Exploring the Costello College of Business: Programs and Opportunities
The Costello College of Business at George Mason University stands as a prominent institution, dedicated to equipping students for success in today's dynamic business landscape. Ranked among the top 10 percent of undergraduate business schools in the nation, the college offers a range of programs designed to foster innovation, critical thinking, and practical skills. This article delves into the various programs, concentrations, and opportunities available at the Costello College of Business, providing a comprehensive overview for prospective students and those interested in advancing their business education.
Bachelor of Science in Business: A Foundation for Success
The cornerstone of the Costello College of Business undergraduate offerings is the Bachelor of Science in Business. This program is meticulously structured to provide students with a robust foundation in core business principles while allowing them to specialize in a specific area of interest through innovative concentrations.
Degree Requirements
Students pursuing a BS degree must complete a minimum of 120 credits. These credits are distributed across several categories:
- Mason Core Requirements: These requirements ensure that students receive a well-rounded education, encompassing areas such as written and oral communication, arts, literature, natural science, and global history. Some Mason Core requirements may already be fulfilled by concentration requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisors to ensure they fulfill all remaining Mason Core requirements.
- Business Foundations: These courses provide an introduction to essential business concepts and skills.
- Business Core: These courses cover the fundamental disciplines within business, such as accounting, finance, management, marketing, and information systems.
- Concentration Requirements: These courses allow students to delve deeper into a specific area of business, developing specialized knowledge and skills.
In addition to these credit requirements, students must also meet the following criteria:
- A minimum of 45 credits at the 300- or 400-level.
- A minimum of 30 credits of Costello College of Business core, capstone, and concentration courses at Mason.
- At least 9 credits required for the specific concentration and BUS 498 Capstone Course: Advanced Business Models (Mason Core) taken at Mason.
- A grade of C or higher earned in the business foundations, business core and concentration requirements.
Students should carefully follow prerequisites for Costello College of Business courses. Students will be removed from a course if they enroll without having fulfilled the prerequisites.
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Business Foundations Courses
The Business Foundations courses are crucial for establishing a strong base for all business students. Those who do not successfully complete these courses within three attempts will be terminated from the Costello College of Business and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the Costello College of Business. Students terminated from the Costello College of Business are prohibited from enrolling in any Costello College of Business course. For more information about this, see AP.5.2.4 Termination from the Major.
The courses include:
- ACCT 203: Survey of Accounting: An introduction to financial and managerial accounting, covering topics such as recording financial transactions, preparing financial statements, understanding cash management, and internal controls.
- BUS 100: Business and Society (Mason Core): Explores the relationship between business and society, examining the ethical, social, and environmental responsibilities of businesses.
- BUS 103: Develop Professional Skills I: Foundational Elements: Focuses on developing essential professional skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.
- BUS 200: Global Environment of Business (Mason Core): Provides an overview of the global business environment, examining the economic, political, and cultural factors that affect international business.
- BUS 210: Business Analytics I (Mason Core): Introduces students to the fundamentals of business analytics, covering topics such as data analysis, statistical modeling, and decision-making.
- BUS 310: Business Analytics II: Builds upon the concepts introduced in BUS 210, providing students with more advanced skills in business analytics.
- ECON 103: Contemporary Microeconomic Principles (Mason Core): Explores the principles of microeconomics, examining topics such as supply and demand, market structures, and consumer behavior.
- ECON 104: Contemporary Macroeconomic Principles (Mason Core): Explores the principles of macroeconomics, examining topics such as inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.
- MATH 108: Introductory Calculus with Business Applications (Mason Core) / MATH 113: Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (Mason Core) / MATH 114: Analytic Geometry and Calculus II / HNRT 225: Applied Calculus: These courses provide students with the mathematical skills necessary for success in business.
Business Core Courses
The Business Core courses provide students with a broad understanding of the key functional areas within business. Those who do not successfully complete these courses within three attempts will be terminated from the Costello College of Business and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the Costello College of Business. Students terminated from the Costello College of Business are prohibited from enrolling in any Costello College of Business course. For more information about this, see AP.5.2.4 Termination from the Major.
These courses include:
- ACCT 303: Accounting for Decision Making: Examines how economic transactions are measured and recorded in financial statements to help users make financing, operating, and investing decisions.
- BULE 303: Legal Environment of Business: Provides an overview of the legal and regulatory environment in which businesses operate.
- BUS 303: Develop Professional Skills II: Advanced Elements: Builds upon the skills developed in BUS 103, focusing on more advanced professional skills.
- FNAN 303: Financial Management: Introduces students to the principles of financial management, covering topics such as financial statement analysis, capital budgeting, and risk management.
