Q&A: I want to get my master’s in International Business, what should I major in in college?

4 Responses to Q&A: I want to get my master’s in International Business, what should I major in in college?

1. DEEP

   May 27, 2011 at 8:21 pm

   Try the University of Michigan Industrial Engineering (IE), Global Leadership program. Its HARD. Choosing IE puts you on the path with some tough statistics and math courses but its the least technical of the engineering courses. Its an honors program so you must first do very well in other courses. With this degree you can go ANYWHERE for a MBA in international business.
2. Felicity

   May 27, 2011 at 8:57 pm

   Find a course, where you can choose from a variety of modules,that way you can spend the first year doing English, economics and Spanish, and it shouldn’t effect your final grade. I didn’t really know what i wanted and took a combined studies course and did history english, philosophy and space science in the first year. it was in the second year i made my choices and at least I can say I studied these at uni level. as well as that, i could change the title of the degree depending on the final modules I took.
   Anyhow, i’d take economics, what about something cultural? in english i had to read so many books, which really takes up a lot of time, like 2 novels a week, it felt a bit like a factory line.
3. Charles W

   May 27, 2011 at 9:41 pm

   Either English or Economics would be good. If you are thinking of a more finance oriented job than Economics. If more marketing or human resource, then English. Psychology is good for business. Since communication is important in business, English works well though.

   Charles Wankel
   Associate Professor of Management
   St. John’s University, New York
   http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~wankelc
4. pauly51_2001

   May 27, 2011 at 10:38 pm

   My advice is to major in Economics. I think Economics coursework is really helpful in graduate business studies, because it gives you groundwork for understanding not only how macro and micro Economic trends affect markets and companies, but also working with econometric and regression type statistical models. This is really useful stuff in grad school. In fact, when I earned my MBA at Michigan State, we had to take two graduate level economic courses. More importantly, if decide to take a year or two off between bachelor degree and graduate school. Economics will be much more beneficial in helping you land your first job.

   I don’t really want to put English down as field of study, since it is an excellent major for almost anybody. Its greatest strength is that it helps you write in clear and concise manor. On the downside, it is very dissimilar to finance, accounting, and other business courses. So, you are in for a big adjustment once you get to business school. Also, I can say from firsthand experience recruiters do not like liberal arts graduates.

   Best of luck,

   Pauly