Undergraduate BBA Major Concentrations
Leader,
changemaker,
big picture thinker
Concentrations
Selecting your area(s) of concentration is an exhilarating milestone in your SFU Beedie experience. It is a time when your interests and passions start to align with your aspirations, and you begin to deepen your knowledge in your chosen field.
Accounting
Accounting identifies, measures, and communicates economic information to internal and external groups. This concentration incorporates accounting courses in the core degree program as well as courses in tax, auditing, and advanced accounting.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Bring your vision of the future to life. Courses like foundations of innovation, resourcing new ventures, managing emerging opportunities and sustainable innovation lead up to the concentration capstone, Startup Experience.
Finance
Learn about securities and their markets, investment portfolios, long-term investment in real assets and more. Courses include Corporate Finance, Real Estate Investments, Security Analysis and Financial Management.
Human Resource Management
Introductory courses help students in all business fields to understand, predict, and manage behavior in organizations. Further courses focus on two professional career streams: Personnel Specialist or Managing People.
International Business
Focus on business activities that cross borders to ensure success in the international arena. Courses include Global Business Environment, International Financial Management, Foreign Market Entry, Global Marketing Management and more.
Management Information Systems
Management Information Systems (MIS) focuses on digital technologies that make organizations nimbler, disrupt traditional industries and create positive societal change. Courses include Project Management, Business Analytics, Business Systems Development and more.
Marketing
Marketing uses psychology, economics, statistics, machine learning algorithms and digital tools to address the increasingly complex world and hypercompetitive marketplaces. Courses include Consumer Behaviour, Web Analytics, Customer Analytics, Global Marketing Management, Ethical Issues in Marketing and more.
Operations Management
Operations Management focuses on the use of quantitative methods in solving management problems. Courses include Decision Analysis in Business, Customer Analytics, Supply Chain Management and more.
Strategic Analysis
Build the analytical, critical thinking and decision-making skills necessary to pursue a career in Strategic Management. Courses include Business Applications of Game Theory, Critical Thinking Through Business Case Analysis, Strategic Decision Making and more.
Accounting
Accounting is more than crunching numbers, it identifies, measures, and communicates economic information to external groups such as investors, and to internal groups, such as managers. Take accounting courses in the core degree program as well as courses in tax, auditing, and advanced accounting.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Accounting concentration are prepared to work in entry level positions in small, mid, and large firms. Some accounting courses may count towards the professional designations of the Chartered Professional Accountants program (CPA).
Common Career Paths
Staff Audit Accountant - Review a company's financial health to ensure it meets all regulations and the information provided to stakeholders is credible.
Tax Analyst/Accountant - Focus primarily on the preparations of corporate or individual tax returns and make recommendations on how companies or individuals can reduce their taxes.
Staff/Junior Accountant - Record and analyze internal financial information for an organization.
Internal Auditor - Monitor a company's internal controls and watch for fraud, waste, or mismanagement.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
National Accounting Firms: BDO Canada, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, KPMG, PwC, MNP
Midsize Firms: Smythe CPA, Crowe Mackay, Manning Elliott, Wolrige Mahon, D&H Group, DMCL, Davidson & Co.
Industry and government employers: WorkSafe BC, Canada Revenue Agency, TELUS.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Bring your vision of the future to life with Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E). Cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset to create your own opportunities in business and society, innovate in existing organizations and thrive in a rapidly changing world. The hands-on nature of I&E courses and our system of entrepreneurial support means you'll leave with experiences, skills and networks that set you apart in the job market. Courses like Foundations of Innovation, Resourcing New Ventures, Managing Emerging Opportunities and Sustainable Innovation lead up to the concentration capstone, Startup Experience, which allows you to start your own venture and provides a pathway to entrepreneurship Co-op (eCo-op), where you get paid to develop your venture further and bring your solution to market.
Career Outcomes
Graduates from the I&E concentration are now driving change through their own companies, in tech giants, government and not-for-profits, and are sought after in whatever field needs creative and entrepreneurial thinking: all of them.
