College of Business

Tennessee State University’s College of Business was the first business school in Nashville to earn dual accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the most prestigious accrediting body for business schools. The College of Business earned its initial accreditation from AACSB in 1994. Such achievement resulted in Tennessee State University becoming the first university in Nashville and the first public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the country to gain dual accreditation at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

• The College of Business has approximately 900 students and is also home to nationally recognized outreach programs including its Nashville Business Incubation Center, Tennessee Small Business Development Center, Office of Business and Economic Research, and Office of International Business Programs.

• The university’s new Executive MBA program is helping to make Nashville even more competitive when it comes to business leadership. The 12-month program, which starts in the fall, is delivered in a hybrid format consisting of both in-person and online course offerings. Program participants also have the opportunity to spend 10 days studying outside the United States to broaden their understanding of global leadership.

• The College of Business offers Bachelor of Business Administration programs to undergraduates in Accounting, Business Administration, Business Information Systems, and Economics and Finance. Concentrations are available in Supply Chain Management, Marketing, Management, Human Resource Management, Hospitality, Real Estate and Urban Development, Business Information Systems—Industry, and e-Business Technology. Additionally, the College offers minors in General Business, Entrepreneurship, and International Business. At the graduate level, the Master of Business Administration is offered with concentrations in Accounting, Management of Information Systems, Healthcare Economics and Management, and Supply Chain Management.

• Recently, 24 students participated in study abroad programs that included China, Italy, and the great European capitals. Additional efforts in international education include a memorandum of understanding with Tianjin University in China and Meliksah University in Turkey; both initiatives are aimed at increasing enrollment in the College’s MBA program.

• Accreditation and assurance of learning remain a top priority as the College continues with strategies and processes to gain separate accreditation in Accounting from AACSB International.

• The College successfully recruited two distinguished scholars to hold the Frist Chair of Excellence in Business with a focus in Accounting and the newly endowed Chair of Excellence in Banking and Financial Services. The College is continuing its efforts to raise funds for a third Chair of Excellence in Supply Chain Management.

• The College of Business has established alliances with a long list of community organizations that provide resources earmarked for internships and scholarships, business industry needs assessments, and recommendations for continuous curriculum improvements. The COB community partners include: Corning, Dell, Boeing, HCA, Lemark, Ernst & Young, Asurion, Regions Bank, KraftCPAs, Nissan, PricewaterhouseCoopers, just to name a few.

• The Financial Trading Room is a state of the art facility designed to give students hands-on training and knowledge regarding the stock market and trading.