Best International Business Degrees and Courses

International business majors are in their heyday. Globalization is the business term of the day; there is great demand for professionals with advanced degrees whose know-how of the international business marketplace is exemplary. Especially among multinational corporations the demand for professionals climbs.

Degree Types

Degrees at all levels focus on a two-fold curriculum: general business coursework combined with specialized international business topics. Business schools from small to prestigious offer International Business degrees that include undergraduate, grad and post-grad, while community colleges confer basic two-year degrees. IB degrees may also be used to migrate to complimentary degree programs, such as those in politics, business administration or corporate law.

IB programs expose students to coursework that creates professionals compatible with a multicultural business environment. This means that complementary courses in one or more foreign languages, cultural studies, sociology and/or psychology, are commonplace. In fact, IB programs attract significant numbers of international exchange business students, lending an inherent multicultural tangent to the programs.

Associates Degree

Two-year Associates in International Business degrees strive to instill entry-level business students with a general working knowledge of basic business disciplines such as marketing, finance and issues in management. IB coursework typically requires a foreign language, and basic courses in overseas business, emerging markets, and multinational corporate structure. Students are encouraged to spend a semester abroad. Two-year degrees lead to viable entry-level positions or to transfer to a four-year degree.

Bachelors Degree

Besides core undergraduate coursework in a cross-section of disciplines, an undergraduate IB major is expected to drink in knowledge related to global and emerging markets, multinational corporations, and international marketing and finance. Practical experience is earned in study abroad coursework, a requirement for many IB majors. Other curriculum also packages core general business courses in marketing, domestic markets, decision-making and business management. Often graduates with a Bachelors degree in a business discipline opt to earn their Masters. Graduate degrees are almost a given for middle and upper-level management jobs.

Masters Degree

A prerequisite for a Masters degree in International Business is a four-year undergraduate degree in any of a variety of business majors. Quick, certificate programs are available at the Masters level, and jettison academically motivated candidates into the escalating entry-level international jobs market. Students who go the distance in an M.S. degree participate in advanced general business courses as well as advanced global business courses. Topics in foreign affairs, strategies for emerging markets, fluency in a foreign language, and a competitive nature all combine to train the IB professional for intense and changeable overseas business environments.

Doctoral Degree

Candidates for the Ph.D. in International Business pursue this prestigious degree for its future careers in research and academics. However, an IB Ph.D. may find professional situations abroad where research may be conducted within an actual international field. Coursework is heavily research-relevant and finely customized at this academic level. Study and research abroad is almost a given and offers the candidate untold opportunities to collaborate with talented, international colleagues.

Professional Opportunity

Without a doubt there is a lot to be said about International Business degrees. Lucrative career opportunities exist even at the entry-level, for professionals with an Associates degree. Overseas jobs are rampant and many continue to lack even modestly trained business professionals.