Studies & Degrees in International Business
International Business Study Programs
International business is the study of how companies trade, invest and operate across national borders. It takes the core of a business degree (accounting, finance, marketing, management, economics) and adds what changes when a second country is involved: other currencies, laws, tax systems, languages and ways of negotiating. Programmes are also sold under names such as international business management, global business or international trade.
The course description of Saint Louis University gives a fair picture of the content. Students learn about exporting, importing, foreign direct investment, foreign licensing, international services and global transactions of products or services, and they learn to analyse national differences in political, economic, cultural and legal systems. Anglia Ruskin University lists sustainability, intercultural management and innovation among the topics of its degree. A foreign language, a semester abroad and an internship are common parts of the curriculum.
Qualifications and levels
- Bachelor's degrees in the United States. International business is normally a major within a four-year business degree. The Bachelor of Science in International Business that Saint Louis University offers at its Madrid campus has 120 credits in total. It combines the university core and the common business subjects with international business courses, and students can match their foreign language classes to the world region they focus on.
- Bachelor's degrees in the United Kingdom. The usual length is three years. The BSc (Hons) International Business Management of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge takes three years, four with a placement year, and is also offered as a two-year accelerated degree.
- Spain. Official university degrees consist of bachelor's degrees (grados) of 240 ECTS credits and master's degrees of 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. International business is often studied as a bilingual business administration degree: the Grado en Administración y Dirección de Empresas of the Universidad de Navarra is an official degree of 240 credits and four years, taught in Spanish and English in Pamplona.
- Master's programmes and MBAs. Private business schools offer one- and two-year programmes, many of them in English. ESEI International Business School in Barcelona teaches a Master in International Relations and International Business entirely in English, with a 60 ECTS master's route and 90 and 120 ECTS MBA routes. It asks for a bachelor's degree or at least five years of experience. The school states that graduates receive an ESEI private degree and, on the double-degree option, a título propio (a university's own qualification) of the Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM); the listed tuition for that option is €10,500.
Official degrees, own qualifications and accreditation
This subject is taught by public universities and by many private business schools, and their qualifications are not all of the same kind. In Spain, check whether a programme is an official degree or the institution's own qualification; the school must be able to tell you. Outside Spain, ask which national authority recognises the degree. Business school accreditations are a separate matter: the Chaifetz School of Business of Saint Louis University, for example, is accredited by AACSB, an accreditation which, according to the university, about 5 percent of business schools worldwide have achieved.
Where to study international business
SpainExchange lists 220 active schools for international business. The United States has 68, Spain 26, the United Kingdom 19, France 13 and Canada 9, followed by the Netherlands with 5 and China, Ireland and Denmark with 4 each. In Spain the listed schools are mainly in Barcelona and Madrid, among them EU Business School Barcelona, ESEI International Business School and Saint Louis University, Madrid, with the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona. In the United Kingdom the list includes the University of Westminster, Regent's University London and ARU.
English is the usual language of instruction, including at many schools in non-English-speaking countries. In Spain there are programmes in English, in Spanish and in both.
Careers
Graduates work in export and import departments, international sales and marketing, purchasing and supply chain management, finance and consulting. Saint Louis University says its graduates find opportunities at local firms doing business abroad and at multinational companies. For the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment in business and financial occupations as a whole to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035, with about 886,600 openings a year. Among related occupations, it projects growth of 18 percent for logisticians and 7 percent for market research analysts over the same period. These are US figures for broad occupational groups, not for international business graduates as such.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a degree in international business take?
Usually three years in the United Kingdom and four years in the United States and Spain. The ARU degree takes three years, or four with a placement year; an official Spanish bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits.
Do I need to speak a second language?
It is not always an entry requirement, but language study is often part of the degree. At Saint Louis University, students can align their foreign language classes with the region they specialise in.
Can I study international business in Spain in English?
Yes. ESEI in Barcelona teaches its master's in international relations and international business entirely in English, and the Universidad de Navarra teaches its business administration degree in Spanish and English.
Is an international business master's from a private school an official degree?
It depends on the programme. ESEI, for example, states that its master's leads to its own private degree and to a título propio of UCAM. Ask each school what recognition its qualification has.