Business Degree Guide

A business degree can open doors to many exciting, high-paying careers in commerce, technology, manufacturing, finance, and other industries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), business is the most popular major for undergraduates.

As one of the most versatile majors, a business degree can prepare you to work in fast-growing industries like marketing, information technology, and financial services. Business graduates often enjoy above-average salaries and strong job growth, and many schools have expanded to offer online degrees in business.

This article explores business degrees at every level and the various concentrations. Explore professional pathways for graduates of business programs, including data on earning potential.

Yes — you can find online business degrees at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. The rigor of these programs may increase at each level, but so can your earning potential.

Associate degrees in business provide foundational knowledge in the subject, preparing you for an entry-level business career or giving you a leg up on your bachelor’s degree.

Most associate programs require 60 college credits and two years of full-time enrollment. Community colleges and some four-year institutions offer these programs.

Earning a bachelor’s degree in business can position you for a career in management, marketing, accounting, finance, or business development. You might focus on a field like cybersecurity or information technology or concentrate in another business subdiscipline.

A bachelor’s degree usually comprises 120 credits and takes four years of full-time study. Liberal arts colleges and research universities offer bachelor’s degrees.

Widely regarded as a critical stepping stone to leadership roles in business, the MBA is a flexible, immersive, and practical program for ambitious business professionals.

You can pursue this degree, with or without a specialization, through full-time or part-time enrollment and on-campus or online delivery. The degree usually takes 1-3 years to complete and requires coursework in ethics, management, and organizational behavior.

A doctoral degree in business administration is the most advanced academic degree in the field.

While the Ph.D. and the DBA are both advanced research degrees, the Ph.D. can prepare you to become a researcher or professor, while the DBA equips practice-oriented researchers and industry leaders. Doctoral degrees can take 3-7 years to complete.

There are many different types of business degrees offered at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. These may be offered as concentrations, specializations, or separate majors entirely.

Discover how each type affects what you study and how you can use your degree to advance your career.

Accounting concentrations develop skills like budgeting, analyzing financial records, business taxation, and auditing. An accounting-focused degree can prepare you to help organizations navigate economic conditions and make better financial decisions.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accounting professionals made a median annual wage of $79,880 as of May 2023.

An artificial intelligence degree can equip you with data analysis, business modeling, and decision-making skills in a fast-changing business landscape.

A specialization in AI or machine learning may help you learn to manage technology projects, perform predictive analytics, or optimize customer support. As of May 2023, the BLS reports a median annual salary of $108,020 for data scientists.

A concentration in data analytics can prepare you to draw insights from various information sets, which can improve business decisions and your understanding of market conditions.

A specialization in this field may cover data analytics technology, marketing, and market research analysis. The median annual wage for market research analysts is $74,680, according to the BLS.

In an economics concentration, you’ll gain an understanding of financial markets and corporate finance. You may encounter this subject as a concentration or a standalone economics program.

This discipline can teach you about consumer behaviors and how businesses can maneuver through the global marketplace. Economists earn a median annual wage of $115,730, though they may need advanced education beyond a bachelor’s degree.

Entrepreneurship concentrations can prepare you to launch and manage your own business venture. You can learn to develop and commercialize ideas and innovations, manage early venture financing, and create business models.

Entrepreneurship programs can lead to many business careers, including management analyst roles, who earn a median annual wage of $99,410.

In a finance concentration, you can learn to analyze an organization’s finances, spot investment opportunities, identify risk, and improve financial decisions. Coursework fosters skills in capital budgeting, investment analysis, and business valuation and forecasting.

Finance degrees can prepare you to pursue many finance- and leadership-related positions, including as a financial manager. As of May 2023, these professionals earn a median annual salary of $156,100.

A healthcare management concentration explores the applications of business principles in healthcare settings. These programs can teach you to analyze and implement healthcare policies, informatics, and finances.

Experience in this field can lead to medical and health services management roles, who earn a $110,680 median annual salary.

Hospitality and tourism management concentrations focus on lodging operations, international tourism, and destination marketing.

You can explore unique management challenges in the hospitality and service industry and ways to approach these issues best. Lodging management roles earn a median annual wage of $65,360.

If you specialize in human resources, you can learn to manage people and help connect management to its employees.

You might study subjects like recruitment, compensation and benefits management, and employee and labor relations in these concentrations. Data from the BLS indicates that Human resources specialists earn a median annual salary of $67,650.

An international business concentration examines standard business topics in global contexts. For example, you might examine how foreign language, culture, and policy shape finance, marketing, and consumer behavior.

International business specializations can lead to many business roles in international organizations, such as an operations research analyst. These professionals earn a median annual salary of $83,640.

A management concentration in a business administration program develops leadership skills across various sectors. Your studies may cover business ethics and analysis, organizational behavior, operations management, and strategic management.

A business managementdegree can lead to most management careers, a field that reports a median annual wage of $116,880.

Marketing concentrations delve into advertising planning and development strategies in greater depth than general business programs.

You can learn to research and capitalize on market and consumer data and opportunities in this concentration. Marketing and advertising managers earn a median annual wage of $157,620.

A negotiation and conflict management degree prepares you to help build successful relationships between people and organizations.

This program can include coursework in conflict analysis models and frameworks, understanding cooperation, and effective resolution strategies. The BLS reports that arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators earn a median annual salary of $71,540.

Nonprofit management specializations emphasize the teaching of leadership qualities required in nonprofit enterprises and initiatives.

Common topics include nonprofit governance, marketing, volunteer management, and fundraising. May 2023 BLS data indicates that fundraising managers earn a median annual salary of $119,200.

You can study the latest leadership theory and practice developments in an organizational leadership specialization.

This discipline explores the best methods for building and motivating a cohesive team while managing conflict resolution. This specialization can prepare you to pursue a career in training and development, among other business roles. Top executives earn a median annual salary of $103,840.

By specializing in project management, you can learn to oversee large-scale projects and teams within organizations.

Your training in this area can provide you with the skills to manage project scheduling, budgeting, quality, and risk management. According to the BLS, project manager careers report a median annual wage of $98,580.

Public relations concentrations equip you with the skills to manage communications between organizations and the general public, consumers, and stakeholders.

These specializations examine all outbound communications, including branding, marketing, crisis management, and public events. Public relations managers earn a median annual wage of $134,760.

A retail and sales management concentration focuses on customer relationship management, sales forecasting, and sales marketing.

You can learn to drive sales, lead sales teams, and run retail operations. These specializations can help you pursue sales manager roles. This position earns a median annual salary of $135,160.

In a sports management concentration, you’ll discover how to apply business fundamentals and skills to the sports industry.

Common topics include sports analytics, event management, and sports marketing. According to the BLS, sports advertising and promotions management professionals earn a median annual wage of $131,870.

Supply chain and logistics concentrations explore ways that organizations can improve the procurement and delivery of goods and services.

Supply chain management studies can cover sourcing, inventory management, forecasting, and sustainability. Logisticians earn a median annual salary of $79,400.

The cost of a business degree depends on several factors, including your specific school. Universities with national or international reputations typically charge more than schools with less brand recognition, and public institutions are usually cheaper than private schools.

According to NCES, the average annual costs for business degrees are:

The NCES also reported that public four-year in-state schools published an average sticker price of $9,596, public out-of-state institutions quoted $28,297, and private nonprofit schools averaged $35,248 as of the 2022-23 academic year.

Because financial aid packages can vary dramatically among schools, you may find that your situation differs from these national averages.