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Major · Business, Management & Marketing

A catchall business major where curriculum varies by school

CIP 52.9999 covers business programs that don’t fit the standard categories like Accounting, Finance, or Marketing. Two students with this major on their transcript may have studied wildly different subjects, so the program description matters far more than the title.

Schools offering
113
Annual completions
3,164
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$69k

About this major

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other (CIP 52.9999) is the broadest catchall in the federal classification of business majors. The official definition reads simply: any instructional program in business, management, marketing and related support services not listed above. In other words, it’s where institutions place specialized business programs that don’t fit named CIPs like Accounting (52.03), Finance (52.08), Marketing (52.14), Management (52.02), or Human Resources (52.10).

Across the United States, 113 institutions report completions under this code, totaling about 3,164 graduates per year. The concentration is remarkable: Arizona State University’s two campuses alone account for nearly 1,870 of those, while FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising contributes 200 in fashion merchandising and SUNY Maritime College adds 57 in maritime business. Two students with the same major code from different schools may have studied subjects with little in common.

Reported five-year median earnings sit at $68,800, with a clear gap between bachelor’s ($70,582) and associate’s ($51,870) completers. Those numbers are healthy for a business credential, but they aggregate dozens of distinct programs, so they should be treated as a rough ceiling rather than a forecast for any specific path.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

No federal crosswalk data available for this major yet.

Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$69k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$52k

Bachelor's

$71k

Who this major is for

This major fits students who already know the specialized program they want and have confirmed the school offers it under this code — fashion merchandising at FIDM, sports business at ASU, maritime business at SUNY Maritime. The green flag is intent: you chose the school for a specific concentration, you’ve read the curriculum, and you’re comfortable explaining what your degree means to employers who won’t recognize the CIP label. A second green flag is institutional reputation. ASU, NYU, Bentley, Penn State, and Howard show up in the top ten; a degree from any of these carries weight beyond the major name.

The red flags are the inverse. If you picked this major because it sounded broad and flexible, reconsider — Business Administration, General (CIP 52.0201) gives you the same flexibility with clearer hiring signal and tens of thousands of peer graduates each year. If you can’t describe in one sentence what your specific program teaches, employers won’t be able to either. And if you’re hoping the major itself opens doors, remember the program name on your diploma — not the federal code — is what employers read.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 1,251 1,251
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 619 619
FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Los Angeles, CA 0 200 200
New York University New York, NY 0 121 121
Bentley University Waltham, MA 0 104 104
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 66 66
SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck, NY 0 57 57
Howard University Washington, DC 0 46 46
Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO 0 41 41
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 0 40 40
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other

6,667 completions/yr

Child Care and Support Services Management

1,552 completions/yr

Human Resources Management and Services, Other

289 completions/yr

Accounting and Related Services, Other

151 completions/yr

Business Operations Support and Secretarial Services, Other

137 completions/yr

Architecture and Related Services, Other

102 completions/yr

Agricultural Business and Management, Other

100 completions/yr

Management Information Systems and Services, Other

93 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

How does this compare to Business Administration, General?
Business Administration, General (CIP 52.0201) is the canonical broad business degree, with tens of thousands of completions each year and a clear curriculum: accounting, finance, management, marketing, operations. The ‘Other’ code (52.9999) is the residual bucket where roughly 3,164 students completed a specialized program — sports business, family business, fashion merchandising, e-commerce — that didn’t fit a named CIP. If your goal is recognizable hiring signal, the General degree wins. If your goal is a specific niche, the Other code may be the only option, but the program name on the diploma will need explaining.
What does this major actually cover?
It depends entirely on the school. The CIP definition is ‘any instructional program in business, management, marketing and related support services not listed above’ — meaning the federal classification literally describes it as a leftovers bucket. At Arizona State (which alone accounts for about 1,870 of the 3,164 annual completions across both campuses) it covers one set of programs; at FIDM-Fashion Institute it’s fashion merchandising; at SUNY Maritime it’s marine transportation business. Read the catalog before treating any two listings as equivalent.
What kinds of jobs do graduates get?
Because the curriculum varies, so do destinations. Graduates land in operations roles, marketing coordinators, sales associates, account managers, and entry-level analyst seats — the same broad business pipeline that General Business and Marketing majors enter. Reported five-year median earnings sit around $68,800, with a bachelor’s premium over the associate’s ($70,582 vs. $51,870). Job titles like ‘manager’ or ‘director’ usually require several years of experience first.
Is the bachelor’s worth more than the associate’s?
The data shows about an $18,700 annual gap between the bachelor’s ($70,582) and associate’s ($51,870) at the five-year mark for completers in this CIP. That’s a meaningful spread, but it doesn’t account for tuition, debt, or two extra years of foregone earnings. Run the math against your specific school’s net price before assuming the bachelor’s pays back automatically.
Why does this CIP code even exist?
The federal CIP system creates a ‘99’ residual code in every family so institutions can classify programs that don’t map to a named sub-discipline. Schools use it for emerging fields (e-commerce, sustainability management, sports administration), highly specialized concentrations, or interdisciplinary business programs. It’s a real degree, but the code itself tells a hiring manager almost nothing — your transcript and program description carry the load.
Will employers recognize this major?
Most won’t recognize ‘Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other’ as a phrase, because it’s a federal classification, not a program name. What employers see on your resume is whatever your school actually called the program — ‘B.S. in Sports Business,’ ‘B.S. in Fashion Merchandising,’ ‘B.A. in Family Enterprise.’ That program name is what you’re selling, so make sure it reads clearly and aligns with the roles you want.