Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in International Business

Through the study of International Business, one develops an understanding of the global environment and how businesses must adapt to that environment if they are to succeed. The International Business major will provide students with the foundations of that basic understanding. Courses will stress general environmental issues; (e.g., developments in training relationships between nations) and will also focus on specific functional area issues; (e.g., determining which foreign markets an organization should enter).

Management/Marketing Track:

Students will explore ways in which the functional disciplines of marketing and management are affected by the international business environment.

Required Courses:

• FIN 321 - International Business Finance
  • Commercial, investment, and merchant banking. Includes theory and practical applications. Topics include international lending, Euromarkets, global gap management, Forex activities, and global risk management. Pre: BUS 314.
• MKT 381 - Multinational Marketing
  • Principles and topics related to international marketing, with emphasis on strategic planning and applications. Pre: BUS 312 or consent.
• MGT 343 - Comparative Management Systems: United States and Japan
  • Similarities and differences in managers, in process of management, and in relevant environmental constraints iin Japan and the United States. Pre: BUS 315.
    or
• MGT 342 - Mutlinational Business Management
  • Introduction to the unique problems and challenges in managing mutlinational business enterprises. Systems approach to the management process in such multinational firms stressed. Pre: BUS 315.

Electives:

• MGT 342 - Mutlinational Business Management
  • Introduction to the unique problems and challenges in managing mutlinational business enterprises. Systems approach to the management process in such multinational firms stressed. Pre: BUS 315.
• ASAN 312 - Contemporary Asian Civilizations
  • Multidisciplinary examinations of problems and issues affectinb peoples and institutions of contemporary Asia: ethnic, language, religous, and cultural differences; populations growth; public health; economic development; political and social change; environmental problems; etc. Pre ASAN 201 and ASAN 202 or consent.
• POLS 315 - Global Politics/International Relations
  • Introduction to global politics with emphasis on concepts and theories developed from an international relations perspective. Pre: any 100 level POLS course or consent.
• BLAW 360 - International Business Law
  • Overview of international and national law as it applies to international trade. Readings and case studies focus on the legal environment of selected areas in the Asia Pacific region and strategies for doing business overseas. Pre: BLAW 200.
• MGT 460 - Asia Pacific Business Systems
  • Business systems in Asia Pacific countries including Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong in terms of particular organization strategies and how they relate to the industrial trade policies. Pre: BBA core excluding BUS 345, or consent.

Students should first take MKT 381 and FIN 321. Then students should take MGT 343, and two major electives which focus on international issues of specific interest to marketing/management professionals.

Because of its relatively unstructured and highly interdisciplinary nature, the IB major does not provide undergraduate students with sufficient knowledge to enable them to "practice" international business upon graduation. That is, in the real world, it is rare that companies will hire IB majors immediately after graduation for "international jobs" or overseas positions. The trend is to first place IB graduates in domestic positions with international responsibilities.

As a result, IB major students must select a double major in a specific functional area such as marketing or finance. This allows them to reach a sufficient level of understanding in a functional area and apply for entry level positions in the functional areas.

IB majors may also proceed to graduate school to pursue a degree in or related to international business. This allows students to continue developing functional area expertise while honing their knowledge of international business, making them more employable in the IB field.

Finally, it is recommended that students continue to develop their language study. Developing proficiency in a foreign language will greatly increase the likelihood of an overseas position while demonstrating commitment to the field of IB.