If you think Bentley University is just a factory for future accountants wearing starched collars, you’re about ten years behind the curve. Sure, the Waltham campus is still a powerhouse for Wall Street recruitment—LinkedIn literally ranked them #1 in the country for financial services job placement in 2025—but the actual vibe of the majors at Bentley University has shifted into something much more tech-heavy and, honestly, kinda experimental.
The school has leaned hard into the "business plus" model. It’s not just about learning how to balance a ledger anymore. It's about how to use Artificial Intelligence to automate that ledger, or how to design a user interface that makes people actually want to use a banking app. They’ve basically built a curriculum that assumes the traditional business world is being eaten by software.
The Big Heavy Hitters (and the New Kids)
Most people looking at Bentley naturally gravitate toward Finance or Accounting. It’s their bread and butter. In 2023 alone, they awarded over 250 degrees in Finance. But if you look closer at the 2026 course catalog, the "standout" programs are starting to look a lot different.
Take the Artificial Intelligence for Innovation major. This isn't just a computer science degree with a business sticker slapped on it. It’s designed for the person who wants to sit in the C-suite and understand how to deploy LLMs (Large Language Models) across a global supply chain. Then there’s FinTech. If you want to mess around with blockchain applications or decentralized finance (DeFi), that’s where you end up. They’re even teaching students how to use Natural Language Processing to analyze sentiment in financial news—basically using code to predict if the market is going to freak out.
✨ Don't miss: USAA Identity Verification Online: What Most People Get Wrong
A Mix of Modern Choices
- Data Analytics: This is becoming one of the most popular pivots. You’re learning R, Python, and SQL, but you're doing it through the lens of solving a "wicked problem" like social media's impact on mental health.
- Creative Industries: Honestly, this is one of the coolest sleepers. It's for people who want to work in music industry promotion, game management, or sports PR. It combines design thinking with the hard-nosed business logic Bentley is known for.
- Experience Design (XD): Think of this as the "Human Factors" major for the modern age. It focuses on how humans interact with brands and digital products.
- Corporate Finance and Accounting (CFA): This remains the gold standard for anyone aiming for the "Big Four" accounting firms. It’s intense. It’s math-heavy. And the 99% placement rate for the class of 2024 tells you exactly why people still flock to it.
The "Falcon Discovery" Loophole
One thing people often miss when researching majors at Bentley University is the new "Falcon Discovery Process." Every freshman starts with a seminar where you don't even talk about your major. You talk about a "wicked problem"—usually something messy like climate change or data privacy.
This isn't just filler. Bentley changed its core curriculum recently to be more "transfer-friendly" and flexible. They swapped out the rigid old calculus requirements for more varied math options that actually matter for your specific field. If you’re a Marketing major, you might focus more on the statistics of consumer behavior than solving derivatives.
They also have this thing called the Business Administration major, which is basically a "plus-one." You can major in something like Sustainability Science or International Affairs and then add the Business Administration major with just a few extra classes. It’s a way to get the liberal arts soul with a business armor.
Why the Tech Integration Matters
You can’t hide from the tech at Bentley. Whether you're in Management or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (which, yes, they offer as a B.S. or B.A.), you're going to touch a computer lab. The CIS (Computer Information Systems) major is a great example of this. It’s tucked inside a business school, which means you aren't just learning how to code in a vacuum; you're learning how to code for a business environment.
The Reality of Career Services
The Pulsifer Career Development Center is kind of a legend. They’ve been ranked #1 in the country by Princeton Review for three years straight as of 2026. This matters because your major at Bentley is essentially a four-year networking event.
From day one, you’re in a "Career Design" seminar. They don't wait until you're a senior to ask what you want to do. By the time you’re looking at your junior year internship, you’ve likely already been through three mock interviews and a resume overhaul. This is why the median starting salary for recent grads hit $72,000. It's not just the name on the degree; it's the aggressive preparation that happens behind the scenes of the major.
Beyond the Numbers: The "LSM"
If you want to stand out, you look into the Liberal Studies Major (LSM). This is a second, optional major that you can complete without adding extra courses. You basically group your electives around a theme like "Health and Industry" or "Global Perspectives."
It’s a smart move. When you’re interviewing at a firm like Deloitte or PwC, being a Finance major is common. Being a Finance major with an LSM in "Ethics and Social Responsibility" gives you something to actually talk about. It shows you aren't just a spreadsheet robot.
Making the Final Call
Choosing between the majors at Bentley University usually comes down to how much you want to lean into the quantitative side of things.
If you're math-averse, you might look at Marketing or Management with a concentration in Human Resources. But even then, you’re going to take Business Statistics. You’re going to take Microeconomics. Bentley is, at its core, a school of business, even when you're studying Film and Media.
Actionable Next Steps for Prospected Students
- Check the "Major Requirements" PDFs: Don't just read the blurbs. Go to the Bentley Registrar site and look at the actual course lists for something like Experience Design. See if those classes actually sound interesting to you.
- Audit the Pulsifer Stats: Look at which companies are hiring from specific majors. If you want to work for a tech giant, look at the placement rates for Data Analytics versus Computer Information Systems.
- Consider the "Double Major" early: Because of the way the new core curriculum is structured, it’s easier than ever to double major. Map out a "Business Administration" add-on to a liberal arts degree if you want the best of both worlds.
- Visit the Labs: If you can, check out the Film and Media Studies Lab or the Trading Room. Seeing the tech in person usually clears up whether you can see yourself spending four years there.
At the end of the day, Bentley isn't looking for people who just want a degree. They’re looking for people who want to "lead innovation in a digital finance" or "solve business problems with IT." If that sounds like you, the specific major you pick is just the first step in a very well-oiled machine.