Wilson College of Business

Considered a global leader in business education with a culture of achievement and a record of excellence, UNI graduates are leading the way to a bigger, brighter future for all of us. Students arrive at UNI curious, ready to explore, experience and learn business, and they graduate 'ready for business'. It’s because our program is like no other. We'll take you from coursework to real work so at graduation you can start to achieve more on day one. When you start here, you can go anywhere.

As one of the nation’s top-ranked and internationally recognized business colleges, UNI offers more than 25 undergraduate business programs, plus elite MBA and MAcc graduate programs, valuable internships, study abroad experiences, certifications, supported by an influential faculty and professional mentors. It’s why students serious about a future in business seriously consider UNI.

Plus, to ensure you’re ready for business day one, you’ll participate in the nation’s only industry-leading Professional Readiness Program® where you develop critical soft skills that apply your business education to the real world. You will hone skills such as communication, a growth mindset, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and active listening – skills demanded by today’s employers.

Wilson College of Business Rankings and Accreditations:

• The Wilson College has earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB). Fewer than five percent of business schools worldwide have earned the distinction, making it the gold standard of business school accreditation.
• The Wilson MBA program named “A Best Business School” by the Princeton Review for 10+ years.
• The part-time Wilson MBA program has been listed among the top part-time MBA programs by U.S. News & World Report, the most widely sought-after university recognition source in the world.
• Wilson Accounting graduates consistently place in the top 10 nationwide for success on the CPA exam.

Many of our programs allow students to earn or prepare for a professional credential, including:

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®)
• Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®)
• Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®)
• Certified General Appraiser
• Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP®)
• Certified Property Management
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Expanded Career Option for Secondary Teacher Licensure
• Six Sigma Green Belt

Go the next step within one of our acclaimed UNI graduate programs: the highly competitive Master of Accounting (MAcc) or the lauded Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. With an emphasis on future-focused innovation and what’s next, experiential learning plus face-to-face interactions with professors and industry leaders, you’ll gain the deep knowledge to achieve beyond. The MAcc program is elite with small class sizes taught by faculty with significant industry experience. Our innovative MBA program, with locations in Pella, Mason City, and Shanghai, has been named a Best Business School by the Princeton Review every year for more than a decade.

Departments within the Wilson College of Business

• Accounting
• Economics
• Finance
• Management
• Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

College Policies

Admission Requirements

Students seeking a major in Accounting, Business Teaching, Economics/Business Economics, Finance, Real Estate, Management, Management Information Systems, or Marketing, must be admitted to Wilson College of Business and meet course prerequisites before taking upper-division (3000/4000-level) Wilson courses.

Students are eligible for admission to Wilson College of Business upon completion of the following requirements:

1. Completion of the ALEKS Mathematics Placement Examination
2. 30 cumulative semester hours of college credit
3. C- or better in the following business foundation courses:
4. ECON 2090 Decision Analytics OR ECON 1011 Statistics for Business Analytics and ECON 1041 Principles of Macroeconomics
5. C- or better in an approved English composition course which would include one of the following:
6. ENGLISH 1005 College Writing and Research or equivalent,
7. Writing enhanced section of ENGLISH 1120 Literature (topic),
8. ENGLISH 2015 Craft of Academic Writing,
9. ENGLISH 2120 Critical Writing About Literature,
10. Writing enhanced section of RELS 1020 Religions of the World,
11. UNIV 1000/1010 First Year Cornerstone (C- or better in both semesters),
12. or CLEP credit in ENGLISH 1005, English Composition with Essay​
    1. ENGLISH 1002, College Writing Basics DOES NOT satisfy the writing requirement for admission to Wilson College of Business
13.  Total or UNI* cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 on all university-level courses *(UNI cumulative GPA must be based on 12 or more credit hours)
14.  Declaration of Curriculum form filed with the Wilson College Advising Office (CBB 5)

Applications for admission will be evaluated only after students have completed and received grades for the requirements listed above. Students not meeting requirements after 30 hours of credit may complete additional course work and reapply. All forms should be submitted on a timely basis to ensure proper handling and access to course registration. Forms and information about deadlines are available at the Wilson College Advising Office (CBB 5).

Note: Students majoring in Wilson College are STRONGLY ADVISED to complete MGMT 2080, Introduction to Information Systems, prior to enrolling in upper-division Wilson College courses.

Adopted by the CBA Faculty Council - 4/26/2013
Updated by the CBA Faculty Senate - 5/17/2018

Declaring a Major

Students who desire to major in any area of business except the General or Quantitative Techniques, emphases of the Economics major should go to the Wilson College Advising Office (CBB 5) to declare their major. Economics majors with the General or Quantitative Techniques emphases are not subject to the Wilson College admission and retention policies and should declare their major in the Economics Department (CBB 219).

At the Wilson College Advising Office (CBB 5) students will be permitted to declare a major in Accounting, Business Teaching, Economics (Business Analysis), Finance, Management Information Systems, Management, Marketing, or Real Estate if they have met the Wilson Business admission requirements. Students who have met these requirements must declare one of the eight majors listed above to be formally admitted to Wilson College . The major may be changed at will.

Double Major/Minor Policy

Certain Wilson College majors may double major and/or major and minor within the College. However, not all departments will allow their majors to double major within the College. Wilson College majors must follow their departmental double majors/minors policy published in the departmental opening notes in the UNI catalog.

Any student with a Wilson College  major wishing to declare another business major must have a total or UNI* cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 on all University level courses at the time of declaration *(UNI cumulative GPA must be based on 12 or more credit hours).

Any student wishing to declare a minor in Wilson College must have a total or UNI* cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 on all University level courses at the time of declaration *(UNI cumulative GPA must be based on 12 or more credit hours).

Non-business majors may not enroll in more than 30 hours from Wilson Business. In addition, non-business majors may not complete more than one Wilson College minor.

Graduation Policy

In addition to University and Departmental requirements, students majoring in Accounting, Business Teaching, Economics/Business Analysis emphasis, Finance, Real Estate, Management, Management Information Systems, or Marketing must also meet the following requirements to graduate:

• At least 50% of the business credit hours required for the major must be earned at UNI.
• A cumulative UNI GPA of 2.20 or better (Business Teaching majors must earn a total cumulative and cumulative UNI GPA of 2.50 or better).
• A cumulative GPA of 2.20 or better for all Wilson College (120:xxx, 130:xxx, 150:xxx, 160:xxx, 920:xxx) courses taken at UNI.
• Students given permission to graduate out-of-residence must earn a 2.20 cumulative average or better in all courses approved and accepted for out-of-residence credit.

Note: Economics majors must earn a cumulative GPA of 2.20 or better, for all UNI Economics courses, in all 920:xxx courses taken at UNI excluding ECON 1021 (920:020) , ECON 1031 (920:024) , ECON 1011 (920:070) , ECON 3077 (920:177) and ECON 3179 (920:179).  Economics majors must also complete ECON 1041 (920:053), ECON 1051 (920:054), ECON 2122 (920:103) and ECON 2112 (920:070) with at least a C- in each course whether taken at UNI or at an institution from which transfer credit for these courses is accepted.  Must earn a 2.20 cumulative grade point average at UNI; must earn an overall 2.20 grade point average in ACCT xxxx/120:xxx, MKTG xxxx/130:xxx, MGMT xxxx/150:xxx, FIN xxxx/160:xxx, and ECON xxxx/920:xxx courses taken at UNI.

Adopted by the Wilson College of Business Faculty Council - April 2019