Back to Student StoriesPreview Arizona’s Only Integrated Business Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Program
First Look: Introducing the state’s first undergraduate degree combining business and engineering
In fall of 2026, the University of Arizona will offer Arizona’s first and only undergraduate Integrated Business Engineering degree program. The new Bachelor of Science in IBE combines the expertise of our world-class faculty from the College of Engineering and Eller College of Management – both laser-focused on preparing workforce-ready graduates – and will provide students like you with the opportunity to develop a technical engineering mindset along with strong business acumen.
IBE Program Director Dr. Michael Kwinn shares a preview of this exciting new interdisciplinary opportunity.
Snapshot
Major: Integrated Business Engineering
Degree: Bachelor of Science
College: College of Engineering and Eller College of Management
Program Highlights:
- Only undergraduate program of its kind in Arizona
- Develops an engineering mindset along with strong business, leadership, and entrepreneurial capabilities
- Available beginning fall 2026
About Integrated Business Engineering
“As things get faster and technology advances, it’s pulling disciplines together,” said Dr. Kwinn. “Now, we need to have engineers understand business and business experts understand engineering.”
The new Integrated Business Engineering undergraduate program unites the expertise of these two critical fields, engineering and business, preparing you to become a vital contributor in global tech industries looking for leaders with knowledge in both technical concept design and business vision. Additionally, a BS in IBE can prepare you for your own unique entrepreneurial venture.
Expert faculty from the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering and Eller College of Management worked hard to bring together a variety of engineering programs with top-ranked business, entrepreneurship, and finance offerings for this new degree offering.
“This is a true joint effort,” emphasized Dr. Kwinn, who was excited to work with Larry Head, PhD Professor of Systems and Industrial Engineering and Director of the Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program, and Mark Peterson, PhD, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Eller College of Management.
Together, they’ve set the goal for IBE programming to offer a fairly even split of courses in engineering and foundational business studies.
“The program will offer approximately 40% engineering courses, 40% business courses, and 20% project-based classes that combine both,” said Dr. Kwinn.
In addition, as an IBE student, you’ll hear from speakers from a broad range of business and engineering communities and participate in hands-on learning opportunities, solidly preparing you for current careers with authentic insights and practice in real-world problem-solving.
View an IBE sample coursework plan.
Hands-on Learning Opportunities
Dr. Kwinn explained that a first-year project within the IBE degree program might involve learning about system design and business plans, finishing with building a product and creating a business plan to go along with it.
Sophomore projects could involve developing a technical solution for an engineering customer’s specific problem one semester, and working with a not-for-profit organization second semester.
Your senior year will include a year-long capstone project developing an advanced prototype and creating a working business plan.
“In some cases this could turn into the student’s own business,” added Dr. Kwinn.
Potential Career Outcomes
Dr. Kwinn said the skills acquired through the new IBE degree program, from engineering design to foundational business skills like presentation, leadership, and ethics, can be valuable to any industry, translating to jobs in a wide variety of fields, from finance and banking to aerospace engineering and automaking.
He suggested grads might work for companies including:
- GM
- Caterpillar Inc.
- Eli Lilly
- PepsiCo
- Microsoft
- JP Morgan Chase
- And more
“It’s just so diverse where we anticipate they’ll be hired and what they’ll be doing,” Dr. Kwinn added.
Interested?
Applications for fall 2026 are being accepted at https://www.engineering.arizona.edu/majors/ibe