International Business

What it’s about:

The major prepares you to think globally and mange complexity in an international environment and in cultures other than your own. While learning basic business management techniques and practices, you study how business is conducted in and between nations and how it is affected by the financial systems, government policies, cultural differences, management styles, and other factors that apply.

What the study of this major is like:

The international business major provides you with a solid foundation in accounting, marketing, finance, and management. It includes courses that train you to analyze information about overseas businesses and that encourage you to think globally when making work-related decisions. Business environments very for country to country, and it is increasingly important for managers to understand the causes and consequences of the differences.

As a major, you begin with basic business courses and then advance to ones with an international focus. These courses may examine how moneyand capital (equipment and other goods) move within and between countries; how technology is transferred between nations: and what management skills are practiced abroad. You analyze the international economic scene, study competition and interdependence, and assess cultural distinctions among nations. You may learn how to market goods and services for the United States and to evaluate the strength of overseas investments. Because an understanding of politics and government is essential to the practice and international business, you should take electives in these areas.

Most programs require you to master a foreign language. Many international business majors gain experience by studying abroad for a semester, a summer, or even a year. Sometimes there are opportunities to visit foreign companies and meet with mangers working in U.S. companies.

Although some students think that the international business major is less difficult than other business majors, they soon discover it’s not the case. In this major, you are expected to take a variety of demanding courses, such as international marketing, international finance, international management, and international operations. The combination of international business and another major, such as finance or marketing, can be especially challenging.

When comparing programs at different colleges, you’ll find that some take an interdisciplinary approach, stressing a wide range of knowledge, with extensive offerings in the liberal arts as well as business; while others may emphasize specific areas of business, such as the ethical dilemmas you may encounter as you do international work.

Career options and trends:

Derivatives trader; investment banker* management consultant*; real estate developer; government employee; financial analyst*; brand manager; import/export manager.

Because almost all business has become global, qualified managers with an international perspective are increasingly in demand. In many quarters, in fact, graduates are assumed to have a global view of the world. Now more than ever, with the world a less certain place and with the growing volatility of the economy, business leaders who can operate effectively in a variety of cultural environments are needed.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors