UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATE

Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate

Expand your Penn State degree with a foundation in business. No major change required.

Build a Business Foundation That Applies Across Industries

An engineer who builds a great product still has to explain why it's worth the price. A nurse who opens a private practice still has to manage a budget. Most careers eventually involve decisions about finances, customers, operations, or people. Your major may not cover all of that. This certificate does.

At the Penn State Smeal College of Business, the Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate introduces non-business majors to:

Accounting
Finance
Supply Chain Management
Marketing
Management
The legal or international context of business

By completing the certificate, you'll build a practical understanding of how businesses make decisions and create value.

What You’ll Study

Build a business foundation through five courses:

BA 205: Accounting
BA 301: Finance
BA 302: Supply Chains
BA 303: Marketing
BA 304: Management and Organization
BLAW 243: Legal Environment of Business or IB 303: International Business

Complete all five courses with a grade of C or better in each to earn the certificate.

View the Course Description

Apply Business Skills Across Your Career

Your major gives you depth in your field. The Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate helps you understand how that expertise connects to customers, markets, teams, operations, and the business decisions that drive organizations.

When you're developing a new product for a company, there's a lot more you need to consider than just the food itself. It's important to understand the product's market, potential consumers, and costs, among other things.
The marketing class I took as part of the Business Certificate program gave me a great foundation in the principles I will need in my career.
Lisa Keim
Food Science Major

Student smiles at a vendor at a career fair

Certificate at a Glance

Credential: Undergraduate Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate
Audience: Students pursuing non-business majors
Credits: 15
Coursework: Five business courses
Recognition: Earn a Smeal certificate designation upon completion

Ready to Get Started?

Add the Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate through Update Academics in LionPath using program code SCBC_UCT.

Connect With Us

Questions about applying to Smeal? Contact Penn State Undergraduate Admissions. Current undergraduate students can contact the Smeal Advising Center for academic advising. For questions about the Smeal Business Fundamentals Certificate, contact April Crawford.