International Business

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Division Chair: Michael Mamo

Faculty: Susan Arsht, Michael Mamo, Rob Patterson, Cid Seidelman

Program Goals

The major in International Business leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree emphasizes specialized skills and knowledge necessary for success in the global environment. This program prepares students for the complex requirements of international business: technical and functional competence, world languages, cultural awareness and sensitivity, familiarity with international institutions, and the conduct of global business. A major strength of the International Business program is the combination of general and international business coursework with intensive language and cultural studies.Students completing the bachelor degree in international business will:

  • Recognize the fundamental economic forces that shape a country’s stake in the global economic order; establish the implications for national and business policy of the international economy.
  • Evaluate the financial risks of doing business in a specific country.
  • Create an effective business plan for a new country entry.
  • Effectively communicate across different cultures.

 

Program Requirements

To fulfill the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in International Business, students must complete the courses outlined below. Students must maintain a minimum 2.3 GPA in business program coursework to be eligible for a Bachelor of Arts in International Business. Students are also required to complete the ETS Major Field Test in Business before they are eligible to graduate (exceptions may be considered by program chair when relocation or other conditions make completion of the test impractical).

Students must meet the college-wide graduation requirements in addition to the International Business major:

  • WCore or Honors requirements
  • 30 upper division hours
  • 124 total hours

 

Undergraduate Business Core

Students in all business majors (with the exception of flight operations and some economics programs) complete a common undergraduate core designed to develop skills in all functional areas of business.

There are two components to the common undergraduate core: the lower-division requirements, and the upper-division requirements. Since many of the lower-division core requirements are prerequisites for upper-division core requirements, students should work to complete lower-division courses early in their programs. Upper-division core requirements should be taken when prerequisites are met. Prerequisites are noted in the table below.

REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTION CREDIT HOURS PREREQUISITES
I. Core Lower Division Courses 25  
ACCT 213 Financial Accounting (3)   BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
BUSI 101A Business Fundamentals I: Communicating (3)    
BUSI 101B Business Fundamentals I: Calculating (3)   MATH 101 or above
BUSI 200 Applied Business Math and Modeling (3)   BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
BUSI 225 Business Law and Ethics (3)   BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
ECON 253 Elementary Macroeconomics (3)   MATH 101 or above
ECON 263 Elementary Microeconomics (3)   MATH 101 or above
Choose one of the following courses:    
  • DATA 150 Data and Society (4)
  • DATA 220 Introduction to Statistics (4)
    
II. Core Upper Division Courses 23-25  
ACCT 313 Managerial Accounting (3)   ACCT 213
BUSI 300 Information Technology (3)   BUSI 200
BUSI 350 Business Fundamentals II: Integrative Core (2) The ETS exam is administered in BUSI 350. For ETS information, click here   ACCT 313; BUSI 225, 300; DATA 150 or 220; ECON 263; FINC 300; MGMT 305, MGMT 309; MKTG 300.
BUSI 440 or
BUSI 441 or
BUSI 442 		Business Fundamentals III: Internship (1-8)
Business Practicum (2-4)
Business Portfolio (2) 		  BUSI 350, junior or senior standing, and signed approval from the Practice/Exp Director.
  (Transfer students must complete a min. of 15 Westminster credit hours or obtain permission of instructor prior to completing an internship for credit.)
All business majors are required to complete BUSI 440 or BUSI 441 or BUSI 442** 		   
FINC 300 Business Finance (3)   BUSI 200 and ACCT 213
MGMT 305 Principles of Management (4)   BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
MGMT 309 Operations Management (3)   BUSI 200
MKTG 300 Principles of Marketing (3)   BUSI 102* or BUSI 101A and BUSI 101B
TOTAL REQUIRED HOURS 48-50  

* BUSI 102, Business Fundamentals I for Transfer Students, is only an option for transfer students or student majoring in arts administration; all other students should take BUSI 101A/BUSI 101B.
** International Business majors may alternatively complete ECON 485 Senior Seminar or BUSI 485 Senior Seminar.

 

Bachelor of Arts in International Business

REQUIREMENT DESCRIPTIONS CREDIT HOURS PREREQUISITES
I. Undergraduate Business Core 48-50  
Please refer to Undergraduate Business Core for requirements.    
II. Bachelor of Arts Requirements 12  
Students completing the Bachelor of Arts option (B.A.) must complete twelve credit hours of world language in one of the following ways:    
  • Eight credit hours of a single world language.
    
  • Four credit hours of a Westminster May term study/cultural international experience OR
  • Four credits of an international study tour transferred from an accredited college or university.
   
  • Twelve credit hours of a single world language.
    
See World Language Requirement for equivalencies, AP and CLEP credit policy.    
III. Upper Division Required International Courses 12  
ECON 319 International Economics (4) - offered spring   ECON 253, 263, and either DATA 150 or 220
FINC 435 International Finance (4) - offered fall   FINC 300
MGMT 400 Global Business Strategy - offered fall and spring (4)   MKTG 300 or MGMT 305
IV. Electives 3–4  
Choose 3–4 credit hours from the following:    
International Study Tour/Trip (4)    
Approved International Special Topics courses (3-4)    
Two 2-credit-hour International May Term courses (4)    
Or other upper division electives as approved by advisor    
TOTAL HOURS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MAJOR 75-78  

 

Recommended Plan of Study

Starting Business as a First-Year Student

  Fall Semester Spring Semester
Freshman Year WCORE 1
BUSI 101A (LC)
BUSI 101B (LC)
Language I 		WCORE 2
DATA 150 OR DATA 220
ECON 253
Language II
Sophomore Year WCORE 3
WCORE 4
BUSI 225
Language III 		BUSI 200
ECON 263
MGMT 305
MKTG 300
ACCT 213
Junior Year Semester Abroad
OR
Elective 		ACCT 313
MGMT 309
FINC 300
BUSI 300
ECON 319
Senior Year BUSI 350
WCORE 5
FINC 435
MGMT 400 		WCORE 6
BUSI 440, 441 or 442


Starting Business as a Sophomore Student

  Fall Semester Spring Semester
Freshman Year WCORE 1
WCORE 2
WCORE 3
Language I 		WCORE 4
WCORE 5
WCORE 6
Language II
Sophomore Year BUSI 101
ABUSI 101
BBUSI 225
ECON 253
Language III 		ACCT 213
BUSI 200
DATA 150 or DATA 220
ECON 263
MKTG 300
Junior Year Semester Abroad
Or
Elective 		ACCT 313
BUSI 300
FINC 300
MGMT 305
MGMT 309
Senior Year BUSI 350
FINC 435
MGMT 400 		BUSI 440, 441 or 442 or ECON 485
ECON 319