Terry College of Business

The Terry MBA is offered as a full time degree on campus in Athens, as a part time degree or Executive MBA in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, and a fully online MBA option was added in 2023. All of the college's programs are accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

"Next to farming, more men enter business than any other occupation; yet there is not an institution [in the] South that offers a course for such students." Joseph Stewart on the need of business education at the University of Georgia in his Annual Report to Chancellor Walter B. Hill (1904)

The Terry College was founded as the "School of Commerce" in 1912 by the state's Board of Regents. The early years of the school were "fragile" as the program struggled to acquire faculty and funding to serve the several students who had declared their intention to pursue the new Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree.

In Athens, the Terry College offers an undergraduate program, four master's degrees (the Full Time MBA, the Master of Accountancy, the Master of Marketing Research, and the Master of Science in Business Analytics), and eight doctoral degree tracks. It offers two online degrees: an MBA and a Master of Business and Technology degree. The Terry College also offers Executive MBA and Professional MBA programs at the Terry Executive Education Center in Atlanta.

The Terry College offers undergraduate majors in accounting, economics, finance, management, management information systems, marketing, real estate, risk management/insurance, and a co major in international business. All UGA students who plan to pursue a bachelor's degree in business are initially admitted to the Terry College as intended business majors. Students can apply to a Terry major once they meet all application eligibility requirements, typically during their second year at UGA. Undergraduates can supplement their degree program with one or more certificates, which are proof of skills development offered in eight areas of specialization: actuarial science, entrepreneurship, FinTech, legal studies, music business, personal and organizational leadership, sustainability, and workforce diversity. There is also an academic minor in business available to UGA undergraduates.

The Terry Full Time MBA is a highly selective program taught on the Athens campus, with staff, team rooms, and classrooms headquartered in Correll Hall. The curriculum is delivered in four semesters. MBA students are encouraged to complete an internship during the summer semester between their first and second year. The MBA Career Management Center assists with internships, job placement, career coaching, and networking events. The first year core curriculum provides a solid foundation of management principles and business practices. Students focus their second year curriculum on a choice of nine market driven specializations and three additional areas of focus. A total of 61 credit hours are required for graduation, including 1 credit for community service.

In addition to the full time program in Athens, the Terry College has three MBA formats designed for working professionals — people who plan to work full time as they pursue their MBA degrees part time. Terry's Executive MBA is geared toward mid to senior level managers with a minimum of seven years of work experience. Instruction is delivered 50% remotely and 50% in person on weekends in Atlanta, and the program is completed in 18 months. Terry's Professional MBA is designed for early to mid career professionals. PMBA class schedules are offered on either weekday evenings or Saturday only in Atlanta. Terry's PMBA program can be completed in 17, 20, or 23 months. Terry's Online MBA is taught 100% virtually and asynchronously. The OMBA curriculum is very similar to the PMBA program. Terry’s OMBA also can be completed in 17, 20, or 23 months.

The Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA) in the Terry College of Business was established in 2001. ILA provides students with self assessments, coaching/mentoring, action learning and feedback focused on the development of greater emotional competence. Two undergraduate leadership programs form the centerpiece of ILA programming: the Leonard Leadership Scholars Program (for Terry College majors) and the Leadership Fellows Program (for students in any UGA major). Completion of either program earns the student a certificate in Personal and Organizational Leadership. ILA hosts the Terry Leadership Speaker Series, which brings well known leaders from a variety of organizations to the Terry College of Business. In these student oriented forums, leaders are asked to discuss their leadership styles and experiences.

The Music Business Certificate Program was launched in January 2006 as a response to the growing music and entertainment industry in the state of Georgia. In starting the program, former director Bruce Burch often said Atlanta is now recognized as the "fourth music center" in the country behind New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, and is growing rapidly as a hotbed for music and film production. Since August 2010, the program has been under the leadership of Athens based musician and producer/engineer David Barbe. Students can earn an interdisciplinary certificate in music business by receiving a hands on education about subjects like music and business fundamentals, copyright issues, creative content, artist management and production and technology. Music and entertainment industry executives are brought in from across the country to speak to classes, providing not only "real world" perspective, but also networking opportunities. Only 100 students are annually enrolled in the program.

