About the Retail Management Bachelor’s Program
The mission of the retail management program is to prepare students to make a contribution to the retail industry and to society as a whole through quality education, research, and service. By focusing on both the role of diverse and global consumers and the complex infrastructure of retailing goods and services, faculty members maintain and expand a partnership between the retail industry and academics. Retail management courses emphasize integration of theory, e-commerce, category management, leadership, industry application, and career planning strategy (includes study in technology, communication, marketing, management, accounting and economics). An internship program, industry-sponsored course projects and a strong alumni base afford students the opportunity to interface with a dynamic combination of retail executives and organizations throughout their academic study.
The curriculum emphasizes work-related experiences, internship opportunities and career placement. A 10-week, 300- to 400-hour supervised internship in the retail industry is required of each student with a retail management major. The supervised internship experience is planned jointly by the faculty and student. RTL 3389 Professional Practices in Retailing , is required during the spring semester prior to enrollment in RTL 3390 Internship in Retailing . An earned grade of “C” or better is required in all RTL core and elective courses, as well as any course accepted as a substitution for RTL core or elective courses.
Concentrations in Retail Management. The retail management program offers concentrations in (1) store management and (2) corporate/research to better meet the needs of students and the retail community by focusing on the specific skills needed at the store level, operations or corporate level. Students may choose a single concentration or complete both concentrations. Students may choose six hours from the following courses for the store management concentration: RTL 1380 , RTL 3345 , RTL 3375 or RTL 3380 , and RTL 4340 . The requirements for the corporate/research concentration are a 2.8 GPA and RTL 3380 , RTL 4320 , and RTL 4330 .
Communication Literacy (CL) Plan. Students attending Texas Tech University for the first time in the Fall 2017 term or later will complete a Communication Literacy requirement in their program(s) of study.
Texas Tech University’s transition from the Writing Intensive requirement to the Communication Literacy requirement signals the university’s awareness that in addition to the fundamental role that writing plays in enabling students to explore, develop, focus, and organize a message, other types of communication must also be taught as appropriate for a student’s discipline. Throughout each program of study, then, students must be given ample opportunity to develop their skills in forms of communication central to that program.
In Retail Management it is vital that graduates are able to communicate to a vast array of stakeholders in various methods. The communication literacy plan includes communication in the following forms: verbal, written, analytical and interpersonal interaction. Many other courses also provide many of the communication styles; however, the CL courses are a good representation of the methods. Since each is distinctive, there is no specific sequencing, unless a prerequisite is in place. Communication literacy courses for this B.S. degree are RTL 3389 (interpersonal interaction), RTL 3390 (analytical), RTL 4330 (written – online course), RTL 4335 (written), and RTL 4340 (written – online course).
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