Common Career Paths
Innovation and Product management – Lead the creation of innovative products and intiatives in existing companies as the internal voice of the customer, accelerating from adaptive employee to innovative C-suite leader.
Entrepreneur – Create your own opportunities as a founder or become a core part of a startup in an area you’re passionate about. Recent successes include Zennea, Moment, Glow Within and Utopia Labs.
Change management – Apply your understanding of how to address systemic challenges by making a difference through not-for-profits and in industries such as healthcare, education and policy.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Recent graduates work for companies such as Viser, Salesforce, Fraser Health, Employ to Empower, Centric Software, LuluLemon, Telus.
Recent Graduates started companies such as Utopia Labs, Zennea Technologies, Better Bears, Glow Within, Employ to Empower, Streamline Athletics, and more.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Finance
The financial services sector is a significant component of the BC and Canadian economy and is a future growth industry. Learn about securities and their markets, investment portfolios, and long-term investment in real assets and more, in the context of both personal and corporate financial decision-making.
Courses include Corporate Finance, Real Estate Investments, Security Analysis, Financial Management and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Finance concentration are prepared to work in entry level positions in banks, investment firms, financial departments of public or private organizations, and insurance industry.
Common Career Paths
Retail Banking - Positions typically fall into three categories – transactional, advisory, and management or supervisory.
Corporate and Investment Banking - These roles are primarily concentrated at or near the head offices of large banks or in specialized sectors of the economy.
Roles range from heavily client focused (investment banking) to research-oriented (equity research) and may also be transactional in nature (trading, operations).
Insurance - Jobs in insurance involve helping individuals and businesses manage risk to protect themselves.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Financial Firms and Credit Unions - RBC, BMO, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank, Vancity, Coast Capital Savings.
Investment Firms - RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, Connor, Clark & Lunn.
Government owned/affiliated - Export Development Canada, Canada Revenue Agency.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Human Resource Management
The Human Resource Management (HRM) introductory courses help students in all business fields to understand, predict, and manage behavior in organizations. Choose to take courses focused on two professional career streams: the Personnel Specialist option covers recruitment, training, negotiation skills and performance management while the Managing People option includes design of employment systems, change and organizational leadership.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Human Resources Management concentration are prepared to take on strategic and comprehensive approaches to managing people, the culture and environment within an organization. This function deals with recruitment and selection, compensation, performance management, organization development and training, and organizational health and safety.
CPHR designation
Through a collaborative partnership with CPHR BC & Yukon, SFU Beedie now offers an accredited pathway to the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation. This partnership provides numerous benefits for students aspiring to pursue a career in human resources. Learn more about how you can benefit from this program and obtain your CPHR designation.
Common Career Paths
Recruitment - Work with Hiring Managers to define employment needs.
Compensation & Benefits - Study and classify positions to determine salaries, wages, incentives, and benefits. Manage the system of pay grades to ensure compensation is calculated fairly across departments.
Labour Relations - Work for union or management and deal with managing these relations.
Generalist - Act as the interface between departments or groups of employees and the HR team or manage administration of HR policies, procedures, and programs.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Aritzia, BC Hydro, Chevron, Deloitte, Ledcor, Mercer, Teck Resources, Trulioo.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
International Business
Focus on business activities that cross national and international borders, looking at the structures, systems, and processes to ensure success in the international arena.
Courses include Global Business Environment, International Financial Management, Foreign Market Entry, Global Marketing Management, and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the International Business concentration can focus their expertise in three main areas: (1) working for an organization that is international in scope (e.g. United Nations), (2) working for an organization that deals with clients all around the world (e.g. Procter & Gamble), and/or (3) working abroad in another country.
Common Career Paths
Export/Import Manager - Make arrangements for and oversee import and export of goods across international borders.
Immigration Specialist - Work in sectors such as law, social work, public service or business to help immigrants integrate into the local customs and culture.
Purchasing Managers - Buy a vast array of durable and nondurable goods or services for companies and institutions.
