Master of Science in Business : International Business
The Master of Science program in Business: International Business is centered on global perspectives. The degree provides an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in core business disciplines, all with an international focus (comparative, contrastive, contextual) specialization. The curriculum is designed to promote both depth and breadth: marketing, strategy, finance, and operations management. Students will develop business and decision-making skills that are crucial to the direction of organizations within international environments, where the issues present special challenges and call for correlative solutions. Students develop a comprehensive vision of globalization of markets and production, global trade, regional trade agreements and supra-national organizations, the effects of foreign exchange systems and the refined tools required to assess, manage and effect decisions as a function of this confluence of carefully analyzed phenomena and procedures.
Program Objectives
- Develop and implement creative, often sophisticated, solutions to an array of complex business/administrative/managerial problems with specific focus on comparative and contrastive international settings and an awareness of the given cultural environment.
- Establish a finely-honed understanding of, and sensitivity to, principal complexities (differences and likenesses) between and among business practices across geographical and cultural boundaries.
- Develop a significant, usable knowledge of information technology (a broad skill-set) in managing national and international organizations and the ability to apply modern scientific and mathematical methods to management, leadership and other business-related problems.
- Demonstrate a cross-disciplinary understanding of the functional components of business - economics, marketing, accounting, finance, law, management, both in the US and in a variety of other international settings.
- Evidence the ability to develop, implement and communicate solid business policy using case analysis and discussion (based on the identification and study of comparative and contrastive operations and decisions in various international forums).
- Apply theoretical knowledge to the solution of real-life (field related) problems both individually and through teamwork within the context of multiple active learning environments.
- Manifest a solid command of global, political, social, legal/regulatory, and technological issues as they relate to and impact international business.
- Demonstrate analytical and objective problem solving commonly encountered in international business, including the more complex and multi-focal issues that arise.
- Further hone communicative skills, which underpin the ability to conduct independent research and to formulate documents, reports, and publications that manifest mastery of content and execution.
Career Opportunities
The successful graduate will be well prepared to assume managerial roles in the multi-national corporate sector, in industry, in government, in other professional arenas where awareness of, and sensitivity to, cross-cultural environments are essential. Alternatively, the graduate will be prepared to assume enhanced (internationally-based or globally-focused) responsibilities within the context of a currently-held position at the level of management and leadership. Graduates may wish to consider as well leadership opportunities with parent companies having foreign subsidiaries, import/export-oriented firms and public sector bodies involved in cross border and/or commercial transactions. Global emphases, with intense and expansive comparative and contrastive analysis, clearly distinguish this particular curricular option.
