Overview
The BSBA in Global Business requires the completion of 15-18 credits of Global Business courses, plus 18-24 credits of a functional major. Global Business majors are assigned a faculty advisor to assist them in planning their program of study and advise them on academic and career matters. All changes to the Global Business Program of Study must be approved by the Director of the Global Business Program. Please note that Global Business freshman and sophomore courses as part of the General Education requirements in this program, differ from the other business majors.
Degree Requirements
Learners can earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with this major. See the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree.
Required Courses (3 courses, 9 credits)
Learners are required to complete:
Students in the Honors Program have the option of completing the Honors version of a course.
Elective Courses (3 courses, 9-12 credits)
Choose three (3) from the following:
| SIB-300 | Cultural Immersion Travel Seminar | 3 |
| SIB-340 | Global Innovation | 3 |
| SIB-400 | Virtual Travel Seminar | 3 |
| SIB-510 | Direct Study in Strategy and International Business | 6 |
| SIB-520 | Strategy and International Business Internship | 3 |
| SIB-550 | Global Travel Seminar | 3 |
| ACCT-310 | International Business Accounting | 3 |
| BLE-317 | Managing in the Global Legal Environment | 3 |
| BLE-325 | Global Business Ethics | 3 |
| CJN-482 | Cultural Theory and Social Justice | 4 |
| EC-430 | International Trade Theory and Policy | 4 |
| EC-442 | International Monetary Economics | 4 |
| EC-445 | The Economics of the European Union | 4 |
| ENT-354 | Global Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| FIN-417 | Multinational Financial Management | 3 |
| FIN-H417 | Honors Multinational Financial Management | 3 |
| ISOM-340 | Cybersecurity Fundamentals | 3 |
| MGT-313 | Global Human Resource Management | 3 |
| MGT-322 | Managing Across Differences | 3 |
| MGT-341 | Global DEI | 3 |
| MKT-421 | Global Marketing | 3 |
| MKT-H421 | Honors Global Marketing | 3 |
At most one (1) of the three courses can be from the following:
Functional Major Courses (6-8 courses, 18-24 credits)
Learners are required to specialize in one discipline (Accounting, Business Economics, Business Analytics and Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Financial Planning, Management, or Marketing). Learners will take the major required and major elective courses as specified by the academic department concerned, which may include experiential components.
Only one of the Global Business elective courses listed above may be double counted toward the Global Business major and the functional major, as long as it was also available as a course for the functional major. No Global Business electives can be double counted toward the Global Business major and any minor. BLE-325 Global Business Ethics counts as a Global Business Elective and also fulfills the SBS core social perspectives requirement.
Language Requirement
Learners must demonstrate competence equivalent to completing the second semester level of college instruction in French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Italian or Arabic. Besides taking two beginning semesters, 101 and 102, of a language, learners can also demonstrate language competence by completing one (1) of the following:
- Passing an Advanced Placement (AP) test and at a level Suffolk recognizes as credit for a second semester language;
- Passing one semester of a language (not literature) course at the 102 or higher level;
- By demonstrating proficiency through conversation with a professor in the Sawyer Business School who is a native speaker of that language.
- Learners must arrange this by contacting the Director of the Global Business Program. Students choosing this do not get academic credit for waiving the language requirement but can take Free Electives instead of the language courses if the learner will not have the total number of credits required to graduate. See below for a list of Recommended Free Electives.
Travel Requirement SIB-560 (Non-Credit)
(No credits can be specifically assigned. It is a pre-professional experience.)
All Global Business majors are required to participate in overseas work or study as part of their major. This requirement may be satisfied by completing a minimum of one travel seminar, a semester study abroad, or, with prior permission from the Director of the Global Business Program, a Global Business Internship abroad. Learners must register for the zero-credit course SIB-560 Global Travel Requirement in the semester in which they plan to complete their travel.
- A minimum 2.5 GPA is required for travel seminars and study abroad experience
- Only two travel seminars may be used as Global Business major electives while also fulfilling the SIB-560 requirement. Additional travel seminars will not count towards GB major electives but may be used as free elective credit. Both SIB 300, SIB-550, and SIB-400 count as a travel seminars.
- Study abroad involves enrollment in semester-long or summer session courses at either Suffolk’s Madrid campus or at one of the programs open to Suffolk learners at other institutions. All study abroad must be pre-approved by the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center. If a learner plans to substitute a course taken at another university for a Suffolk requirement, it must be approved by the Program Director or Department Chair for the required course. Learners may participate in more than one study abroad opportunity. Learners interested in study abroad should plan to do so during their sophomore year, or the fall of their junior year
- With prior permission from the Director of the Global Business Program, learners may also fulfill the travel requirement through a Global Business Internship. Two options are available: the three-credit course SIB-520 Global Business Internship, and an internship without academic credit, by registering for SIB-560. The internship must take place outside the learner’s primary country of residence—so learners who are not primary residents of the U.S. (who have an F or J student visa) can pursue their internships in the U.S. Learners are responsible for identifying and securing acceptance to the internship, which must be a minimum of 100 hours. For both SIB-560 and SIB-520 internships, a learner must submit to the Global Business Director all of the following:
- A Sponsor Agreement form signed by a representative of the internship organization prior to starting the internship
- A letter describing the learner's activities and responsibilities from the organization sponsoring the internship
- The learner's internship must be a business function such as marketing, finance, or accounting. Teaching, updating websites, or sales are examples which do not qualify as business major activities for satisfying this requirement
- Only one SIB-520 internship course may also be used as a Global Business major elective
- The work time required for a Global Business internship cannot also be used to fulfill the requirement for an internship course in another department, as FIN-560 or ISOM-560. In other words, hours worked cannot be double counted. Learners can work at the same organization for both the Global Business internship and the internship in another department, e.g. FIN-560. However, the number of hours worked at this organization must be equal to or greater than the addition of both the 100 hours required for the Global Business Internship and the number of hours required for the other department. Learners who register for SIB-520 to fulfill the travel requirement should simultaneously register for SIB-560
Learning Goals and Objectives
Learning goals and objectives reflect the educational outcomes achieved by learners through the completion of this program. These transferable skills prepare Suffolk learners for success in the workplace, in graduate school, and in their local and global communities.
| Learning Goals |
Learning Objectives |
| Learners will… |
Upon completion of the program, each learner should be able to: |
| Understand how to manage an international business. |
- Articulate and demonstrate understanding of global business strategies.
- Demonstrate understanding of global competitive environments and global competitive dynamics.
- Articulate and differentiate the means of entry into, and exit from, foreign marketplaces, including acquisition and divestiture, strategic alliances, and greenfield investment. |
| Understand the global business environment and global business principles. |
- Demonstrate understanding of the management of cultural differences in a global business setting.
- Demonstrate an understanding of trade, trade theories, policies and the World Trade Organization's role in fair trade.
- Understand what Foreign Direct Investment is, and how it differs from trade.
- Demonstrate an ability to use exchange rates, and understand what determines them.
- Understand how different country laws, economic policies, and politics affect doing business across borders. |