- MGMT 303: Principles of Management: Provides an overview of the principles of management, covering topics such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
- MIS 303: Introduction to Business Information Systems (Mason Core): Introduces students to the role of information systems in business, covering topics such as database management, networking, and cybersecurity.
- MKTG 303: Principles of Marketing: Provides an overview of the principles of marketing, covering topics such as market research, product development, pricing, and promotion.
- OSCM 303: Operations Management: Introduces students to the principles of operations management, covering topics such as supply chain management, inventory management, and quality control.
Capstone Course
Students must have 90 graded credits and successfully complete all Business Core courses and BUS 310 Business Analytics II to be eligible to enroll in BUS 498 Capstone Course: Advanced Business Models (Mason Core).
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- BUS 498: Capstone Course: Advanced Business Models (Mason Core): This course provides students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout their business education to solve real-world business problems.
Concentrations: Specializing Your Expertise
The Costello College of Business offers a variety of concentrations, allowing students to focus their studies on a specific area of business. These concentrations provide students with specialized knowledge and skills, preparing them for specific career paths.
Accounting (ACCT)
The Accounting concentration prepares students for professional careers in the private and public sectors. The Accounting concentration is designed to produce accounting professionals who can both generate and apply financial information to solve business problems. Students learn principles of business and accounting as well as the specific skills and specialized technical knowledge necessary for success in the dynamic field of accounting. The program emphasizes ethics, critical thinking, written and verbal communication, and effective use and understanding of technology. Graduates are employed by the assurance, tax advisory, and consulting groups of the top accounting firms as well as Fortune 100 companies. The proximity to the nation's capital provides unique opportunities for graduates to work in government and in the federal practices of public accounting firms.
Beginning January 1, 2026, students interested in becoming licensed as a CPA in Virginia can choose from the following three pathways to licensure in Virginia:
- Pathway 1: A masterâs degree and one year of relevant experience as defined by the board.
- Pathway 2: A bachelorâs degree, 30 additional credit hours, and one year of relevant experience as defined by the board.
- Pathway 3: A bachelorâs degree and two years of relevant experience as defined by the board.
All three pathways still require candidates to pass the CPA Exam and complete a bachelorâs degree with an accounting concentration of 24 upper-level accounting credits and 24 business credits. The details of the concentrations are defined by the board.
Required Courses:
- ACCT 311: Managerial and Cost Accounting
- ACCT 331: Intermediate Accounting I
- ACCT 332: Intermediate Accounting II
- ACCT 351: Taxation and Managerial Decision Making
- ACCT 361: Accounting Analytics
- ACCT 461: Assurance and Audit Services (Mason Core)
Electives:
Students select one course from a list including:
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- ACCT 370: International Accounting
- ACCT 372: Financial Statement Analysis
- ACCT 390: Introduction to Financial Planning and Wealth Management
- ACCT 408: Taxes Insurance and Risk Management
- ACCT 411: Advanced Managerial Accounting
- ACCT 433: Advanced Financial Accounting
- ACCT 441: Estate Planning
- ACCT 451: Advanced Federal Taxation
- ACCT 462: Honors Seminar in Accounting
- ACCT 465: Advanced Accounting Analytics
- ACCT 472: Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting
- ACCT 491: Seminar in Accounting
- ACCT 492: Internship in Accounting
- ACCT 499: Independent Study
- BULE 402: Commercial Law
- 600 Level Courses for Student's in the Accelerated Master's Program
Business Analytics (BUSA)
Business Analytics encompasses a wide array of methodologies and techniques, from collection, organization, reporting and mining of data to extraction of useful and actionable information for the decision makers. As the ï¬eld matures, more organizations are turning to business analytics as part of their core function to assist decision making and strategy development. Business Analytics is grounded in an understanding of business and uses knowledge and skills related to analytic tools to identify business questions that can be answered by data, identify appropriate data to answer the questions, evaluate the quality of the data, analyze the data, form conclusions, and meaningfully communicate those conclusions to relevant parties. Business analysts will work in practice with data scientists with backgrounds in engineering, math, or computer science whose expertise in data analytics is centered on data architecture or developing data analysis tools.