The Actuarial Science Certificate Program is designed to prepare students for an actuarial career. Actuaries apply mathematical models to assess the financial cost of uncertainty. There is a high demand for actuaries across all industries. This certificate program is open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled at UGA.

This certificate program prepares students for the complex legal environment of business and helps them also to gauge their interest in pursuing a law degree. To obtain the certificate students must complete 15 course hours with a minimum grade of C (2.00) in those courses. A number of pre requisite courses are necessary before this program may be undertaken.

Terry Entrepreneurship is housed in the department of MIS and focuses on the four key tasks of entrepreneurship: opportunity identification, resource acquisition and deployment, goal setting and strategy formulation, and implementation. This highly active concentration hosts a multitude of seminars and events on and off the UGA campus, including "UGA's Next Top Entrepreneur Competition" and "UGA Startups." UGA's Next Top Entrepreneur was dubbed the "American Idol" of business plan competitions. Both a competition and a seminar series lasting the full academic year, it is open to all UGA students. Competitors participate in a series of interactive seminars and individual coaching sessions focused on starting a business. The first year of competition (2008–09) resulted in eight businesses being launched, $212,000 of initial revenue, and procurement of angel funding. The UGA Startups series was designed for entrepreneurs to have access to some of the most seasoned entrepreneurs in the Southeast. Topics include innovation, funding, opportunity analysis, business communications, purchasing businesses, and franchising. UGA Startups events are held at the Terry Executive Education Center.

Terry Executive Programs offer business professionals value added education with certification and development programs in areas such as financial planning certification, human resources leadership, project management, and business analysis.

Dedicated in December 1990, the Selig Center improves upon its predecessor, the Division of Research, which was established in the late 1940s. Through its range of projects — major economic impact studies, economic forecasts, publications, information services, and data products — the center's efforts help to guide business decisions and public policy directions. In doing so, the Selig Center has become the Terry College of Business's most visible public service unit.

Each year the Terry College hosts the Georgia Economic Outlook series in 12 cities throughout the state. The series provides more than 3,000 business and government leaders the foundation to make informed decisions based on economic data from the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

The Terry College of Business was located on the historic North Campus of the University of Georgia in three buildings: Brooks Hall, Sanford Hall, and Caldwell Hall. Brooks Hall, designed by prominent architect Neel Reid, was built in 1928. It was known as the Commerce Journalism Building before being renamed in 1974 for Robert Preston Brooks, the college's first dean. Funded through private gifts and dedicated in 1997, Sanford Hall was added. Caldwell Hall was built in 1981. The 306,000 square foot six building campus provides needed additional adaptable space and technology for teaching and teamwork. Phase I, known as Correll Hall, opened for classes in Fall 2015. It houses classrooms for graduate programs, a graduate commons, a business innovation lab, multiple project team rooms, interview suites, the dean's office, and a café. Phase II was completed in 2017 and features two large auditoriums, 12 classrooms, a trading room, a behavioral lab, and an undergraduate commons with a south facing veranda. Phase III was completed in 2019 and comprised the last two buildings in the Terry Business Learning Community housing 10 classrooms, staff offices, and conference rooms. Beyond the Community is Studio 225, on West Broad Street in downtown Athens, that is home to the Entrepreneurship Program. The center is part of the university's Innovation District.

The Terry College of Business has two satellite campuses located in Griffin and Atlanta, Georgia. The Terry College's "home away from home" in Atlanta is the Terry Executive Education Center, located in the Buckhead area. The Executive and Professional MBA programs are offered at the center in addition to non degree programs such as the executive program for Financial Planning Certification. The center also acts as a focal point and meeting place for Terry students, alumni, faculty, and staff to interact with Atlanta's business community. Designed and constructed with an eye toward maximizing each student's educational experience, the center features tiered executive classrooms, conference rooms, break out meeting spaces and interview suites. Also included is office space for faculty and staff. UGA's Griffin campus, located 40 mile (64 km) south of Atlanta, was established as the Georgia Experiment Station in 1888 and is the site of Terry's newest Bachelor of Business Administration program.