Business, Organizations and Society (BA)

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Program Description

The Business, Organizations and Society (BOS) program gives students an holistic perspective on the complex interactions and interdependencies between business and society. The program integrates business theory and application, and leverages key principles of liberal arts. Students will be provided with a platform to effectively analyze business decisions and outcomes from multiple lenses (i.e., social, political, economic), with an emphasis on the role and responsibilities of business and organizations in society. The major equips students with broad methodological grounding, including quantitative and qualitative assessment capabilities and competence in business fundamentals. Students will learn to be effective organizational and global leaders through strategic thinking, practical experience, analytical, and quantitative skills, in conjunction with a focus on teamwork, communications, innovation, and creativity.

The BOS curriculum provides essential tools needed to thrive in global organizations, and the broad perspective on how to effectively apply these tools. It is grounded on a range of offerings that are designed to inculcate core values of curiosity, tolerance, creativity, data-driven analysis, and principle-based decision-making. The BOS major will produce well-rounded students with specific competencies to examine the broader societal context of business, ad contribute to the transformation of global economies. First, upon completion of the program, students will demonstrate mastery of social science theories and approaches for acquiring knowledge, and demonstrate understanding of functional areas of business and apply business practices. Second, BOS students will gain the capacity to demonstrate and apply ethical reasoning to social, political and business dilemmas; and collaborate and cooperate on project-based work simulating real-world strategic decisions and communication. Third, BOS students will be able to examine the development of markets and state systems with reference to key historical and cultural phenomenon, and apply quantitative reasoning and data analysis to questions concerning market developments, trends, and forecasts. Finally, the curriculum is designed to expose students to the principles of building effective organizations, by learning to work constructively in larger aggregates (e.g., teams), as both leaders and followers.

Students in the BOS major are expected to become excellent strategists, with advanced written and oral communication skills; understanding of social science frameworks, tools and applications; aptitude in quantitative reasoning (e.g., math, statistics); familiarity with technologies on the frontiers of knowledge creation (e.g., computer programming, artificial intelligence); professional competence in the core functions of business; and the capacity to create innovative solutions to complex problems.

BOS majors also need to

  • A mandatory minor or second major is required. The minor or second major cannot be economics or business focused. Students may choose to minor in economics or business, however, a minor that is economics or business focused will not satisfy the mandatory minor requirement. Minors or second majors that do not adhere to these exclusions will not be approved.
  • Students placing out of Markets via the economics placement exam must take an additional elective credits to complete the degree.
  • Students may substitute Intermediate Micro for Managerial Economics.
  • Students testing out of Calculus need not replace those credits to complete the major but may require additional credits to meet the 140-credit degree minimum requirement.
  • Students may opt into any social science capstone sequence, as long as prerequisites for the capstone seminar are completed.
  • Courses counting as “Social Impact” electives at Stern may be used for one of the course requirements for the Social Impact Electives.
  • Students of the Business, Organizations and Society major will have access to a large pool of already existing courses offered by multiple Divisions at NYU Abu Dhabi. Students can also take approved courses at other global sites, notably NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai.

The study away pathway for the Business, Organizations and Society major can be found on the NYUAD Student Portal at students.nyuad.nyu.edu/pathways. Students with questions should contact the Office of Global Education.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.