Program Details
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Program Outline
AIU’s accredited online associate's degree in business is designed to provide students with the fundamentals to assist you in the development of your goals. Our industry-relevant curriculum is accredited by ACBSP, a distinction that not all business administration programs possess.
While pursuing an online associate’s degree in business administration from AIU, we can help you work to build effective business writing and speaking skills. You can also study computer systems and applications used in today’s workplaces. Courses are structured to help students demonstrate an understanding about how businesses are organized, managed, and controlled.
Requirements to complete an online associate’s degree in business include general education courses, general electives, and core courses.
AIU provides students with convenience, flexibility, and support to accommodate busy lives. We offer full and part-time program options and transfer-in credit for eligible college, work, and military experience.1 This could reduce the time it takes to earn a degree and save you money in the process.
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1.Transfer credit is evaluated on an individual basis. Not all credits are eligible to transfproger. See the University Catalog for AIU’s transfer credit policies.
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Estimate Tuition and Grad Date
Total tuition for this degree program may vary depending on your educational needs, existing experience, and other factors.
Estimate your costs, potential savings and graduation date.
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Courses
Degree Requirements
Courses
General Education
CreditsECON220 Microeconomics 4.5 ECON224 Macroeconomics 4.5 ENGL106 English Composition I 4.5 ENGL107 English Composition II 4.5 MATH125 General College Mathematics 4.5 UNIV103 Academic and Professional Success 4.5 UNIV106 Technology and Information Literacy 4.5 UNIV109 Interpersonal Communication 4.5 General Education Elective (1) 4.5 Humanities (2 Courses) 9 Natural Sciences (2 Courses) 9 Total Credit Hours: 58.5 Core
CreditsACCT205 Principles of Accounting I 4.5 BUSN105 Introduction to Business 4.5 BUSN150 Legal and Ethical Environment of Business 4.5 MKTG205 Principles of Marketing 4.5 Total Credit Hours: 18 A combination of any three 100, 200, or 300-level business coursesBusiness Electives
CreditsTotal Credit Hours: 13.5 General Electives
CreditsGeneral Elective 4.5 or MGMT215 Decision Making and Communication 4.5 0 General Elective 4.5 or MGMT350 Professional Business Development 4.5 0 General Elective 4.5 Total Credit Hours: 13.5 Total Credit Hours : 90
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Classes Overview
For an Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration, your classes can include:
Introduction to Business
This course is designed to provide students with a general introduction to business activity and how it relates to our economic society. Students will explore how businesses are owned, organized, managed, and controlled.
Decision Making and Communication
This course concentrates on practical applications of communication theory in the forms of business correspondence, memoranda, and reports.
Principles of Marketing
Students will study and have the opportunity to apply the fundamentals of marketing within an organization and the contemporary market environment. The course will focus on marketing strategy and development of a marketing mix.
Principles of Accounting I
This course introduces students to financial accounting. Students can study the fundamentals of the accounting cycle.
Aspects of Psychology
This course examines the discipline of psychology, both cognitive and psycho-social, covering topics such as perception, learning, memory, motivation, emotion, personality, attitudes, psychological aspects of human sexuality, and psycho-behavioral pathology.
Microeconomics
This course focuses on Economic theory of the firm, resource allocation and price determination, the free market supply/demand mechanism, and pure and imperfect competition models are analyzed.
Presentation Essentials
This course focuses on preparing and delivering effective presentations. In addition, students have the opportunity to learn about presentation strategy and the creation of visual aids.
Sociology
This course introduces students to the concepts, theory, and method of sociology. Students can develop a better understanding of society, culture, social institutions, social behavior, and other general social processes that operate in the social world.
English Composition I
In this course, students focus on developing writing skills through practice and revision of a variety of different types of essays. Students are also given instruction in library and online research and methods of documentation.
Macroeconomics
Presents basic economic concepts emphasizing the part the United States plays in a global economy. Foundations of economic theory are presented, using topics from television news and mass media. Topics introduced are GDP, National Income Accounting, United States fiscal policy and economic growth.
