Mendoza School of Business
Logo Business

Undergraduate Program

campus building at dusk

The Business Education That Will Change the Future

The Mendoza College of Business Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree is uniquely designed to be flexible and customizable while providing a strong foundation in essential business courses. As a Mendoza student, you will earn a degree that carries the national recognition of a top-rated undergraduate business school and also emphasizes the added value of a liberal arts education — something that will not only broaden you as a person, but also will broaden your opportunities for employment.

The heart of the BBA program is the Undergraduate Business Core, a newly revitalized curriculum that includes the business courses that all BBA degree students must take regardless of their major. The Business Core consists of:

    • 25.5 credit hours of required courses in business fundamentals:
      • Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
      • Calculus (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Accountancy (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Finance (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Statistics (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Coding (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Marketing (3 credits)
      • Foundations of Leadership (1.5 credits)
      • Foundations of Strategy (1.5 credits)
      • Foundations of Ethical Behavior (1.5 credits)
    • 9 credit hours of business broadening electives designed to expand your understanding. These courses are taken in at least two different departments outside of the student’s major department.
    • 24 credits on non-business courses taken outside the Mendoza College of Business. Students often fulfill requirements for a second major or minor in other non-business disciplines with these credits.

As a Mendoza student, you become part of a 100-year College legacy that upholds its founding mission for business to serve the human community, recognizing the inherent dignity of all people.

UNDERGRADUATE HANDOUT

Highlights

Founded in 1921, the Mendoza College of Business has faithfully followed the charge of its founding dean, John Cardinal O’Hara, CSC. “The primary function of commerce is service to mankind.” The Mendoza College of Business emphasizes innovative coursework, engaged faculty teaching in small-class settings, experiential learning opportunities and exposure to the top global business leaders. You will gain the vision to think about the big picture, and the knowledge and tools to answer the big questions – from how to choose a career path to how business can change society for the better.

Preparing the Complete Student

To ensure a holistic experience, the undergraduate curriculum is integrated with a rich variety of classes in liberal arts, science, theology and other programs across the University. Students also may choose to expand their horizons by spending a semester studying abroad in one of more than 40 programs in 20 different countries.

undergraduate student smiling at commencement

History of Excellence

The standard of all academic departments at Notre Dame is excellence, and the Mendoza College of Business is no different. The College has consistently ranked as one of the best in the country and in 2023, it is ranked No. 5 by Poets & Quants.

A Network of Opportunity

Your classes will be small by design, allowing for individual attention from professors and personalized guidance on your career. Once you graduate from Notre Dame, you’ll join one of the most powerful alumni networks in the world with more than 144,000 active alumni in 270 alumni clubs around the world, who are always willing help.

Student Life at Notre Dame

College is not a four-year decision, it is a 40-year decision. The people you meet, the encounters with different ways of thinking, even the alumni community that you will join will shape your future as much as the degree you earn and the career path you choose.

At Notre Dame, you’ll have opportunities to join fellow students in cheering on the Irish’s legendary athletic teams, attend concerts, hear world-class speakers and live out the Notre Dame mission by participating in community service projects.

No matter your academic path or personal background, there is a student club to support your development. Below are examples of student organizations specifically oriented toward business, which are sure to match your interests, enhance your educational experience and plug you into student life at Notre Dame.

  • Beta Alpha Psi
  • Beta Gamma Sigma
  • Entrepreneurship Society of Notre Dame
  • Finance Club
  • The Black Business Association of Notre Dame
  • Marketing Club
  • Notre Dame Accounting Association (NDAA)
  • Notre Dame Information Technology, Analytics, and Operations (NDITAO) Club
  • Student International Business Council (SIBC)
  • Undergraduate Women in Business Association

Career Development

Undergraduate Career Services is made up of two teams: the Engagement Team and the Exploration Team. The Engage Team primarily works with first year students and sophomores who are reflecting on their values, interests, personality and skills. After a student identifies a particular industry to research, the Exploration Team provides career counseling support. All of our staff are located in the 504 south suite of Duncan Student Center.

Business Majors at Notre Dame

At Notre Dame, we realize your time here with us is short, but your potential to affect humanity for the better is infinite. Whether your passion is for finance or marketing, or you envision a career in healthcare or technology, we provide the tools and experiences you need to realize your goals and dreams.

Business students in the Class of 2026 and after have the option to choose a second major in Mendoza except Business Analytics.

