About General Business

The General Business degree and certificate programs are designed to provide students with a broad basis and foundational background in business without the depth in a particular business discipline.

These programs focus on the theoretical and practical skills necessary for students to work in a variety of entry level positions in business, government and nonprofits.

Explore Potential Careers

Studying General Business can lead to a variety of different jobs or career paths. Below are just some of the many options you will have!

  • Accounting/Bookkeeping
  • Human Resources
  • Customer Service
  • Sales
  • Receptionist
  • Administrative Assistant

Credit Program Options 

Click on the degree or certificate you're interested in earning to see a sample map of courses to take to complete your goal from start to finish. 

Please note that the course maps provided are just an example to help you get started. Please meet with a counselor to personalize the plan to you and your Academic goals. 

View College Catalog

Semester 1 

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
ENGL 1A + AS University-Parallel Reading and Composition + Support 6  
MATH 80 + 80S or ECON 5 Support for Probability and Statistics 5 or 8  
CSU Area E Lifelong Learning 3  

Total Units: 13 - 17

Semester 2

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
BSL 1 Business Law I 5  
ECON 1 Principles of Macroeconomics 3  
MABS 60 or CNIT 100 or CS 101 Computer Applications Major Requirement 3  
CSU Area A3 Critical Thinking 3  
CSU Area A1 Oral Communication 3  

Total Units: 17

Semester 3 (Summer)

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
CSU Area C1 or C2 Arts and Humanities 3  

Total Units: 3

Semester 4

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
ACCT 1 Financial Accounting 5  
ECON 3 Principles of Microeconomics 3  
CSU Area C1 Arts 3  
CSU Area B1 Physical Sciences 3-4  
POLS 1 American Government 3  

Total Units: 17-18  

Semester 5

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
ACCT 2 Managerial Accounting 5  
CSU Area B2 and B3 Biological Sciences and Lab 3-4  
CSU Area C2 Humanities 3  
CSU U.S. Graduation Requirement See Counselor 3  

Total Units: 14-15

View College Catalog

Semester 1 

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
GNBS 119 Introduction to Business 3  
ENGL 1A + 1AS University-Parallel Reading and Composition + Support 4-6  
ECON 1 Principles of Macroeconomics 3  
Degree Applicable Elective   3  

Total Units: 13-15 

Semester 2

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
BSL 1 Business Law I 3  
MATH 80 + 80S or ECON 5 Probability and Statistics with Support or Introductory Statistics for Economics, Business and Social Science 5-8  
ECON 3 Principles of Microeconomics 3  
Degree Applicable Elective   3  
Degree Applicable Elective   3  

Total Units: 17-20 

Semester 3

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
ACCT 1 Financial Accounting 5  
GE Area C Natural Sciences Requirement 3-6  
GE Area F United States History and Government Requirement 3  
MABS 60 or MABS 62 Introduction to Computer Applications for Business or Computer Applications for Business on Mac 3  

Total Units: 14-17 

Semester 4

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
ACCT 2 Managerial Accounting 5  
GE Area E Humanities Requirement 3  
GE Area H Ethnic Studies, Women's and Gender Studies and LGBTQ Studies 3  
Degree Applicable Elective   3  
Degree Applicable Elective   3  

Total Units: 15

View College Catalog

Required courses:

Course Number Course Title Units
GNBS 119  Introduction to Business 3
MABS 60 Introduction to Computer Applications for Business 3
BSL 1 Business Law I 3
ECON 1 Principles of Macroeconomics 3

Total Units: 12 

Choose one of the following Accounting courses:

Course Number Course Title Units
ACCT 10 Introduction to Accounting 5
ACCT 1 Financial Accounting 5

Total Units: 5 

Recommended additional coursework:

Course Number Course Title Units
BSMA 68 Mathematics of Business 3
MRKT 140 Introduction to Marketing 3
MGT 231 Introduction to Supervision and Management 3
BSEN 74 Written Business Communication 3
FIN 136 Personal Financial Planning 3

Total Units: 0 

Overall Total Units: 17

View College Catalog

Required Courses

Course Number Course Title Units
ENTR 101 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 3
ENTR 102 Applied Design Thinking for Entrepreneurship 1.5
DSGN 105 Design Thinking 1.5
MRKT 140 Introduction to Marketing 3

Total Units: 9 

Business (Choose a minimum of 9 units from the following courses)

Course Number Course Title Units
BSL 1 Business Law I 3
GNBS 119 Introduction to Business 3
MABS 60 Introduction to Computer Applications for Business 3
MGT 231 Introduction to Supervision and Management 3
MRKT 122 Professional Selling 3
SMBS 135 Ownership and Operation of a Small Business 3

Total Units: 9 

Total Units: 18 

View College Catalog

Required courses:

Course Number Course Title Hours
BOSS 4500 Business English I 45
BOSS 4501 Business English II 45
BOSS 4510 Business Communications 45 
BOSS 4515 Business Writing for Digital Media 45

Total Hours: 180 

Noncredit Program Options

Our Noncredit Certificate Programs are FREE. They are designed to help you build the necessary skills for job entry and/or advancement. They do not earn college credit.

Click on the degree or certificate you're interested in earning to see a sample map of courses to take to complete your goal from start to finish. 

View College Catalog

Required courses:

Course Number Course Title Hours
SMBU 9419 Developing a Business Plan 18
SMBU 9467 Getting Started in Business 18

Total Hours: 36 

Choose two of the following elective courses:

Course Number Course Title Hours
SMBU 9888 Small Business Funding 18
SMBU 9476 Green and Sustainable Small Business 18
SMBU 9793 Small Business Marketing and Sales 18
SMBU 9799 Technology for Small Business 18

Total Hours: 36 

Overall Total Hours: 72 

View College Catalog

Required courses:

Course Number Course Title Hours
BOSS 5500 Keyboarding for Computers 45
COMP 9905 Intro to Windows for MS Office Applications 45
COMP 9921 The Internet and Social Customer Service 45
BOSS 3502 Customer Service Principles & Soft Skills 45
BOSS 4500 Business English I 45
BOSS 4501 Business English II 45
BOSS 4510 Business Communications 45
BOSS 3500 Job Preparation 45

Total Hours: 360

View College Catalog

Required courses:

Course Number Course Title Hours
COMP 9959 Photoshop Essentials 45
COMP 9944 Acrobat for Bus/Office 45
COMP 9938 Publisher for Business Desktop Publishing 45
COMP 9935 Business Web Graphics 45
COMP 9908 Computer & Web-based Applications 45
COMP 9899 Electronic Publishing for Business I 45 
COMP 9907 Electronic Publishing for Business II 45

Total Hours: 315 

Transfer Options

Have questions about transfer? Visit the Transfer Center for help, transfer information, and/or to speak with college representatives.