originally set out to be an English major.
Business majors tend to be very motivated by the idea of earning more money. Generally, while a bachelor’s degree in business may not get you into the very high-end type of position you can get with an MBA, it can get you onto the type of career path that will offer very solid earnings over the long run. There are variations in the value of business degrees.
Pay Versus Career Stability
Finance tends to be the highest paying area, but as recent history shows, the banking industry, where many finance majors work, can be very volatile. Accounting tends to be a less glamorous area, but also pays well and can offer an extremely stable career path. A business degree in healthcare or retail management, on the other hand, probably makes the most sense if you have already built up some specific work experience that makes you feel strongly about going into one of those categories.
Business programs also teach transferable skills like leadership, bookkeeping and basic management that can remain useful even if you change careers several times later on in life. Here is a list of business completion degrees now being offered by various online schools including religious, nonprofit and proprietary colleges.
Read more about the value of a bachelors degree in business versus a full MBA
American Intercontinental University Online
- Allows “block” credit transfer of a full associates degree and/or acceptance of credits from previous individual courses, up to half of the total credits for an AIU bachelor degree.
- Credit transfer allowed toward bachelors degree for previous colege work, military training, standardized examinations (CLEP), experiential learning and professional training & certifications. Some credit transfers require a prior learning assessment (PLA)
- Offers a variety of accelerated degree programs allowing students to take two courses per each five weeks (starting with second term at AIU). Programs begin every five weeks.
Business completion and accelerated degree programs include:
Bachelor’s (BBA) in Management
Bachelor’s (BBA) in Healthcare Management
Bachelor’s (BBA) in Accounting & Finance
Bachelor’s (BBA) in Marketing
Bachelor’s (BBA) in International Business
Plus over 15 MBA programs in Healthcare Administration, Finance, Operations Management, Accounting and more.
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Bellevue University
- Has 3 bachelor completion degree programs in business, designed for completion within a year if the student has appropriate credits and can work on an accelerated basis. Online delivery.
- Completion programs require that you already have 30 college credits completed.
- Allows credit transfers from over 700 other colleges and universities, AP tests.
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Leadership Degree Completion
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Degree Completion
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Analysis and Management Degree Completion
Also offers several masters MBA programs.
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California Coast University
Focuses on degree completion programs online totalling 126 credits.
- CCU accepts up to 93 semester credts for courses taken at another school.
- Credits can be accepted for CLEP, DANTE, TECEP and ECE AP tests.
- On undergraduate programs, credit is awarded for life experience or specialized training, depending on individual assessment.
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Care Administration
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Marketing
Also offers two MBA degrees and a master of science in management.Get free information on California Coast University
Capella University
Capella’s eight online bachelor’s completion degree programs in business have a “petition for credit” opportunity to get credit for classes in subjects you already have knowledge of to reduce the time investment for your degree.
- Up to 75% of total credits toward a bachelors degree can be transferred from previous coursework, depending on prior learning assessment (PLA).
- Up to 50% of credits can be obtained for previous experiental learning, after prior learning assessment.
- Up to 45 credits possible through CLEP tests, with credit options for DANTES tests, AP tests and IB Diploma scores.
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Finance
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Human Resource Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Management and Leadership
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Project Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Retail Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Marketing
Also 8 MBA programs online.
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Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon offers several business bachelors degrees for students who are at least 21 years of age and have completed some college courses previously. The school, a private Christian university that has operated in Arizona since 1949, has quality regional accreditation form the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It has operated as a for-profit Christian institution since 2004. Business bachelor degree programs online include:
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Applied Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Enrepreneurial Studies
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Finance and Economics
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration – Healthcare Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Marketing
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Management Information Systems
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sports Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Health Care Administration
Also offers several masters degree programs in business.
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New England College of Business & Finance
If you want to study business, NECBF represents a unique and extraordinarily affordable option. This is an unusual private school that was founded in 1909 by the banking industry. In spite of it’s age, it now delivers 100% of it’s degree programs online. The school has top-drawer credentials, with accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and offers a series of bachelor’s completion degrees with tuition at $17,500, if you already have half the needed credits (in other words, if you already have the equivalent of an associate’s degree). But NECBF also has a very liberal credit transfer program: You can transfer in up to 90 credit hours toward the required total of 120, and 9 of those hours can come from CLEP credits. That could drop your total tuition to less than $9,000, an eye-popping low number for a degree from a private school. Some programs can be completed in one year.
Bachelor of Science in Accounting Completion Degree
Bachelor of Science in Banking Completion Degree
Bachelor of Science in Business Completion Degree
Bachelor of Science in Finance Completion Degree
Bachelor of Science in Management Completion Degree
Bachelor of Science in Marketing Completion Degree
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Western Governors University
Once called “the best relatively cheap university you’ve never heard of” by Time Magazine, WGU’s six bachelor’s degrees in business aren’t always promoted as completion degrees, but are primarily designed for students who already have one year of college learning completed.
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business – HR Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business – IT Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Marketing Management
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sales and Sales Management
Also offers MBA degree programs in healthcare management, IT management and general business administration.
Get free information on Western Governors University
Read More About Business Completion Degrees
- Value of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Versus a Full MBA
- Guide to Undergraduate Business Degrees & Careers
- Reasons to Consider a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration
- Why Get A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management
- Specialized Business Degrees in Human Resources
- Getting a Bachelor’s Business Degree in Finance
- Bachelor’s Business Degrees in Accounting
- Benefits of a Bachelor of Business Degree in Marketing
- Full Listing of Bachelor’s Business Degree Schools Online by Degree Specialty