International Business, B.S.
Saint Louis University
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With accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and nationally ranked programs according to U.S. News & World Report, a degree from the Chaifetz School of Business means you'll be prepared to succeed in your career wherever you go from here.
Nearly half of the Chaifetz School class of 2018 made at least one international experience part of their undergraduate education. With business-specific study abroad options ranging from a week to a full semester or more, it's easy to fit global immersion into your business education at SLU.
Students in Saint Louis University's international business bachelor's degree program, offered through the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, gain global business understanding and experience through courses, student activities, faculty mentors, special events and internships.
Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad and gain firsthand experience through immersion. Options range from a large selection of full-semester destinations to shorter global immersion experiences of one to two weeks.
Before engaging an overseas business associate, students must first understand how their language, communication style, social infrastructure, work attitudes, economy, politics, pace of life, geography and government policies impact their business practice. Students will also learn about exporting, importing, foreign direct investment, foreign licensing, international services and global transactions of products or services.
Since careers will be impacted in some way by international influences, it is critical that students understand business relationships with partners from around the world — whether during business conducted inside the U.S. or overseas. The Chaifetz School prepares students to meet this challenge.
The Department of International Business also offers a minor for students in other business and non-business majors to add to their chosen major.
SLU's international business major is designed to provide students with a holistic approach to understanding the interconnections of globalization and its implications on a company's performance. Students of international business learn about the impact and implementation of international business practices in the modern marketplace and examine various strategic options that managers consider in assessing international market potentials. Students learn the importance of analyzing the national differences in political, economic, cultural and legal systems.
The international business major prepares students to think in a multi-disciplinary fashion when analyzing and assessing the factors that can change the firm's global presence into global excellence. Students are introduced to the necessary tools to make decisions on foreign market selections, entry mode strategies, international products customization and global multi-point competitive strategies.
Benefits of the international business program also include internship opportunities. Internships are critical to gaining experience in day-to-day global tasks and operations. International business internships may be completed for credit (up to three academic credits can be approved) or without credit. They may be paid or unpaid.
Internships are approached with a team model, joining the School of Business Career Resources Center with a faculty advisor and site supervisor to ensure a meaningful experience. Sample internship sites in St. Louis include Boeing, World Trade Center St. Louis and Anheuser-Busch InBev. Internships outside St. Louis and overseas have also been approved. Many internships have led to job offers for full-time employment after graduation.
The Department of International Business and the Boeing Institute of International Business support the International Business Club, which provides students with the opportunity to learn about the different career paths in international business as well as the opportunity to network with professionals from the area.
The increasingly global nature of commerce means students majoring in international business have a wide range of career options. Graduates holding a Bachelor of Science in international business find opportunities at local firms doing business abroad and multi-national companies operating in countries around the world.
International business students receive dedicated career development support from the Chaifetz School's Valerie A. Davisson Career Resources Center and join a global network of 20,000 alumni of the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business. A survey of the Class of 2019 found 96 percent of Chaifetz School international business graduates were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply. Saint Louis University also accepts the Common App.
All applications are thoroughly and carefully reviewed. Solid academic performance in college preparatory coursework is a primary criterion in reviewing a freshman applicant’s file.
To be considered for admission to any Saint Louis University undergraduate program, the applicant must be graduating from an accredited high school, have an acceptable HiSET exam score or take the General Education Development (GED) test. Beginning with the 2021-22 academic year, undergraduate applicants will not be required to submit standardized test scores (ACT or SAT) in order to be considered for admission. Applicants will be evaluated equally, with or without submitted test scores.
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply.
Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited high school or have an acceptable score on the GED. An official high school transcript and official test scores are required only of those students who have attempted fewer than 24 transferable semester credits (or 30 quarter credits) of college credit. Those having completed 24 credits or more of college credit need only submit a transcript from previously attended college(s).
Transfer students must have a cumulative 2.70 GPA to be admitted to the accounting program and a 2.50 GPA for all other majors. In reviewing a transfer applicant’s file, the office of admission holistically examines the student’s academic performance in college-level coursework as an indicator of the student’s ability to meet the academic rigors of Saint Louis University.
Begin your application for this program at www.slu.edu/apply.
All admission policies and requirements for domestic students apply to international students along with the following:
There are two principal ways to help finance a Saint Louis University education:
For priority consideration for merit-based scholarships, apply for admission by Dec. 1 and complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1.