International Relations - In general, one will work for the government or in universities specializing in:
- Researching and advising on international policy
- Promoting national industries to foreign partners
- Immigration
- Consular affairs
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Best Buy, ICBC, CIBT Education Group Inc., Gloria English School, International Care Ministries, Opera Mediaworks, Seaspan, TD Bank, Toyota Inc.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Management Information Systems
Management Information Systems (MIS) applies our understanding of business processes and business strategy to creating value from digital technologies. MIS focuses on understanding how digital technologies can make organizations more agile, effective, and efficient, can disrupt traditional industries, and create positive societal change. This is an excellent concentration if you are interested in business analysis, managing change through projects, and software system implementation.
Courses include Project Management, Business Analytics, Business Systems Development, and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Management Information Systems concentration are prepared to help people interact, use and capitalize on technology and information in a way that makes them more productive.
Common Career Paths
Systems Support - Support either employees or clients to use technology within any business.
Product Quality Assurance - Support the process of new product development by:
- Testing the product to ensure ease of use
- Identifying system bugs
- Writing technical product manuals
- Assessing the technical needs of potential products
Business Systems Analyst - Analyze business needs and recommend information systems or software to meet those needs by serving as a bridge between technical and business people in organizations.
Project Management - Manage the process and implementation of:
- Systems development
- Maintenance
- Implementation of major applications
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Deloitte, Fraser Health, HootSuite Media Inc., iQMetrix, Microsoft, SAP, Paysavvy, TELUS, Vancity Credit, Alida, WorkSafe BC.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Marketing
Marketing is about communicating the right message, to the right people, through the right media and offering the right solution that will make them purchase at the first place and come back for more. Marketing requires you to apply cutting-edge psychology findings, economics tools, statistics, machine learning algorithms, and rapidly evolving digital tools in addressing the challenges brought by the increasingly complex world and hypercompetitive marketplaces.
Courses include Consumer Behaviour, Web Analytics, Customer Analytics, Global Marketing Management, Ethical Issues in Marketing, and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Marketing concentration are prepared to communicating the value of a product or service through analysis of the market, building relationships with customers, establishing strong brands, and developing marketing strategies and plans.
Common Career Paths
Advertising - Work with clients on all aspects of marketing - strategy from concept to execution.
Brand Management - Involves many facets such as:
- Assuming responsibility for a brand or brand family
- Focusing on drawing out the essence of a brand
- Mapping out the competitive landscape
- Identifying market opportunities
- Communicating product benefits
Market Research - Requires information gathering in order to make recommendations about the market for the product and the effectiveness of a campaign.
Promotion and Sales - Create Programs that unite advertising to purchase incentives such as special discounts, samples, and gifts with purchase and rebates.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Best Buy, Cossette, Creating Value Inc., Deloitte, G&F Financial, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, lululemon athletica, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Promosapien, Rethink, SAP, Strutta, TELUS, iData Research
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Operations Management
Operations Management focuses on the use of quantitative methods in solving management problems. Students encounter a wide variety of quantitative models, study how these methods are formulated and solved, and learn how they are used to help managers attack real problems.
Courses include Decision Analysis in Business, Customer Analytics, Supply Chain Management, and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Operations Management concentration are prepared to help streamline efficiencies in areas such as logistics, planning, and scheduling in a variety of industries.
Common Career Paths
Operations - Ensure a company operates as efficiently and economically as possible by streamlining operational procedures and policies.
Supply Chain Management - Plans, schedules, and monitors the movement of goods or delivery of services to customers and clients.
Purchasing/Procurement/Inventory Management - Secure the right material, at the right time in the right quantities to ensure the company can do its work. Involves negotiation with suppliers and monitoring inventory of supplies and raw materials.
Project Management - Manage the process and implementation of systems development, maintenance, and implementation of major applications.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
BC Hydro, BuildDirect, Costco, FortisBC, Golder Associates Ltd., Honeywell, Powerex, TELUS, Trialto Wine Group Ltd., Univar Canada, Walmart Canada.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Strategic Analysis
Build strong analytical, critical thinking, and decision-making skills necessary in complex organizational contexts to pursue a career in Strategic Management.
