The International Business Concentration
In addition to satisfying the B.S.B.A. degree requirements, the international business concentration student also must satisfy international knowledge and international experience requirements. A grade of C or better must be earned in each course used to meet international knowledge requirements.
International Knowledge Requirements
These requirements consist of international business knowledge and international cultural and social knowledge.
International Business Knowledge, five courses, including:
IBUS 381 International Business Environment
IBUS 411 International Business Strategy*
*In lieu of BUAD 497.
One course chosen from:
FIN 462 International Financial Management
or other international focused accounting or finance course approved by the associate dean for international business programs
One course chosen from:
MKT 325 International Marketing
MGMT 333 Cross Cultural Management
IBUS 390 International Business Issues
or other international focused management or marketing course approved by the associate dean for international business programs
One international economics course chosen from:
ECON 210 The Economics of the European Union
ECON 211 Economic Development in Asia, Africa and Latin America
ECON 215 International Monetary Economics
ECON 260 International Policy
ECON 310 International Trade and Finance
ECON 315 Advanced International Macroeconomics
or other international focused economics course approved by the associate dean for international business programs
Note: One course in international business knowledge from accounting, finance, marketing or management can apply to a second concentration.
International Cultural and Social Knowledge, two courses, including:
One approved course with an international focus from the humanities. A list of approved humanities courses is available on the international business website.
One approved course with an international focus from the social sciences. A list of approved social science courses is available on the international business website.
International Experience Requirements
The international experience requirements consist of cultural experiences and a work experience.
International Cultural Experience: Students concentrating in international business must complete two of three international cultural experiences:
Successfully complete an approved university-level program of study in a foreign country for at least one semester;
Demonstrate proficiency in a second language. This may be done by earning a grade of C or better in a 300 level language course or by earning a satisfactory score on an appropriate language proficiency examination. Students whose first language is not English typically meet the language proficiency requirement and should contact the associate dean for international business programs;
Live in another country for at least 12 continuous weeks other than study abroad experience.
International Work Experience: An international work experience is required for the international business concentration. This requirement may be met by completing an approved internship in the U.S. in an organization's international section, or by working in an organization located outside the U.S.
Notes: Subject to prior approval of the associate dean for international business programs, working abroad may satisfy both the international work experience requirement and one of the two international cultural experience requirements.
Spring 2016 - Issues in International Business: Falling BRICS?
The big story in international business for the last 20 years had been the emergence of what have been called the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries or Big Emerging Market countries into the global market economy. Some of these emerged from the very poor, less developed nation group (Brazil, India), some from the “Second World” of planned economies (Russia), some from both (China) – and one from political and economic isolation for ideological reasons (South Africa). As these countries grew through the 1990s and 2000s, they provided a massive increase in demand in world markets – almost half the world population lives in one of these countries or one of the inconveniently named (Mexico, Turkey, etc.) but equally notable emerging markets – and drove economic growth globally through various ups and downs in the industrial world. However, since the economic crash of 2008, all of these countries have struggled. Russia is turning to a nationalistic authoritarianism, Brazil is enmeshed in debt and corruption, India seems culturally incapable of responding to apparent opportunity, South Africa is retreating into crime, tribalism, corruption at the top, and a institutional resistance to offering benefits to the poor. Even China has seen its growth rate drop, its currency devalue from market pressures, its foreign exchange reserves fall, and most recently its equity markets implode.
The issue for the seminar is what has happened in and to these countries and how this has impacted international business. Are the problems internal or derived from external pressures? Can they be corrected? With or without fundamental institutional changes? What are the effects of this sudden reversal of fortune among all of the BRICS simultaneously on the world economy? How do they affect each other? The developed world? The less developed world? How are all these macro-economic, political, social, and institutional changes affecting the international strategies of global companies, as their markets dry up, their supply chains are disrupted, and their competitive positions across many countries are scrambled? You will be encouraged to focus on one of the BRICS or similar countries, describe how it “emerged” and what its current situation is, and analyze how its position in the world economy has changed. You will be expected to further address how recent changes at the national level have affected business development in and from these countries and impacted the opportunities for trade and investment by multinational firms from elsewhere.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval required.
At least junior standing; other prerequisites may be specified by instructor.