For information on other scholarships and financial aid, visit the student financial services office online at https://www.slu.edu/financial-aid.
The Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the world’s largest business education alliance and accrediting body of business schools, ensuring continuous quality improvement in terms of curriculum, instructional resources, student selection, career placement and intellectual contributions and qualifications of the faculty. Fewer than 5 percent of business schools worldwide have achieved AACSB accreditation.
Eighteen credits of international business courses in addition to IB 2000 Introduction to International Business (3 cr), which is taken as a business CBK requirement, and nine foreign language credits.1
| 1 | Students may test out of up to six credits of foreign language. |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Business Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) | 45 | |
| Arts and Sciences Core Requirements | 48 | |
| International Business Major † | ||
| Required: | 6 | |
| Geopolitics of World Business | ||
| International Business Strategies | ||
| Elective Courses | ||
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
| Latin American Business | ||
| Asian Business | ||
| International e-Business | ||
| Middle Eastern Business | ||
| Cultural Differences in International Business | ||
| Global Immersion in International Business § | ||
| International Business Internship | ||
| Select one of the following | 3 | |
| International Accounting for Global Organizations | ||
| International Marketing | ||
| Political Economy European Union | ||
| International Trade | ||
| Exchange Rates and Global Economics | ||
| Economics of Int'l Migration | ||
| Economic Development | ||
| International Financial Management | ||
| Electives in Business or Other Areas (9 hours of foreign language required) ‡ | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
| † | In addition to completing lower and upper division coursework in all areas of business, each student typically selects a business major before or during the first semester of the junior year. Required credits vary between 18-21 credits and are determined by the appropriate department. To broaden their expertise, students may complete more than one major in business, or a major and a minor in business. However, where courses overlap between two business majors, the course may be counted only once and credited to one functional area, i.e. Sports Marketing may be used in either the Marketing major or the Sports Business major but not both. |
| § | Various immersion locations; only one may be used to satisfy International Business major requirements. |
| ‡ | Electives may be selected from any area of study within the University, giving students studying international business the opportunity to diversify their backgrounds. Electives may be used for 9 credits of foreign language required for major. |
International business students must maintain a 2.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA) in all courses used to fulfill the major.
Students will be on program probation if their GPA in major courses used to fulfill major requirements falls below a 2.00. Students will have one semester to increase their major cumulative GPA to a 2.00; if not, students will not be allowed to register for 3000 or 4000 level major courses.
Students will be automatically placed on university probation if any of the following occur:
During the probationary period, advisors help students achieve academic success by closely monitoring their academic performance.
In order to improve scholastically and demonstrate their ability to make progress toward a degree, students on probation may not register for more than 12 credits in the fall and spring semesters, three credits in the winter term, and no more than one course/four credits in any single summer session term.
The conditions under which a student is dismissed from the school include:
For more information, see University Academic Policies and Procedures.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 2200 | Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ACCT 2220 | Accounting for Decision Making | 3 |
| BIZ 1000/1001 | Business Foundations | 1 |
| BIZ 1002 | Business Foundations Excel Lab | 0 |
| BIZ 3000 | Career Foundations | 1 |
| BIZ 4000 | Business Capstone 1 | 1 |
| ECON 1900 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
| ECON 3120 | Intermediate Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 3140 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 3 |
| FIN 3010 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
| IB 2000 | Introduction to International Business | 3 |
| ITM 2000 | Information Technology with Supply Chains | 3 |
| MGT 2000 | Legal Environment of Business I | 3 |
| MGT 3000 | Management Theory and Practice | 3 |
| MGT 4000 | Strategic Management and Policy 1 | 3 |
| MKT 3000 | Introduction to Marketing Management | 3 |
| OPM 2070 | Introduction to Business Statistics | 3 |
| OPM 3050 | Introduction to Management Science and Operations Management | 3 |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
