The Gary J. Sbona Honors Program in the department of Organization & Management is open to undergraduate students by invitation only and offers those with an exceptional record of achievement a extraordinary learning opportunity. The core of the program is a two-course sequence that is normally taken in the student’s final year in the B.S.B.A. program.

Curriculum

The department of Organization & Management's Honors curriculum offers a unique learning experience that combines rigor with practical experience. You will have the opportunity to learn in small classes that enable faculty to provide a more personalized learning environment, and a project that will challenge you to think deeply and broadly about a real business problem. The Organization & Management Honors curriculum comprises two courses: a theory seminar (Bus 169A) and a practicum (Bus 169B).

The program is demanding and will challenge you in ways that you will not have been challenged before. The experience will help you grow into more flexible and rigorous thinkers, and provide valuable experience dealing with real business problems, both of which are highly valued by employers. It is designed for students with a concentration in Management or International Business, and the two courses in the program are approved as a substitute for management or IB electives. However, the program is also available to students concentrating in Human Resources or Entrepreneurship, who may be able to apply one (or both) courses towards graduationg requirements.

Students in good standing in the Sbona Honors Program will also be considered favorably in applying for the Thompson Global Internship Program, a fully-paid overseas internship with Crown Worldwide Group, a Hong Kong-based multinational corporation founded by SJSU alumnus James Thompson. A total of six O&M students were accepted in the first two cohorts of the program.

Students who satisfactorily complete the two-semester sequence, complete a written honors paper and have a 3.5 GPA in upper division business courses will receive an honors degree, as designated on their diploma.

The O&M honors curriculum consists of the following classes, normally taken in sequence:

• Bus 169A - Honors Seminar (Fall): an graduate-level seminar class on the nature of organizations and their environment — designed to develop deep analytical thinking — which also fulfills the honors requirement of completing a scholarly paper.
• Bus 169B - Honors Practicum (Spring): a field project in which student teams work as consultants with a real company or non-profit organization to solve its specific problem.

Admissions

Department Requirements

In addition to the college-wide minimum honors admission requirements (GPA, coursework), each department has its own requirements. Prior to enrollment in the O&M honors program, applicants are expected to

1. have completed Bus 160 or Bus 161A; Bus 161B is recommended but not required;
2. have completed at least nine units of upper division courses in the College of Business; and
3. provide a reference from at least one O&M faculty member, sent directly to the department honors coordinator.

Students who have a promising application will be invited for an interview with the Sbona Honors faculty in the O&M department.

The admission of students who would not meet admission requirements until the end of the semester may be deferred until final semester grades become available. While students are expected to follow the recommended sequence of upper division courses in their concentration, exceptional students may be admitted contingent on concurrent enrollment in a prerequisite course.

Apply in Spring or Fall?

Except in unusual circumstances, students are expected to complete Bus 169A prior to enrolling in Bus 169B. Therefore, admission for O&M students to the Sbona Honors Program is normally in the fall semester.

For O&M students, applications for spring are normally accepted only for students graduating in the next two semesters, and the admissions criteria are usually more strict than for students entering the program in the proper sequence.

Most students are only eligible to apply to the program in April of their junior year.
In past years, otherwise qualified students have been turned down because they missed this key deadline.

If you are not sure whether (or when) you are eligible to apply for the Sbona Honors Program, feel free to contact one of the honors faculty.

Studying Abroad

We know that many O&M students (particularly International Business majors) may choose to study abroad for one or more semesters. Some of these students have been admitted to the honors program.

However, admissions to the Sbona Honors Program is based primarily on upper division B.S.B.A. courses completed at the SJSU College of Business, and the recommendation of an O&M faculty member. You may need to carefully schedule the courses you take before you leave SJSU — including requesting a recommendation before you leave — or plan for one semester of eligible courses after you return from study abroad.

Application Process

Deadlines for application are the same as the overall Sbona Honors Program:

• Prof. Anne Lawrence: home page, email
• Prof. Anu Basu: home page, email
• Prof. Simon Rodan: home page, email

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