The BA in Business Administration is designed to give students an overview of the field of business while specializing in one particular area. Students graduating from this program also obtain a business diploma from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (Palliser campus) in Moose Jaw with one of the concentrations listed below.

SIAST is a province-wide network of post-secondary training institutions that has a graduate placement rate consistently above 90 per cent. Students in the BA in Business Administration must spend a minimum of one year of study at SIAST.

Past graduates have pursued many types of careers including that of a business manager, entrepreneur, accountant, service technician, banking service provider, business development consultant, and many other occupations.

Who, What and Why

Whether you want to go into business or just manage your finances well, taking business classes will help you. They'll give you confidence, improve your problem-solving, communication, and management skills, and give you the knowledge and practical experience you need to use them effectively.

Wherever you go in life, basic knowledge of things like mortgages, compound interest, annuities, and accounting can help you in a number ways-your personal search for a home, with future investments and budgeting, and in saving for your children's education.

Why Briercrest?

1) Well-rounded education

At Briercrest, we're not just giving you the opportunity to learn business skills. We're offering you a full undergraduate education that includes strong, biblically-rooted teaching on morality and ethics, sound biblical interpretation skills, Christian theology, and current Christian ministry practices.

Your Briercrest degree will also help establish you as a man or womanof integrity-a very important quality for employers.

You'll take 36 hours of arts and science courses-something you won't get in a two-year business program or a Bachelor of Commerce.

An arts and science education will equip you with the following competencies that will help you succeed in the business world:

• clear communication
• critical, precise thinking
• imaginative approaches to problem-solving
• adaptability
• creativity
• continuous learning
• productive relationships with others

2) Practical experience

During your time in the business program at Briercrest, you'll spend a minimum of 168 hours in the workplace gaining practical experience in your area of specialization. You'll work side-by-side with Christian businesspeople and learn how to use your gifts and knowledge you've obtained here.

3) Theory meets practicality

In your fourth year, you'll take specialized business classes designed to help you apply what you know and believe to real-life scenarios from the business world. You'll examine case studies, business literature, and many other sources of information that will teach you about problem-solving, human relations, and business ethics.

4) Six years' worth of degrees in four

When you complete your year of study at SIAST, you'll get a business diploma in accounting, administration, financial services, human resource management, or marketing. When you graduate from Briercrest College and Seminary, you'll receive a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. Essentially, you're getting six years' worth of degrees in four years.

Our SIAST Affiliation

In order to provide you with a balance of theoretical and practical learning, Briercrest College and Seminary has partnered with the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Saskatchewan's provincially-chartered and accredited technical institute. You'll spend one of your four years there specializing in either accounting, administration, financial services, human resource management, or marketing.

SIAST is the primary public educational institution for both skills training and technical education. It is also internationally
recognized, and it has partnered with various businesses and industries in order to match its curriculum with employment needs in the workplace, providing students with great networking opportunities.

SIAST has a graduate placement rate that is consistently above 90 percent, and it is only 20 minutes away from the Briercrest campus.

Graduation Requirements

The BA Business Administration is a 127 credit hour degree program in which students spend 3 years studying at Briercrest and 1 year at SIAST (Palliser campus). This degree requires the completion of 61 credit hours of major requirements. The BA Business Administration requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of 300+ course work within the context of a 127 credit hour degree.

Students will complete the four-year BA degree Concurrent Degree Core Curriculum, as well as 4 semesters of Service Learning. As part of their graduation requirements, all four-year BA students will also complete the Senior Portfolio (PRT 400).

Degree Requirements

(127 credit hours: minimum 24 at 300+ level)

Modified BA Core Curriculum 

(51 credit hours)

Required Courses 

(31 credit hours)

SIAST 

(30 credit hours)

Students choose one of the following concentrations:

Electives 

(24 credit hours)

* Fulfilled in Core: Scientific and Numerical Literacy

** Fulfilled in Core: Social Sciences

Stephen Robitaille

srobitaille@briercrest.ca
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Born in Moose Jaw, Steve grew up in an expat family and lived in Turkey and West Africa in his youth. This cosmopolitan global view of the world carried over into his work and ministry life, and Steve was blessed to work and live in England, France, the French and English-speaking West African countries, and Malta, Tunisia, and Morocco.

Steve has an extensive array of business experience. He has held several senior management positions or operated as the principal in sectors like financial services, the service industry, manufacturing, advertising/marketing and publishing, and non-profit corporations and charitable organizations.

Parallel to his business career, Steve has been involved in pastoral and youth/young adult ministry.

Along with extensive industry-related training over the years, Steve has wide-ranging undergrad educational experience including McGill University, Hebron Ministerial Institute, and SIAST.

Q: Why shouldn't I just take a two-year business diploma?
A: Because for only two more years of schooling, you'll get a Bachelor of Arts degree, which will not only increase your ability to perform well and get ahead in the workplace, but also give you credibility with potential employers. Canada's working population is more educated than ever before, and a bachelor's degree will help you be competitive in the workplace and earn a competitive salary. Furthermore, a diploma will often only teach you the skills you need in the workplace, and it takes far more than skills to succeed. You need to be able to think broadly and critically, solve problems, lead, and work effectively with people.

Q: Why not take a degree in commerce instead?
A: In today's marketplace, a well-rounded education is invaluable. Research has shown that the majority of presidents, CEOs, and business executives have a background in arts and science. Studying the humanities gives you problem-solving, critical thinking, and learning abilities that are essential to advancement in the business world. In most commerce programs, you'll receive about 100 credit hours of business classes and only a few arts and science courses. At Briercrest, we offer you the best of both worlds. In addition to your business training, you'll receive 36 credit hours of arts and science courses that will round out your education and give you an edge in the marketplace.

Q: I'm not very good at math. Can I still get a BA in business?
A: Yes! Degrees in marketing and human resource management have very few classes that deal directly with mathematics. Depending on your area of study, you'll have to take only two mandatory math classes.

Q: What happens after I graduate?
A: A Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration will equip you for further education, the workforce, or ministry. Briercrest business graduates have gone on to become accountants, business managers, entrepreneurs, account managers, auditors, administrators, and retail managers.

Q: What are classes like?
A: The business classes at Briercrest are very personal and interactive. With an average of 19 students in each class, you'll be able work closely and develop relationships with both your professors and your peers. To see and hear this for yourself, take a virtual tour of the campus or watch a podcast (coming soon) to see a business class occurring in real time!