Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government

Management and Administration

• Our management programs feature a unique focus on continuous improvement, waste reduction, and problem solving as emphasized in our minor in Operational Excellence which also provides students with hands-on consulting experience leading to Green Belt Certification.
• Students can also choose to stay for an extra year upon completing their undergraduate degree and also earn a Master of Science in Management focused in Operational Excellence.
• Our management program helps to develop leaders for careers in human resources, operations, supply chain management, and project management, in addition to other fields.
• Our sports management major adds additional courses to our management major that are related to a variety of concepts necessary to work in a professional athletic environment.
• The SAP Business One program at Saint Vincent is one of the only programs in the US that prepares students with practical hands-on experience in one of the world’s most prominent enterprise resource planning systems.
• Students majoring in business administration experience a well-rounded general curriculum in a variety of disciplines of business that allows them opportunities to major or minor in other programs that may be of interest.

Marketing, Analytics, and Global Commerce

• Students majoring in marketing are prepared for a variety of roles in advertising, sales, strategic marketing/communication, and market research through a curriculum that emphasizes consumer behavior concepts, hands-on data analysis, and the opportunities of global and internet marketing.
• The business data analytics major helps students develop crucial skills that are in-demand by today’s employers. Through a rigorous curriculum, students will be exposed to business implications of big data and quantitative-based decision making.
• Students can also choose to major in international business or business education/IT which respectively focus on navigating global intricacies of leading and concepts related to integrating solid business pedagogy as well as technology to business education.

Finance and Accounting

• With multiple areas of concentration, including CFA and CFP certifications, computational finance, corporate finance, finance-math, and behavioral finance and a curriculum with unique attention to alternative assets, finance students have the choice to select a curriculum of study that best interests them.
• Recent graduates of our accounting major have experienced some of the highest first-time pass rates on the CPA exam in the nation. Though the accounting curriculum is rigorous and challenging, creating a flexible schedule that allows students to earn enough credits to sit for their certification is easy.
• Students in both our accounting and finance programs have been consistently placed in some of the top financial services and accounting firms regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Economics

• Students interested in studying economics can explore either the economics, economics-math, or business economics majors.
• Graduates of the economics program have gone on to study in some of the top economics PhD programs in the country.
• Students in the economics program experience a comprehensive curriculum which includes conducting rigorous academic research firsthand along with expert faculty.

Criminology, Law, and Society

• Our criminology, law, and society department is among the highest ranked criminology programs in the region.
• The CLS undergraduate major prepares students for law school or careers with government agencies, in consulting, and forensics in addition to other areas of law enforcement.
• The Master of Science in Criminology, Law, and Society takes students’ careers to the next level by integrating first-hand research into the curriculum guided by expert faculty who study areas as varied as the opioid epidemic, best practices in law enforcement, and mental health. Students can earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in CLS in as little as five years.

Political Science

• Our politics programs are integrated with the humanities and are focused on primary sources with an emphasis on the classic great books.
• Students can choose to study politics as a standalone major or in combination with economics and philosophy.
• All McKenna majors graduate with a basic understanding of the American political system through the Politics Department’s strong integration with the core curriculum.
• Many graduates of the politics program continue their education at top ranked doctoral programs and law schools or choose to pursue careers in government or industry.

Taken together, the academic rigor of these programs has allowed us to consistently see extremely high job placement or graduate degree enrollment (often 97% or higher for many majors) within a few months after graduation.

In addition to all of these great academic programs, students in the McKenna School also have the ability to learn outside of the classroom via access to multiple travel abroad opportunities, exceptional internship and job placements, and first-hand business expertise via our Small Business Development Center and SCORE Chapter.  There are also exclusive scholarship opportunities for students studying in McKenna programs based on merit and need including the Business Administration Scholarship, the SBDC Scholarship, the Sarni Scholars Program Scholarship for politics or economic students, and the Terrance B. Sedlacko Memorial Scholarship for accounting majors among others. 

The McKenna School business programs have seven undergraduate areas of focus and one graduate area of focus accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). They are: Accounting, Business Education Information Technology, Business Economics, Finance, International Business, Economics, Management, Marketing and the Master of Science in Management: Operational Excellence graduate program. Three programs in Business Data Analytics (launched Fall 2020), Sports Management (launched Fall 2021) and Business Administration (launched Fall 2021) are in candidacy for accreditation.

With a requirement for faculty professional development (e.g., publications and research) and courses primarily taught by faculty holding doctorates, the ACBSP is the leading business accreditation program devoted to teaching excellence and service to students. The core areas of ACBSP accreditation emphasize an in-depth knowledge in 12 business core competency areas: Accounting, Management, Business Ethics, Marketing, Information Systems, Business Finance, the Legal Environment of Business, Statistics, Business Policies, Economics, Quantitative Skills, and Global Dimensions in Business. 

The McKenna School is also a member of the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business Administration. The Political Science and CLS programs are non-business and therefore not accredited through the ACBSP; however, all programs in the McKenna School have regional accreditation through the Middle States Association. The ACBSP is one of the two premier accrediting agencies for business schools worldwide.

High Placement Rates

• 98% undergraduate placement (employment in field or further education, 6 months after graduation, 95% response rate, 2021 data).
• Graduates of the McKenna School go on to attend premier colleges and universities to pursue graduate degrees, master’s degrees, doctorates and juris doctorates.
• Median starting salary across programs = $65,000

Unique Focus

• One of the only SAP-focused programs in the world.
• Political Science takes a great books focus.
• Programs leverage regional, national, and global industry partnerships to create engaging hands-on learning experiences unique only to Saint Vincent.

Top Exam Scores

• Since 2016, CPA pass rates of our students have regularly been in the top 10% or higher of comparable academic institutions.
• Tracks in the finance major include Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) preparation courses.
• Operational Excellence courses lead to Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.
• Students consistently place in the top quartile in Management, Finance, and Quantitative Analysis in the ETS Field Test which compares student preparation across colleges and universities nationwide.

Highly Ranked Graduate Programs

• The Master of Science in Operational Excellence is regularly ranked among the best non-MBA business graduate degrees by US News and World Report (highest ranking #32) and Value Colleges (highest ranking #17).
• The Master of Science in Criminology, Law, and Society is one of the fastest growing graduate programs of its kind.

High Impact Centers

• The Small Business Development Center has won prestigious awards for Global Competitiveness and Best Regional SBDC.
• The SVC-affiliated SCORE office regularly helps start-ups craft business plans to help grow them for success.

Practical Research

• Students have an opportunity to collaborate on academic research with experts in their fields.
• The Criminology, Law, and Society faculty engage in cutting-edge crucial research on such topics as the opioid epidemic, white collar crime, and violence.
• Leadership research applies academic theory to popular culture to illustrate complex ideas to make them practical and actionable in the real world.