Learn more about the majors offered by Mendoza:

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Business Minors at Notre Dame

Non-business majors may declare the following minors prior to the start of their junior year:

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Mendoza College of Business undergraduates may apply for the following minors:

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Undergraduate students from all disciplines may apply for the following minors:

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Business Honors Program

The Business Honors Program is designed to challenge the most gifted undergraduate Mendoza College of Business students with a rigorous, specialized course of study and programming. The program takes a deeper look at the moral purpose of business and how it can contribute to human flourishing.

With an emphasis on the importance of scholarly research and the development of the whole person, the program prepares you to assume demanding and complex corporate leadership or to pursue a doctorate degree in distinguished national programs.

This program admission is open to all Notre Dame First-Year students pre-admitted to Mendoza as well as to those seeking to transfer into Mendoza. Acceptance is competitive. To qualify, you must clearly demonstrate an interest in advancing business as a force for contributing to human flourishing, as well as a high level of academic achievement and intellectual curiosity.

You will participate in the Business Honors Program during your final three years in the College and complete six honors courses total — two in each of three categories:

  • Two honors sections of courses on the Catholic social teaching on business: Honors Business Ethics and an honors section of a Catholicism and the Disciplines course. (Example course: Honors Why Business?)
  • Two honors sections of intermediate-level courses required within the majors. (Example courses: Honors Corporate Finance and Honors Marketing Decision Making)
  • Two honors courses with advanced and accelerated material that are electives within the major. (Example courses: Accounting Research, Corporate Disclosure: Accounting Institutions and Academic Research, Applied Investment Management, Designing for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence*, Theory & Research in Strategy*, Theory & Research in Organizational Behavior*)

You also will participate in two one-credit-hour honors colloquia that will engage you in important conversations with business executives and researchers from across campus.

*These courses are first-year Ph.D.-level courses cross-listed as undergraduate honors sections.

The College will accept applications from First-Year students and incoming transfer students during the spring semester.

The application deadline for the Class of 2024 (including first round internal transfer students) has passed.

Students will need to log into their Notre Dame Google account to access the form, and the form needs to be completed in a single session. You should gather this information to successfully complete the form:

  • A current resume
  • Name and contact information for a campus faculty or staff reference Note: your reference will not need to submit a letter of recommendation; the selection committee will only contact your reference if necessary.
  • Your course grades and GPA from the Fall 2020 semester
  • Two personal statements (max of 2,000 characters each) in response to these prompts:
    1. Describe how your business career will contribute to human flourishing.
    2. Describe how your participation in the Business Honors Program will help you to achieve your goals.

We recommend that you draft your statements separately and then paste them into the web form. The form will strictly limit each statement to 2,000 characters.

Admission

First Year Applicants Interested in the BBA Degree

Upon application to Notre Dame, all students are asked to make a non-binding indication of the college or school, and specific major or discipline they intend to pursue. Applicants who indicate an intent to enroll into the Mendoza College of Business will be informed at the time of admission whether they are approved to do so. Those who are accepted by Notre Dame, but not approved for Mendoza, may pursue any other college and major and avail themselves of the transfer application processes noted below if their interest in business continues. Students approved to major in business who change their minds, are free to major in any other college or school at Notre Dame. The timing of the switch may have consequences, however, that should be carefully considered.

Internal Transfer Opportunities
First-Year students at Notre Dame who were not previously approved for Mendoza have two opportunities to apply for transfer into the College of Business during their first year. First-Year students who are interested in pursuing business are encouraged to let their FY advisor know so they can advise them on course selection in the first year. Transfers into Mendoza will not be considered outside of the two application windows in the first year and all internal transfers must be accepted into Mendoza prior to the start of their sophomore year. The application process is highly competitive.

External Transfers

Applications for external transfer to Mendoza from another university occur in the spring of the freshman year and are contingent upon successful completion of one year at another institution. This is a highly competitive process. External transfers must matriculate as a first semester sophomore into the Mendoza College of Business.

All transfer students are expected to complete, at a minimum, a semester of Calculus and Principles of Microeconomics prior to the start of the sophomore year.

For more information about admission to the University of Notre Dame or the Mendoza College of Business, please contact the Notre Dame Office of Admissions at (574) 631-7505 or admissions@nd.edu.

Events

Fri Apr 19
Ten Years Hence Lecture: AI Ethics – Past, Present and Future
Fri Apr 26
Ten Years Hence Lecture: Harnessing and Hedging: The Two Faces of GenAI