Required Courses:
- MIS 310: Database Management Systems
- MIS 430: Data Warehousing
- MIS 431: Data Mining for Business Applications (Mason Core)
- MIS 433: Programming for Analytics
Electives:
Students select three courses from a list including:
- ACCT 465: Advanced Accounting Analytics
- FNAN 430: Empirical Methods in Finance
- FNAN 436: Probability Methods for Finance
- MIS 432: Advanced Data Mining
- MKTG 351: Marketing Research
- MKTG 352: Marketing Analytics
- OSCM 352: Management Science
- OSCM 435: Business Process Analysis and Simulation
- OSCM 452: Business Forecasting
- STAT 463: Introduction to Exploratory Data Analysis
- SYST 473: Decision and Risk Analysis
- MIS 492: Internship in Management Information Systems or OSCM 492 Internship in Operations and Supply Chain Management
- MSBA 610: Essentials for Business Analytics: From Data Ethics to Data Driven Decision-making
- MSBA 615: Database Management for Business Analytics
- MSBA 618: Programming for Business Analytics
- MSBA 625: Exploratory Data Analysis and Visualization
Finance (FNAN)
The concentration in Finance prepares students for professional careers by providing a solid foundation in the principles necessary to make operating decisions for an organization and in financial market analysis. Finance students are educated to understand, evaluate, and manage risk. In addition, students learn to conduct and effectively present financial analysis and research valuing complex projects, assets, securities, and firms. Students in the finance concentration explore the relationships among investors, firms, financial institutions, markets, and regulators. Treasury and the Board of Governors), large financial corporations (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), international organizations (World Bank and IMF), and other careers related to Finance.
Required Courses:
Students select three courses from the following:
- FNAN 311: Principles of Investment
- FNAN 321: Financial Institutions
- FNAN 341: Introduction to Firm Valuation
- FNAN 401: Advanced Financial Management
Students select one of the required Writing Intensive Courses below:
- FNAN 477: Student Managed Investment Fund (Mason Core)
- FNAN 498: RS: Contemporary Topics in Finance (Mason Core)
Electives:
Students select three courses from the following:
- FNAN 311: Principles of Investment
- FNAN 321: Financial Institutions
- FNAN 341: Introduction to Firm Valuation
- FNAN 351: Principles of Real Estate
- FNAN 401: Advanced Financial Management
- FNAN 411: Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
- FNAN 412: Futures and Options Markets
- FNAN 421: Money and Capital Markets
- FNAN 430: Empirical Methods in Finance
- FNAN 431: Venture Capital and Private Financing of Startups
- FNAN 432: Fixed-Income Securities
- FNAN 436: Probability Methods for Finance
- FNAN 440: International Financial Management
- FNAN 441: Advanced Topics in Firm Valuation
- FNAN 444: Socially Responsible Finance
- FNAN 451: Real Estate Finance
- FNAN 454: Real Estate Development and Investment Fund
- FNAN 462: Honors Seminar in Finance
- FNAN 472: Fintech and Blockchain in Finance
- FNAN 477: Student Managed Investment Fund (Mason Core)
- FNAN 483: Ethical and Professional Standards in Finance
- FNAN 491: Special Topics in Finance
- FNAN 492: Internship in Finance
- FNAN 498: RS: Contemporary Topics in Finance (Mason Core)
- FNAN 499: Independent Study
- MSF 603: Managerial Economics and Decisions of the Firm
- MSF 632: Statistical and Quantitative Methods for Finance
- MSF 643: Financial Economics and Statement Analysis
- MSF 672: Corporate Finance and Governance
- MSF 683: Ethical and Professional Standards in Finance
Financial Planning and Wealth Management (FPWM)
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Additional Opportunities
Minors and Certificates
The Costello College of Business also offers several options for a minor for business and non-business majors, as well as an undergraduate certificate program in accounting.
Accelerated Master's Programs
Mason undergraduate students may apply to the accelerated masterâs degree in Management. Also available is the Bachelorâs Accelerated Masterâs (BAM) program which allows you to complete your graduate program faster and at a lower cost.
Study Elsewhere Policy
A student who has matriculated at Mason may transfer a limited number of hours (9 for undergraduates, 6 for graduates) of coursework in Costello College of Business disciplines from another institution (not including registration through the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area or coursework completed through the Center for Global Education). Students are permitted to take courses elsewhere under unusual circumstancesâthese circumstances do not include scheduling or commuting convenience, or financial (lower cost) reasons. Special instructions for Costello College of Business students: courses that are attempted at a two-year institution may not be used to fulfill upper-level requirements. Any course that a student wished to transfer to fulfill major or graduate-level course requirements in the Costello College of Business must be attempted at an institution accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Undergraduate Internship Policy
The Costello College of Business recognizes the importance of experiential education in both learning to apply theory to practice and positioning students for success in their careers. Because the Costello College of Business is committed to supporting students' professional success, the School requires that all student internships for credit be registered with the Costello College of Business as one of the following: ACCT 492, FNAN 492, MGMT 492, MIS 492, MKTG 492, or OSCM 492. Students may enroll in a maximum of 6 credits for these courses. Only three credits of an internship course may be taken at a time. For students in catalog years Fall 2016 and beyond, one internship course may apply to the major or concentration , and a second internship course would apply as general elective credit. For students in catalog years prior to Fall 2016, a maximum of 6 credits of internship may apply to general electives.
