The Southwestern Adventist University Department of Business Administration is adding three emphases to its curriculum beginning January 2021: human resources management, digital marketing, and esports and gaming administration.  “The liberal arts preparation that Southwestern provides teaches students to think critically, strategize and operate independently,” Donna Berkner, Vice President for Academic Administration, shares. “These new emphasis areas were selected because they provide a strong and well-rounded knowledge base of business and business concepts that can increase a student’s skills to succeed.”
The human resources management emphasis is designed to prepare students to coordinate the administrative functions of an organization, hire and train employees, and handle disputes within a company. Students will learn and develop specific skills relating to human resources while also receiving a traditional business education.
With the digital marketing emphasis, traditional and digital marketing techniques will both be covered to ensure that students are equipped with the most in-demand skills upon graduation. Students will learn about social media and email marketing as well as digital marketing analytics. They will learn to apply marketing techniques in this digital age.
The esports and gaming administration emphasis will educate students about the nuances of the gaming industry. Students will learn about the process in which games are made, develop their skills in marketing strategies within the gaming industry and expand their knowledge of the elements that create a successful esports event or league.
Some of the newer emphasis areas include online media, criminal justice, and cybersecurity.
The online media emphasis, offered by the Department of Communication, is designed to prepare students who are interested in becoming social media managers, content media specialists or bloggers, etc. The goal is to prepare students for a variety of careers and to be adaptable to changes within the field.
The criminal justice emphasis, housed in the Department of History, is designed to prepare students for careers in probation, asset management, crime scene investigation, corporate security, corrections administration, federal protective services, corporate loss prevention, criminal investigation, law enforcement, corrections, or criminal justice administration.
Currently, a workforce shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals is growing. Due to this high demand, the Department of Computer Science has added a cybersecurity emphasis to its curriculum. SWAU’s proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex means that local hands-on internships will provide students with plenty of opportunities to hone skills. Students will also earn valuable cybersecurity certifications as part of this emphasis.
University President, Ken Shaw, shares that each of these degrees and emphasis areas are meeting today’s market needs with practical knowledge and experiences that will help our students be successful upon graduation. 
To learn more about these and the other degrees offered at Southwestern Adventist University, visit swau.edu/academics.