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Certificate in Business

Learn business. Grow your skills. Expand your education.

Gain business knowledge + skills

  • Develop a foundational understanding of business and its various fields
  • Diversify your skill set
  • Dive deeper into a focus area by choosing elective coursework in a specialized pathway
  • Pair with any major and complement your degree

Unlock new career paths

  • Gain foundational business tools to use throughout your career
  • Boost your résumé and find job opportunities in business fields
  • Explore business careers you might not have otherwise considered
  • Complete specific courses to prepare you for a business master’s program

Program Overview

Who is the certificate for?

Open to undergraduate students earning any nonbusiness degree at UW–Madison

Enhance your certificate experience

Participate in noncredit business competitions and student organizations

Certificate completion

“Awarded Certificate in Business” will be notated on your official transcripts

18 total credits

  • 2 required courses:
    • Choose one: Accounting 300, Accounting 100, or General Business 310
    • Choose one: MHR 300 or General Business 311
  • 1 additional course: Finance 300, Marketing 300, Real Estate 306, RMI 300 or OTM 300
  • 9 credits of electives from any business courses except General Business 110, 310, 311, 360, 400
See the Undergraduate Guide for details

Certificate in Business Pathways

Complete the general Certificate in Business or specialize your certificate by choosing to complete 9 credits of elective coursework in a specific pathway.

General

  • Provides a broad business education, allowing you to focus on coursework that interests you and supports your academic and career goals.
  • View business core course options and details in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Business Analytics: Analytics & Automation

  • Learn how to turn data into valuable business insights, including collecting and querying data, generating visualizations, building predictive models, and identifying opportunities to utilize AI. Credits may be eligible for transfer into the MS in Business Analytics.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Business Analytics: Analytics & Data Engineering

  • Learn how to turn data into valuable business insights, including querying data, generating visualizations, and building predictive models. Gain skills to build and manage data warehouses and prepare data for AI applications. Credits may be eligible for transfer into the MS in Business Analytics.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Real Estate: Affordable & Sustainable Housing

  • Gain foundational knowledge in urban real estate markets and their core principles and dynamics, including affordable housing, green-sustainable development, and fair housing. Certain credits may be eligible for transfer into the MS in Real Estate.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Real Estate: Pre-Private Equity

  • Courses in this pathway fulfill requirements to prepare for the Private Equity track or Applied Real Estate Investment Trust track of the MS in Real Estate. Certain credits may be eligible for transfer into the MS in Real Estate.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Supply Chain Management

  • Explore how products and services reach their customers and how strategic supply chain choices enable companies to be successful. Learn how supply chains impact sustainability, marketing, and technology. It’s more than just getting products from A to B.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Financial Management & Accounting

  • Learn the essentials of financial and managerial accounting, including how to read financial statements, manage budgets and costs, and make data-driven decisions.
  • View elective course options and details for this specialized pathway in Canvas or connect with the pre-business advising team.

Pathways are optional and do not appear on your final transcript. Some specialized pathways require specific prerequisites. Connect with WSB’s pre-business advising team to learn more about specific courses and requirements.

Get Prepared for One of WSB’s Business Master’s Programs

Many certificate pathways prepare you for one of WSB’s 1-year specialized business master’s programs. Several master’s programs offer an Auto Admit Option. If you have a bachelor’s degree (any major) from UW–Madison with a 3.4 GPA or higher, you are eligible for auto admission to these master’s programs: MS in Business Analytics, MS in Real Estate, MS in Supply Chain Management.

View all business master’s programs

Admissions

Undergraduate students earning a nonbusiness degree can declare the Certificate in Business. Students must meet the following requirements:

24 credits in residence (12 credits for transfer students)

Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA

Must have declared nonbusiness major

Declaration information

  • Eligible students can declare the Certificate in Business between September 15 and October 15.
  • You will be notified via email if you are ineligible to declare the certificate.
  • A $150 tuition differential will be charged per semester until graduation. This begins the spring semester after your declaration. The tuition differential provides access to Wisconsin School of Business resources.
Declare certificate

Advising

Students earning the Certificate in Business have access to the pre-business advising team and are assigned a Wisconsin School of Business career coach.

If you have questions about undergraduate certificates, email WSB’s pre-business advising team at prebusadvising@wsb.wisc.edu or call 608-262-0471.