Important Policies
Termination from Concentration
Students who do not earn a C or higher in three attempts of Costello College of Business Foundations and Core courses will be terminated from the Costello College of Business. Students terminated from the Costello College of Business are prohibited from enrolling in any Costello College of Business course and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the Costello College of Business. Courses required for Costello College of Business Foundations: ACCT 203 Survey of Accounting, BUS 100 Business and Society (Mason Core), BUS 103 Develop Professional Skills I: Foundational Elements, BUS 200 Global Environment of Business (Mason Core), BUS 210 Business Analytics I (Mason Core), BUS 310 Business Analytics II, ECON 103 Contemporary Microeconomic Principles (Mason Core), ECON 104 Contemporary Macroeconomic Principles (Mason Core), and MATH 108 Introductory Calculus with Business Applications (Mason Core). Courses required for Costello College of Business Core: ACCT 303 Accounting for Decision Making , BULE 303 Legal Environment of Business, BUS 303 Develop Professional Skills II: Advanced Elements, FNAN 303 Financial Management, MGMT 303 Principles of Management, MKTG 303 Principles of Marketing, MIS 303 Introduction to Business Information Systems (Mason Core), and OSCM 303 Operations Management. Once a student has attempted a Costello College of Business Foundations and/or Core course twice unsuccessfully, they must meet with an academic advisor in order to receive an override to register for the third attempt. Students who do not successfully complete these core courses and foundations courses within three attempts will be terminated from the Costello College of Business and will not be eligible to receive a degree from the Costello College of Business. Students terminated from the Costello College of Business are prohibited from enrolling in any Costello College of Business course. Students terminated from the Costello College of Business are not permitted to declare or pursue the business minor, or any other Costello College of Business minor. For more information about this, see AP.5.2.4 Termination from Concentration or Major. The Costello College of Business Termination Policy is separate from the University Repeat Policy AP.1.3.4. All Costello College of Business courses require a C or higher with the exception of FNAN 303 Financial Management for students with a concentration in Finance or Financial Planning and Wealth Management (B- or higher is required). No upper-level concentration required or elective course may be attempted for a C or higher more than three times. Once a third unsuccessful attempt is made in a Costello College of Business concentration required or elective course, the student will be unable to pursue that concentration and must work with an academic advisor to declare a new concentration in the Costello College of Business.
University Consortium
Students should review university policies regarding the University Consortium under Special Registration Procedures in the Academic Policies section of this catalog. Students who have attempted or failed a course at Mason are not permitted to take the equivalent course through the consortium under any circumstance. All consortium registration requests must be submitted to the dean's office at least 3 weeks prior to the first day of classes for the relevant semester at Mason. Any consortium course that a student wishes to register for to fulfill major or graduate-level course requirements in the Costello College of Business must be attempted at an institution accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Non-Business School Student Credit Limitation
Enrolled undergraduate students who are not declared in a Costello College of Business major are limited to 9 credits of upper-level business coursework within the Costello College of Business. This policy applies to any student who is declared in another major or program at Mason. This policy does not apply to students who have declared a Costello College of Business minor and are earning required credit toward that minor.
Undergraduate Course Overload Policy
The Costello College of Business recommends that undergraduate students attempt no more than 18 credits in an academic semester and no more than 14 credits in a summer term. Students wishing to attempt more than 18 credits must submit a Permission to Overload form to their academic advisor. To be eligible for a course overload, a student must fulfill all of the following criteria: At least a 3.0 cumulative GPA at Mason Have completed all courses successfully in his/her previous semester with no Fs or incompletes (IN) Complete the Permission to Overload form and obtain an academic advisor's signature Freshmen and transfer students in their first semesters are not given permission for overloads as they have yet to establish an academic record at George Mason University. If approved for an overload, the student is responsible for adding the additional class(es) and paying for the related tuition by the official university deadlines.
Transfer Credit Expiration Policy
Transfer credit for business courses completed over ten years prior to Mason enrollment, including those from RBC or VCCS, will only be awarded as general elective credit. Courses older than ten years cannot be reevaluated for any Costello College of Business course; this includes courses that fall under concentration areas of management, marketing, finance, accounting, management information systems, and operations management as well as business foundation and business core requirements.
Laptop Policy
All Costello College of Business Undergraduate Students must have access to a portable computing device that meets the following minimum standards.
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