Earning A Degree In Business Can Be Fun

Three new business degrees are being added to a Texas university's offerings as a means of training students for jobs that are expected to experience growth. Through the institution's planned marketing and information systems degree offerings, students are to learn about marketing data and analysis and how businesses use computers to improve their work. Students who enroll in the university's new global business degree, on the other hand, might expect to learn a foreign language, study other cultures and participate in study abroad programs.

The Texas university is one of many throughout the United States that offers or plans to offer programs in international business. Business students in Indiana, for instance, this year have an opportunity to minor in international studies. Through this offering, students are to study world and human geography and learn to speak either Chinese, French or Spanish, according to an Inside INdiana Business report.

A member organization known as NAFSA: Association of International Educators (originally named National Association of Foreign Student Advisers) works in part to promote international education. Today's global challenges demand international competence, the group's web site notes. Those who are better prepared to meet 21st century demands are those who study abroad, study foreign languages and participate in internships and experiential learning opportunities, according to the association web site.

The value of an international business degree increases when economies outside of the United States grow, according to the web site for a Tampa university where students can work toward an international business degree. China has for some time been a popular subject of study. Some schools have established separate programs and schools for Chinese studies. Several institutions these days are looking toward India, according to an Inside Higher Education article.

Business schools in Georgia, for instance, offer joint two-year master's degree programs with a management school in Channai, the Inside Higher Education article noted. A Texas university, on the other hand, offers a Study Abroad program in India, where students can learn about the culture as well as some of the challenges and opportunities for doing business there. As the second fastest growing market in Asia, India offers varied and profitable export opportunities in certain areas and situations, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports.

Colleges and universities have for decades been incorporating foreign language and cultural studies into business degree programs. In 1979, a Michigan university established one of the first programs in the country where foreign language proficiency and area studies, international business, economics and practical training became combined requirements, an ERIC Clearinghouse article reported. A Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter earlier this year nevertheless suggested that undergraduate business programs still have to provide students with an understanding of and empathy for different cultures.

A study of University System of Georgia institutions suggests that Study Abroad programs might help with that understanding and empathy. Academic performance and graduation rates of study abroad students, including the academic performance of at-risk students, improves, according to study results cited in a recent Inside Higher Education report. A Transitions Abroad study reports that Study Abroad alumni found the experience increased their self-confidence, helped them better understand their own cultural values and biases, reinforced their commitment to foreign language studies and more.

Faced with budget cuts, foreign language programs are working to strengthen their programs, an Inside Higher Education report noted. Some are working with other areas of colleges and universities as a means of accomplishing this, according to the article. A university in Michigan, in an attempt to reverse studies showing that students aren't able to convey the value of Study Abroad experiences well enough in interviews to get hired, has launched a training workshop to help them do so, The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported.

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