Businesses today provide an amazing array of products and services for customers around the world, and they invest in technologies, processes, and new products and services to increase efficiency and competitiveness. At the CSULB College of Business, we help prepare our undergraduate students to add value from the first day on the job, whether they join small family-owned businesses, large multinational corporations, or anything in between. The College of Business helps our graduate students extend their knowledge and skills to benefit employers and to increase the arc of their careers.
A Comprehensive Institution
The College of Business (COB) is one of eight colleges of California State University, Long Beach. As one of the largest campuses of the California State University system, CSULB is a comprehensive, four-year institution that was established in 1949 to serve the areas of Orange County and southeastern Los Angeles County.
Business studies at CSULB began in 1949. Over the years, business studies grew into the Division of Business and Social Sciences and later Business Administration became a division in its own right. Soon thereafter, it was upgraded to The School of Business Administration, and in 1992 it was named The College of Business Administration. More recently, in 2018, the college was named the ‘College of Business’ to reflect the evolution of business.
Diverse Curriculum
At the undergraduate level, we offer a BS in Business Administration with eight options:
- Accountancy
- Finance
- Human Resource Management
- Information Systems
- International Business, Management
- Marketing
- Operations and Supply Chain Management
Each option consists of specialized courses we continuously update. Additionally, we introduce new courses and update the structure of each option. Most recently, we have updated the international business option to provide students with areas of emphasis: marketing or supply chain management. To ensure a strong foundation, every undergraduate student at the COB enrolls in ten core courses covering all business functions.
We have also extended our international partnerships through study abroad options and the introduction of a new virtual collaboration with institutes in Spain and Germany. Other recently introduced courses cover intellectual property law, service management, and distribution management.
At the graduate level, we offer eight different programs serving almost 750 graduate students. Four MBA programs allow our students to choose the program that best fits their lifestyle and career plans:
- Accelerated MBA
- Saturday MBA
- Online MBA
- Evening MBA
There are also four Masters of Science programs in:
- Accountancy
- Finance
- Information Systems
- Marketing Analytics
All graduate students receive support and guidance from our Graduate Business Career Center staff, including career advising, mentorship programs, career fairs and events, internships, and workshops, as well as access to the extensive CSULB College of Business alumni network.
Experiential Learning Opportunities
The COB is recognized as an Experiential Bloomberg Learning Partner due to its commitment to include the Bloomberg Terminals in its curriculum. The terminals are the gold standard in the finance industry for providing up to date information from global financial markets and their inclusion enhances our students’ learning experience.
Additionally, COB students have access to highly valued experiential learning opportunities, including: Beach Investment Group (BIG) an investment fund managed by students; the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which helps low-income individuals from the community with free income tax return preparation; and the Inclusive Marketing Initiative served 15 small businesses in the Fall 2021 semester, providing digital marketing to small, minority-owned businesses in the greater Long Beach area.
Maximizing Student Participation
Most class sections have 25-40 students. Students learn in a variety of different classroom settings including computer labs, active-learning classrooms which allow for activities and group work, and hyflex classrooms, which leverage technology to support video conferencing, lecture recording, and a variety of screen-sharing options.
Many of our instructors use the flipped classroom model, engaging students in active learning. Students engage in debates, small group discussions, case analyses or other hands-on activities. Several courses also use computer simulations. Teamwork is an integral component of most classes. Guest speakers are also a regular feature in our courses.
Extra-curricular Opportunities
Students at the COB can leverage extra-curricular programs like the Student Center for Professional Development’s (SCPD) which offers mentoring and business professional certificate programs; the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership’s (UCEL) programs that disseminate ethics training; and the Associated Business Student Organization Council’s (ABSOC) guidance and support of student organizations that help build advantageous networks students will access for the duration of their professional careers.
Additionally, the Legal Resource Center (LRC) helps undergraduate and graduate students and other stakeholders in the CSULB community with access to legal resources. Students have access to free legal consultation and relevant legal information including, but not limited to: Landlord/Tenant, Trademark Registration, Contracts, NDAs, and Collections.
Embracing Diversity
The College of Business strives to promote diversity and inclusion to help achieve California State University, Long Beach strategic priorities and AACSB standards on engagement and societal impact.
CSULB is ranked 8th in the nation for Campus Diversity, according to Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (September 2021) and is ranked 11th in the nation as a Most Transformative University by Money.com (August 2020).
CSULB ranks 3rd in the nation in 2021 on the Social Mobility Index that considers tuition, economic background, graduate rates, early-career salary, and institutional endowment. By considering these factors, the higher education system can advance the American Dream while promoting the public interest.
California State University, Long Beach’s vision is to be a force for good at the forefront of public education in California and the world. University values include: Diversity is our strength, and the Public Good is our responsibility.
Market Pertinent and Entrepreneurship Education
In 2020, COB partnered with the John and Helen Apostle Foundation to launch the Apostle Enterprise Lab and Incubator. The program is a key milestone in the COB’s vision for a formalized and inclusive educational approach that leverages our university’s robust public-private partnerships, and it empowers learners in our diverse Long Beach community to pursue entrepreneurship.
The Apostle Enterprise Lab is a two-course entrepreneurial training experience housed in the COB. Each year, students are selected from colleges across campus to form interdisciplinary cohorts that will learn the theory and practice of new business creation. The Apostle Incubator provides hands-on, applied opportunities to connect the university’s rich talent pipeline to the greater Long Beach community. Students benefit from a community of entrepreneurs and develop ties within the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in Long Beach.
A Road to Mobility and Success
The College of Business prepares students for success. The Center for Student Success helps students graduate in a timely manner and works to improve the graduation rate for underrepresented groups. COB helps undergraduate students get that important first job that puts them on the road to social mobility, and we help graduate students increase the arc of their careers.
We extend the classroom through student organizations, internships, and mentoring programs while offering projects that provide hands-on educational experiences that generating positive societal impact.
Students at the CSULB College of Business have opportunities to learn from world-class, knowledgeable, and dedicated faculty members who are committed to student success and provide a rigorous and relevant business education at an affordable price.
Note to Students:
Read the full Magazine: “The 10 Best Business Schools for 2023”
