UNDERGRADUATE
Management
Build the leadership skills and business judgment to lead teams and pursue careers in consulting, healthcare, technology, finance, manufacturing, and more.
Lead with Purpose. Manage with Confidence.
With a Management degree from Penn State Smeal College of Business, you'll develop the experience that employers consistently look for: the ability to lead people, make sound decisions, and adapt to challenges no job description fully anticipates. The curriculum is structured under our formal Knowledge Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) framework, preparing you for careers across more industries than almost any other business degree.
Through coursework, leadership opportunities, and hands-on experience, you’ll learn to:
Launch a career in consulting, HR, operations, or general management across nearly any industry
Analyze how organizations compete and adapt in changing markets
Make high-stakes decisions in fast-moving environments
Navigate ethical, operational, and workplace challenges
Manage teams, develop talent, and improve organizational performance
What You'll Study
Featured Courses
Global Strategic Management: Analyze how organizations compete and adapt globally
Organizational Behavior and Design: Explore culture, structure, and team dynamics
Business, Ethics, and Society: Examine ethics and stakeholder expectations
Negotiation and Conflict Management: Build negotiation skills
Strategies for Enterprise Sustainability: Apply sustainability to strategy
What You Can Do with a Management Degree
Human Resource Managers
Lead hiring, talent development, and workplace culture initiatives across organizations. HR managers help businesses build teams and improve employee performance. Median salary: $140,030.
Management Consultants
Help organizations solve operational and business challenges. Management consultants improve performance, reduce inefficiencies, and support decision-making across industries. Median salary: $101,190.
Project Manager
Plan, coordinate, and lead projects by managing timelines, budgets, resources, and cross-functional teams to deliver successful business outcomes. Median Salary: $100,498
77%
Placement Rate
$65,016
Average Starting Salary
#14
Business & Management Studies
QS World University Rankings
Leadership and Professional Experience
Consulting Training Program
Prepare for consulting careers through a competitive program focused on case analysis and client strategy.
Professional Management Association
Develop managerial capability and project management skills, working alongside industry professionals.
Nittany Lion Consulting Group
Earn academic credit while working on real consulting engagements with external organizations.
Management Major Ambassadors
Mentor prospective students and build leadership and communication experience.
Arnold Scholarship Awards
Qualify for scholarships that recognize leadership, academic achievement, and involvement in the Management program.
The Alan M. Cabelly Award for Excellence in Human Resource Management
Earn recognition for strong academic performance and leadership in human resource management.
Management Student Success in Action
Maddie Langlois, Management
Meet Maddie Langlois
Maddie chose Smeal for its blend of strategy, analytics, and real-world experience. Through hands-on coursework and leadership roles across campus, she developed the skills and confidence to launch her career with JPMorgan Chase’s Leadership Development Program.
Maddie credits her success to getting involved early, building relationships with faculty, and stepping into leadership roles across campus.
Is Management Right for You?
Management Is a Strong Fit If You:
Enjoy working with people and organizing teams
Want to solve problems and make business decisions
Want a flexible degree with broad career opportunities
Care about ethics, sustainability, and workplace culture
See yourself in consulting, management, HR, or entrepreneurship
Apply to Smeal
Start building the business knowledge and management experience to succeed across industries. Apply today.
Connect With Us
Penn State Undergraduate Admissions
Smeal College of BusinessSmeal Undergraduate Advising
Management & Organization Department
More Information: Management Degree
The Management curriculum is built around the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) employers look for in future managers, including leadership, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and business judgment.
Explore the KSA framework:
Management Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Leadership & Influence
Teamwork & Collaboration
Interpersonal Skills
Cultural Competencies
Understanding Business
Managerial Functions
Learn how organizations recruit, develop, motivate, and retain talented employees. These courses will help you understand how effective managers build high-performing teams.
Explore related coursework:
Introduction to Human Capital Management
Staffing and Recruiting Talent Acquisition
Performance Management
Managing Workplace Diversity
Learn how effective managers guide organizations through change, build trust, make responsible decisions, and help teams achieve shared goals.
Explore related coursework:
Leadership and Change in Organizations
Organizational Behavior and Design
Business, Ethics, and Society
Want to know what it's really like to study Management at Penn State? Connect with current students to learn about coursework, internships, student organizations, career preparation, and life in the Smeal College of Business.
Artificial intelligence is changing how organizations operate, how teams collaborate, and how decisions are made. But it doesn't change what effective leadership requires: judgment, communication, and the ability to bring people along. At Penn State Smeal, the Management curriculum is built around those skills, and the leaders who have them will be the ones organizations turn to as AI changes everything else.