Applied Business Mathematics
This course will cover mathematical applications commonly used in business and often encountered in retail, work, and social settings counting techniques and probability, mathematical modeling, and mathematics of finance and accounting. Topics to be addressed include financial math, consumer math, probability, mathematical modeling, and the related use of the internet and technology. Through the use of standard mathematical operations, financial formulas, exploring the deductive thought process, and critical‐thinking evidence, students will have the opportunity to identify, analyze, and solve problems encountered in everyday situations to support academic, personal, and professional success.
Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
This course is designed to provide undergraduate students with a comprehensive introduction to the business sector's relationship to the principal forces operating in the ethical and legal environments. Particular attention is given to the constraints and opportunities presented by the regulatory environments in North America and the European Union. The course is structured to provide an in-depth, comparative framework for understanding the ethical and intercultural challenges facing contemporary multinational and international organizations. With respect to the legal framework within which most business organizations operate, course topics include corporate problems of raising and maintaining capital by shares; relationships of directors to shareholders; respective rights and obligations; relationships of companies to third parties; control and the principle of majority rule.
Course content subject to change.
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Ways to Save on Your Associate of Arts in Business Administration Degree
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree?
An associate degree provides foundational knowledge in a subject. The associate in business degree at AIU explores accounting, marketing, management and introductory business courses designed to provide students with a well-rounded understanding of various business processes. The two-year program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the business world.
What can you do with an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree?
Earning an associate degree in business can help students prepare to pursue additional professional opportunities. This business administration degree is designed to help students study professional skills and practical applications in the real world.
Students can prepare to pursue entry-level roles in the business field, like an administrative assistant or support specialist, or help advance in a current role to an associate manager or general supervisor.2 An associate degree can serve as a building block to future opportunities that may require additional education, training or experience.
If you are looking to pursue a bachelor’s in a business degree program, an associate degree can also ready students for further educational opportunities.
What is the benefit of receiving an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree?
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that people who hold an associate degree generally report a higher median earnings per week and lower unemployment rates than those with less than a high school education.3
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states:
Even in the best of economic times, data show that workers who have higher levels of education typically earn more and have lower rates of unemployment compared with workers who have less education..
3What do you need to get an Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree?
To enroll in an associate in a business administration degree program at AIU, you must have a high school diploma or GRE. No SAT or ACT scores are required, and there is no application fee. With 10 ten flexible start dates per year, there is no wait to start your education.
The Program Overview and Courses sections outline the academic requirements to successfully complete the associate in business program at AIU.
What is the difference between an associate degree in business administration and an associate degree in management?
Associate degree programs in business administration and management are similar in that both lay the groundwork for students to work toward developing skills applicable to business environments in the real world. Some knowledge and content may overlap, so the difference lies in the focus of each of these programs.
An associate in management program focuses on developing knowledge of management fundamentals and business best practices. Although it may encompass various processes and models of business practices, these types of programs are typically designed to help graduates prepare to pursue entry-level supervisory roles within a business. Courses in a management program focus on managerial skills and interpersonal relationships in professional settings as an initial stepping stone in managing people and organizations.
The associate in business administration degree program, on the other hand, provides a holistic view of business functions, which can allow students to explore and refine their business interests and help them prepare to pursue diverse entry-level roles, including areas such as human resources and marketing. A business administration program features practical workforce skills that can be applied toward wide-ranging business solutions.
2 American InterContinental University cannot guarantee employment or salary. The list of career paths related to this program is based on a subset from the Bureau of Labor Statistics CIP to SOC Crosswalk. Some career paths listed above may require further education or job experience.
3 "Education pays, 2020." Career Outlook. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2021/data-on-display/education-pays.htm. This data represents national figures and is not based on school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. -
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What Students Are Saying About Their AIU Experience
AIU changed my life. It definitely gave me a better attitude about myself, my wellbeing, and my purpose. I feel better knowing that I’m enhancing my education.
Leanna C., Former Student 2022 Graduate, Associate of Arts in Business Administration
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Classes Start June 7, 2023