Department Contact:
Chair: Dr. Angela Seidel, aseidel@francis.edu, 814-472-3076
Program Description:
The Economics program educates students to participate in the decision-making process of allocating scarce resources and prepares them to function as informed and responsible citizens in a free market economy. Specifically, the program is designed for students who seek careers in the financial services industry, such as investment and commercial banking, the federal government, consulting and/or wish to pursue graduate study in economics or business. In the macroeconomic dimension, students learn the basic forces underlying the economic organization of society, the theory of national income, aggregate supply and demand, unemployment, inflation, taxation, money and banking, and governmental fiscal policy. In the microeconomic realm, students learn the theory of price under various market conditions, economic functions of government, the theory of the firm, and elements of international economics. As a requirement for graduation students are expected to complete an independent research project.
The Entrepreneurship Concentration is designed to inform, inspire, and empower students to engage in entrepreneurial thinking and related activities. Such activities range from using critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving as a future employee within an existing enterprise as an intrapreneur; to solving broader social and economic problems deploying entrepreneurial thinking in communities through Social Entrepreneurship; and to being an active participant in the creation of a business start-up. Entrepreneurship effectively blends theory with practice to create a meaningful and relevant value proposition, taking into account both risk and return, that integrates a number of different academic perspectives such as economics, philosophy, law, finance, politics, and marketing together.
Accreditation Statement:
Saint Francis University has received specialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), located in Lenexa, Kansas.
Student Learning Outcomes:
The Shields School of Business will graduate students who have the knowledge, skills, love of learning, confidence, drive, and ethical and moral values needed to be spiritually fulfilled in life and successful in professional careers. Upon completion of this program, students are able to:
- Demonstrate, in the Spirit of Saint Francis in the Marketplace, knowledge of the ethical value choices and responsibilities of businesses and business leaders;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental principles in business in the functional areas of accounting, information systems, finance, management, and marketing;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the legal, social, economic environments of business;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the global dimension of business;
- Integrate the functional areas of business in the process of decision making;
- Demonstrate the ability to professionally communicate.
Estimated Completion Time:
4 Years, Full Time
Admission Deadline:
This program has a rolling admission.
Total Credits Required:
128 credits minimum
Progression and/or Retention Criteria
- Over the past 5 years, over 98% of School of Business graduates have been gainfully employed or enrolled in graduate school within one year of graduation.
- Exit survey results indicate that over 99% of School of Business graduates feel prepared for their respective careers upon graduation.
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