| 1 | All other Business CBK courses must be completed prior to taking BIZ 4000 Business Capstone (1 cr) and MGT 4000 Strategic Management and Policy (3 cr). |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 1900 | Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research 2 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Conflict, Social Justice and Literature | ||
| Faith, Doubt and Literature | ||
| Nature, Ecology & Literature | ||
| Gender, Identity & Literature | ||
| Technology, Media & Literature | ||
| Film, Culture and Literature | ||
| Nation, Identity and Literature | ||
Foreign Language Literature | ||
| Select one of the following: 3 | 3 | |
| Business and Professional Writing (strongly recommended) | ||
English Literature | ||
Fine Arts (Art, Art History, Dance, Film Studies, Music, Theatre) | ||
| CMM 1200 | Public Speaking 2 | 3 |
| HIST 1110 | Origins of the Modern World to 1500 | 3 |
| or HIST 1120 | Origins of the Modern World (1500 to Present) | |
| PSY 1010 | General Psychology | 3 |
| Select two additional courses from the following: | 6 | |
African American Studies | ||
American Studies | ||
Anthropology | ||
History | ||
Political Science | ||
Psychology | ||
Sociology | ||
Women's and Gender Studies | ||
| MATH 1200 | College Algebra 4 | 3 |
| MATH 1320 | Survey of Calculus 2 | 3 |
| Natural Science course | 3 | |
| One additional Math or Natural Science course 5 | 3 | |
| PHIL 1050 | Introduction to Philosophy: Self and Reality | 3 |
| PHIL 2050 | Ethics | 3 |
| THEO 1000 | Theological Foundations | 3 |
| THEO 2xxx | Theology course | 3 |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
| 2 | Must be completed by the end of the sophomore year in order to enroll in business courses junior year. MATH 1510 Calculus I (0,4 cr) or higher-level calculus course may be substituted for MATH 1320 Survey of Calculus (3 cr). |
| 3 | Upper division foreign language may be substituted; however, students for whom English is a second language may not complete this requirement in their native language. |
| 4 | Students who place out of MATH 1200 College Algebra (0,3 cr) (based on a Math Index score) must replace it with another approved math course. |
| 5 | MATH course must be approved. |
To be certified for graduation, a student must complete all course requirements and meet all of the following conditions:
| * | Students may pursue the Economics, International Business or Marketing majors at the St. Louis campus and/or at the Madrid campus. The residency requirement then applies to courses taken at either campus. |
Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.
Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.
This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| MATH 1200 | College Algebra | 3 |
| BIZ 1000/1002 | Business Foundations | 1 |
| ENGL 1900 | Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research 1 | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| MATH 1320 or MATH 1510 |
Survey of Calculus 1 or Calculus I |
3 |
| ECON 1900 | Principles of Economics | 3 |
| OPM 2070 | Introduction to Business Statistics | 3 |
| CMM 1200 | Public Speaking 1 | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall | ||
| ACCT 2200 | Financial Accounting | 3 |
| ITM 2000 | Information Technology with Supply Chains | 3 |
| IB 2000 | Introduction to International Business | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ACCT 2220 | Accounting for Decision Making | 3 |
| BIZ 3000 | Career Foundations 3 | 1 |
| MGT 2000 | Legal Environment of Business I | 3 |
| ECON 3120 or ECON 3140 |
Intermediate Macroeconomics or Intermediate Microeconomics |
3 |
| IB 3100 | Geopolitics of World Business (or Major: IB Elective) | 3 |
| Arts and Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall | ||
| ECON 3120 or ECON 3140 |
Intermediate Macroeconomics or Intermediate Microeconomics |
3 |
| IB 4120 | International Business Strategies | 3 |
| FIN 3010 | Principles of Finance | 3 |
| MKT 3000 | Introduction to Marketing Management | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| IB 4900 | Global Immersion in International Business (or IB Elective, Major) 4 | 3 |
| OPM 3050 | Introduction to Management Science and Operations Management | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall | ||
| Major: IB Elective | 3 | |
| Major: IB Elective 4 | 3 | |
| MGT 3000 | Management Theory and Practice | 3 |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| IB 4900 | Global Immersion in International Business (or IB Elective, Major) 5 | 3 |
| MGT 4000 | Strategic Management and Policy 6 | 3 |
| BIZ 4000 | Business Capstone 6 | 1 |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Arts & Sciences Core 2 | 3 | |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
| 1 | Must be completed by end of sophomore year |
| 2 | See list of A&S core required for business students |
| 3 | Must take 2nd semester sophomore year unless studying abroad. |
| 4 | See list of IB electives |
| 5 | See list of IB electives; can only do one IB 4900 Global Immersion in International Business (3 cr) course |
| 6 | Must have completed all other Business Common Body of Knowledge courses |