Courses include Business Applications of Game Theory, Critical Thinking Through Business Case Analysis, Strategic Decision Making, and more.
Career Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the Strategic Analysis concentration are prepared to help develop a shared vision of an organization's future along with evaluating, planning, and recommending major steps to be taken by an organization to achieve its vision.
Common Career Paths
Strategic Analysis - Identify the needs of the organization and develop plans to determine and guide the overall direction. Can involve software development and acquisitions, systems development, and process management.
Consulting - Provide expert knowledge to a person or an organization on a particular subject.
Change Management - Ensure that change initiatives meet objectives on time and on budget, and achieve the desired business outcomes. Examples on include change to: Business processes, Systems and technology, Roles within the organization, Organizational structure, and Cultural changes.
Internal Audit - Provide an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. Can aid the organization in processes and operations in: Risk Management, Governance, and Internal control processes.
Work Companies of Recent Graduates
Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), Deloitte, Ernest & Young (EY), Mercer, Salesforce, Best Buy, TELUS, BCNet.
For detailed information on the required courses in this concentration, consult the SFU Calendar.
Learn how to plan this concentration.
Learn More
Join us for a 45-minute webinar to learn about our program and admission requirements, ask questions, and decide if SFU Beedie is right for you.
You can also connect with a recruiter over email or Zoom.
Learn moreHave questions?
Connect with our academic advising team.
Website Page: Academic Advising
Email: sfubeedie_undergrad@sfu.ca
Connect with Us
Learn more about the program and get in touch with our recruitment and admissions team.
I want to work for companies that don’t just make a profit, but try to make a positive impact in the world, and of course, are in fashion.
Rosa Tang
BBA Alumnus
Marketing
I'm working on starting EDGE SFU to support students who might not have the same opportunities as other students. The goal is to help to provide financial support, scholarships, and job postings. It’s a lot of work getting this club off the ground, but I enjoy helping other students.
Avedeep Nijjar
BBA Candidate
MIS & Finance
A lot of students don’t follow a traditional path through university, and that’s ok.
Enoch Weng
BBA Alumnus
Finance
The most important thing is to get involved. It’s up to you to make this as enriching as possible, and all you have to do is raise your hand to volunteer or participate in events and clubs.
Irene Chang
BBA Candidate
Finance
The flexibility SFU Beedie offers enabled me to combine my interests in my joint major in international business and economics, but also offered so much through experiential learning and opportunities to get involved. There is so much that the time passes very quickly, so it’s important to make the most of it while you can.
Sasha Vukovic
BBA Alumnus
International Business
I know that whatever I do, the education I gained from my SFU Beedie experience will help me to bring about change.
Alain Ndayishimiye
BBA Alumnus
Human Resources Management
You will never know unless you try. There are always going to be opportunities to add value – it's just a matter of how you view it. Whether it is signing up for a case competition, or events and information sessions, or reaching out to senior students to ask them about their experiences, make the most of it and get involved.
Tommy Goana
Business Honours Candidate
Marketing, MIS, Certificate in Business Analytics & Decision Making, and Charles Chang Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
When I took some classes at SFU's Beedie School of Business, I realized how much I loved the business aspect of things
Ben Hellner
BBA Alumnus
Management Information Systems
I felt really supported at SFU Beedie and because of that, I was able to accomplish so much.
Becky Wong
BBA Alumnus
Accounting
SFU Beedie gave me an opportunity to shape my professional goals and define my core values.
Natasha Tsoy
BBA Alumnus
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Design and business come hand in hand in industry, and my SFU Beedie education gave me a unique way of thinking.
Taylor Ward
BBA Alumnus
Joint Program
Marketing
MIS & Finance
Finance
Finance
International Business
HR Management
Marketing & MIS
Management Information Systems
Accounting
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Joint Major