Globally minded graduates

USD’s International Business Program ranks No. 2 in California and No. 8 in the nation

 

Lilyana Espinoza | News Editor | The USD Vista

 

Some students select a college institution based on location, tuition, and class sizes. Others, such as senior Emma Nowakoski, selected the University of San Diego after researching and discovering that USD excels in what she is passionate about: International Business.

“Part of me always wanted to do International Business because I love to travel,” Nowakoski said. “Ever since I was younger and I had a strong Spanish background. I felt that I could embrace that here. I knew USD’s program was one of the best in the nation, so that persuaded my choice to even come to USD in general.”

According to College Factual, a college data analytic site, USD’s International Business Program is now ranked second out of six schools in California as well as eighth in the United States.

Jaime Alonso Gomez, dean of the School of Business, clarified what International Business is at USD.

“International business is a name that we use to educate globally minded and behaviorally savvy graduates from the School of Business,” Gomez said. “When I say globally minded, it means we have the attitude of thinking about global affairs. For instance, we want our graduates to be able to elaborate on politics, art, economics, and social issues, in a global setting. A global mindset does not just imply to travel as a tourist, but also (to be) able to elaborate on issues. The second issue is being able to behaviorally communicate in two or three languages. Knowing how to eat in France versus in Germany, how to negotiate in Italy versus in Finland. International Business implies a holistic education about global affairs, cognitively speaking, and also behaviorally.”

Gomez also recognized that the benefits the International Business major receives helps all of School of Business majors.

“We have eight majors in the School of Business,” Gomez said. “One of them is International Business, but also the majors in the other areas — marketing, economics and so on — are also exposed to an international learning experience. 54 percent of the undergraduate level are exposed to an international experience. 100 percent of all graduates students are exposed to an international experience. So the school is by design committed to globally minded graduates.”

Senior McKalee Mooney believes the study abroad program is the best aspect of the International Business major.

“I love traveling and I think studying abroad provides a unique opportunity to explore new cultures and how different people live,” Mooney said. “Studying abroad was easily one of my favorite parts of college. I also enjoy the language requirement because it helped me decide to minor in French.”

Although it is not a requirement to minor in a language, some International Business majors found it helpful to engage more fully into a different culture and add to their learning experience. Studying abroad is also not required, however, data for 2017 showed 98 percent of International Business undergraduate graduates participated in USD’s study abroad program. The most popular location is the USD Madrid Center, located in Madrid, Spain.

Through the education that Mooney is receiving, she is  confident in the life her International Business major will provide for her.

“I want to live in Europe for a couple of years after graduation, so learning about different cultures and how they do business will be helpful,” Mooney said. “I also hope to work for a global company in the future, so knowing a lot of things related to International Business will come in handy.”

There are several reasons for the School of Business’ success. One reason for this is many of the faculty of the school bring international experience to their students.

According to the business school, 76 percent of the faculty have lived or worked outside of the United States, 40 percent speak a language other than English, 45 percent have taught abroad, and 47 percent are currently engaged in internationally focused research.

Gomez found this to be vital, because according to EIU, Global Firms in 2020, an economist intelligence unit, businesses will require of their employees more international experience. The data showed that by 2020, 48 percent of employees will become more international in composition and 58 percent will have more diverse backgrounds and experience.

“We in the School of Business believe that an international education is part of a pillar, the backbone of our education,” Gomez said. “It is not a patch or addition or a star you include on your diploma. It is all around us.”

Gomez spoke about future accomplishments for the School of Business.

“The goal is to have all of the students in the school to be exposed to an international learning experience,” Gomez said. “We also not only would like to bring more international but also intercultural or multicultural. You can go to Linda Vista and you have people from Vietnam, from many Asian countries, from Latin America and the multicultural experience also counts as a way to have a more rounded education in business. In fact, many of our MBA students do internships and consultancy projects for small businesses in the Linda Vista community.”

Due to the rising desire for internationally competent students, the School of Business not only strives to better their International Business Program but also to continue to improve all other business majors by giving them a global mindset that employers seek.