Business - Business studies

This program provides skills to propel your leadership career within domestic organizations and abroad. Courses cover global-scale leadership and international management, and will also expand your professional abilities in business development, critical thinking and resource management. Additional marketable skills include:

• Cross-cultural communication.
• Global supply chain management.
• International negotiations.
• Local and international politics in decision-making.

You’ll also learn to manage staff from diverse backgrounds and resources across multiple locations. The curriculum offers opportunities to select electives that support your global leadership career goals, as well as opportunities to study and work abroad.

The roles you’ll be prepared for

Upon graduation, you can immediately apply what you learned in domestic or international organizations, whether you seek to expand your current role or pursue a new career path. This degree can equip you for positions as a business analyst, human resources manager, sales manager, training manager and more.

As a global leader, you can leverage your skills to navigate legal jurisdictions and cross-border commerce challenges. You’ll also be able to apply best business practices in an international context emphasizing bridging divides among groups. This program will position you as a purposeful leader in global business with an understanding of the specialized needs and risks that extend beyond the domestic economy.

This program allows you to build a custom degree by combining two academic disciplines into one major.

You’ll select two concentrations from more than 40 available options, with advisors available to help you choose the ones best for you. It's an ideal program for those who are undecided on a major or want to pursue multiple areas of study.

One of the most popular combinations is to pair a concentration in business with a second focus in psychology. Other complementary options include:

• Applied business data analytics and business
• Business and project management
• Business and real estate
• Counseling/applied psychology sciences with family studies
• Family and human development and communication
• Personal health and integrative health
• Project management and sustainability
• Science, technology and society with technical entrepreneurship and management
• Sales and marketing essentials and organizational leadership

A culminating experience with a focus on experiential learning

IDS 401 is the program’s culminating experience in which you’ll arrange, plan and execute a learning project. Throughout this course, you’ll be guided in applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating interdisciplinary concepts to a real-world problem.

You’ll choose from one of the three options below. The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts will work with you to help you find a project that fits your interests. No matter which you choose, the experience will integrate both your concentrations in a meaningful way:

• Applied study: The applied study is a traditional work experience where you’ll spend 120 hours at a site of your choosing putting your integration and concentration area knowledge into practice. In addition to the hours completed onsite, there will be an online class component where you’ll reflect on your internship work.
• Directed study: A directed study is a thesis, creative or research project that you’ll design in consultation with a faculty member. This option is best suited for you if you’re interested in graduate school or have a creative project you’re interested in pursuing. This can be a great way to start a CV, create a portfolio or design your own project.
• Research fellows: You’ll partner with School of Applied Sciences and Arts faculty to assist them with research and ongoing faculty-led projects. This option is highly competitive, so you should begin planning for this option early.

Upskill with a master’s degree

This bachelor’s degree can be completed as part of an Accelerated Master’s program. When accepted, you can earn a master’s degree in as little as one year after completing your undergraduate degree. This opportunity saves you time and money while giving you advanced knowledge in your field. Applicable master’s degrees include:

• Master of Liberal Studies
• Master of Project Management
• Master of Science in organizational leadership

In this program, you’ll learn to apply business management techniques to the complex world of food processing, trade and sales across the supply chain. As you develop a specialization in food industry management, you’ll gain the skills needed to impact how companies deliver and process food while maintaining safety standards.

Upon graduation, you'll be prepared for careers in development, marketing, operations and sales with food retailers, processors and distributors. With a focus on supply chain management, finance, strategy and more, you’ll gain the expertise needed to navigate and excel in this competitive global sector.

How does this program compare to a restaurant management degree?

While a restaurant management degree focuses specifically on managing restaurant operations, this program prepares you for a broader range of careers across the entire food industry. You’ll gain expertise beyond restaurant management in areas such as food processing, marketing and distribution. You’ll graduate equipped for a broader array of positions in retail, food service and institutional food management.

Communication is at the core of every business and can pave the way for successful interactions and outcomes. In this program, you learn how to create effective lines of communication that help streamline operations and align teams. By developing deep knowledge in these areas and gaining various transferable skills, you set yourself apart from other candidates in the job market.

The curriculum in this business communication degree includes communication-focused courses in addition to the core courses required of majors within the W. P. Carey School of Business. You’ll create communication strategies in response to different situations and learn how business and communication play an important role in achieving success in all industries and careers.

The knowledge and skills you’ll develop

This program combines core business concepts with communication strategies to prepare you to effectively communicate complex business information. In your courses, you'll develop a communication tool kit that allows you to:

• Improving workplace communication.
• Negotiating and managing conflict.
• Understanding and shaping messages.
• Using effective communication strategies for training.

Additionally, this bachelor’s degree can be completed as part of an Accelerated Master’s program. When accepted, you can earn a master’s degree in as little as one year after completing your undergraduate degree. Applicable master's degrees include:

• Master of Arts in communication