The Gabelli School Integrated Business Core

There is no clearer reflection of the Gabelli School’s hands-on, integrated approach to business education than our core curriculum. This program provides a comprehensive grounding in multiple areas key to basic business acumen: accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management/strategy, and marketing. At the same time, it develops in our students the universal skills that every business leader must have to succeed: innovation, creative problem-solving, critical thinking, an ability to work in teams, excellent verbal and written communication, and the capacity to handle ambiguity and uncertainty. The core curriculum at Lincoln Center features a special global outlook, to reflect the Bachelor of Science in Global Business degree to which it leads.

The core begins in freshman year with The Ground Floor, a course that introduces students to all the major disciplines of business and then challenges them to draw upon this knowledge in proposing a brand-new business venture – something imaginative but practicable which meets a current need. The Ground Floor gets students to think entrepreneurially while working in small teams, developing their business writing and speaking skills, and becoming familiar with New York City through class assignments.

The Gabelli Freshman Enrichment Program is a year-long series of sessions focused on academic advising, developing the skills needed to succeed in college, and building an awareness of the proficiencies that are valued in the business world. For the Gabelli School Program at the Lincoln Center campus, Vin DeCola, SJ, MBA, Assistant Dean, Gabelli School of Business, will be your primary academic advisor. Your relationship with the dean will have some built-in structure, through mandatory class advising sessions, but will remain flexible and tailored to your individual needs, through optional individual academic consulting sessions. You also will find, throughout your Fordham career, opportunities to draw upon the resources of other staff and administrators at the Gabelli School, such as the dean for international programs and the staff of our Personal and Professional Development Center.

Your course schedule for your first semester will be set based on your personal academic needs and the core curricular requirements, making use of your previous academic record, your individual SAT (or ACT) scores, as well as the course preferences you indicate on the freshman registration survey. Some students are also asked to take an online placement exam in math. Instructions for completing the registration survey have been sent to your Fordham email account. Please complete the survey as soon as you receive the notification. If you did not receive the survey please contact Academic Records by sending an email to [email protected].

You will be notified later in the summer when your completed class schedule is available for viewing at my.fordham.edu. Please be patient. Please note that schedule adjustments are rare, but when there is a compelling reason, and variations are feasible, every effort will be made to work with you. Some further changes to your registration may be made during "Add/Drop Week" which starts on the first day of classes. However, such changes will only be considered if they are truly needed and approval for them is at the discretion of the assistant dean.  

To facilitate this, you'll learn to lean on our Career Exploration advisors, Prof. McCann (Finance) and Prof. O'Neil (Marketing and Digital Media & Technology). While Father Vin will shepherd you through Gabelli's academic experience, Professors McCann and O'Neil will help guide your professional development as you seek opportunities to test the waters, and your skills, interning for the world's top firms in the heart of Manhattan. With their guidance and support, you will benefit from the targeted career guidance provided to you exclusively as students in the Gabelli School of Business. From career fairs to mock interviews and one-on-one coaching, we'll help you navigate the wealth of internship opportunities found both within Fordham's  Career Services database as well as others brought right to your doorstep or made available to you as you navigate our network of Fordham alumni. The opportunities are yours for the taking.

When you're ready to begin exploring career options, we'll be ready to nurture within you the right skills which will differentiate you and get you noticed. You will learn how to present yourself professionally and how to land interviews and impress your interviewers. The rest, as they say, will be up to you.