International Business

Types of Degrees International Business Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many international business/trade/commerce graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	5,164
Master’s Degree	1,479
Basic Certificate	434
Graduate Certificate	283
Associate Degree	112
Doctor’s Degree	19
Undergraduate Certificate	14

What International Business Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to international business were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for International Business Majors

International Business majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Skills for International Business Majors

A major in international business prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for International Business Majors

As a international business major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a International Business Major?

People with a international business degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business?

Roughly 55% of the graduates are women, and 45% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of international business majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	382
Black or African American	298
Hispanic or Latino	1,228
White	2,135
International Students	795
Other Races/Ethnicities	326

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in International Business, too. About 15.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to International Business

Some careers associated with international business require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for international business careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.5%
Some College Courses	8.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	24.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	11.8%
Master’s Degree	15.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	5.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	20.1%

Online International Business Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	18	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	52	14
Bachelor’s Degree	47	11
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	115	26
Post-Master’s	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	7	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Ninaras under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.