Bachelor of Business (International Business)

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Your career in international business

Having staff with international skills is now an organisational imperative. Our programme is focused on producing graduates who can think critically about managing international business responsibly, and sustainably and be equipped with the skills to build a successful career across corporate/business sectors, government, third sector, and consultancy in Australia and overseas.

What you will learn in this programme

You will gain foundation knowledge across several areas of international business in the first half of the degree. You will then develop a deeper knowledge and the ability to apply a range of critical perspectives across key areas of business practice and management. In the second half of the degree, you can incorporate specialised studies or electives in a different discipline to expand your career options.

In this three-year programme, you can choose a second business major, or a minor from another business discipline, a set of international studies courses or a foreign language to suit your career goals.

Examples include foreign languages, international studies, sustainability and environment, geospatial studies, statistics and data management, politics, social justice, gender studies, and conflict mediation.

The programme enables you to develop an understanding of core business issues relating to financial markets, international trade, and global logistics and supply chain management, and to develop skills in cross-cultural management.

In addition, you will learn how to think critically about managing international business responsibly, and sustainably, about design and entrepreneurship, and gain insights into the institutional roles of business that reveal how the global political economy shapes, and is shaped by, international business organisations.

How you will learn

Most of your classes will be held in RMIT's Swanston Academic Building which features innovative learning spaces interspersed with retail and social spaces resulting in a stimulating environment for students.

Throughout your studies, you will collaborate with peers and engage meaningfully with industry through small group projects and simulation exercises. You are also able to engage in learning or working overseas as part of your studies.

RMIT offers you a variety of experiences so that you can learn and develop concepts in the classroom, as well as engage with the world of work and apply your learning to both real and realistic problems.

You will have the chance to demonstrate what you have learned in class or out in the industry by:

• Presenting ideas and solutions to industry representatives.
• Using custom-built simulators.
• Applying your knowledge to address real issues presented in case studies.
• Completing workplace projects according to specifications and timeframes.

Through RMIT University’s online learning portal, myRMIT, you will be able to view online resources and learning activities created by lecturers, access course materials via Blackboard, collaborate with lecturers and fellow students, and access your student email account. Educational software, the Learning Hub, resources and printers are accessible on campus via the RMIT wireless network using your own laptop, tablet or smartphone or via computer facilities on-campus. You will be able to access the same software from home using myDesktop.

Industry connections

You will have the opportunity to directly apply your academic skills to a work context in the following work-integrated learning courses:

• Managing International Business Responsibly. In this core course, you will be guided by an academic who specialises in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and who has worked as a management consultant in CSR and sustainability. You will appraise different approaches to this field, learning how to engage with a range of stakeholders in order to improve outcomes for business and society.
• Political Economy of International Business. In this capstone course, you will study the historical and institutional context of the world economy, and contemporary trends in trade, finance, production and economic scalability of global businesses and the political, economic and cultural environments in which they operate. They are designed to develop your work-ready capabilities and your ability to analyse and manage information and contexts, resolve problems and communicate effectively in your future business career.

Other work-connected and industry-relevant options include:

• Working in a student team as part of the Fastrack Innovation Programme. In this elective course, you will work with mentors to develop and present a solution to a real problem. This form of fast-prototyping is designed to tap into fresh thinking from RMIT students.
• Business Internship electives where you take up a position for one or two days per week for one semester. These positions are normally unpaid and are designed to develop your soft skills and increase your overall employability upon graduation. You are responsible for finding your own placement, however, job search assistance is available.
• BUSM4599 Business Skills for Start-Ups, a course designed for students interested in starting up their own business.

Guiding the development of the College of Business, both nationally and internationally, is an Industry Advisory Board of high-profile executives chaired by Gerhard Vorster, Chief Strategy Officer, Deloitte. The Board creates a strategic bridge between the latest in technology and design thinking and business.

RMIT University is committed to providing you with an education that strongly links formal learning with professional or vocational practice.

Electives and programme structure

This programme is suited to students who already have significant working experience, or for those who want to extend studies in business and related disciplines by choosing from a range of second majors and minors to suit career or personal development goals.

The programme consists of 24 courses (each 12 credit points) and includes:

• 8 compulsory common business core courses

• 8 business discipline major courses

• 8 flexible courses.

The 8 flexible courses can be selected from three options:

• a second business discipline major (8 courses)

• a compulsory business discipline minor (4 courses) plus second minor (any discipline)

a compulsory business discipline minor (4 courses) plus 4 electives.

A second business major can be selected from:

• Accounting

• Economics

• Finance

• Financial planning

• Information systems

• Logistics and supply chain management

• Management

• Marketing

Entry requirements

You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 or an equivalent senior secondary school qualification with a minimum average of 65% (see calculator below).

Equivalent qualifications may also include completion of the RMIT Foundation Studies programme or a recognised post-secondary diploma in the relevant discipline with the required grades.

Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee entry. Your application will still need to be assessed and accepted.

English language requirements

To study this programme you will need to complete one of the following English proficiency tests:

• IELTS (Academic): a minimum overall band of 6.5 (with no individual band below 6.0)

• TOEFL (Paper Based Test): minimum score of 580 (TWE 4.5)

• TOEFL (Internet Based Test - IBT): minimum overall score of 79 (with a minimum of 13 in Reading, 12 in Listening, 18 in Speaking and 21 in Writing)

• Pearson Test of English (Academic) (PTE (A)): minimum score of 58 (with no communication band less than 50)

• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): minimum of 176 with no less than 169 in any component.

International opportunities

You are actively encouraged to experience the wider world inside both traditional and virtual classrooms. Exposure to different types of cross-border collaboration during your studies will provide insights into how organisations develop ideas, and present you with different behaviours, learning styles and practices that you will encounter after graduation.

Options include:

• Studying with RMIT in Vietnam.

• Studying with RMIT’s educational partner the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics.

• Participating in a student exchange.

• Participating in a study tour that combines an overseas travel and cultural experience with coursework completed in an intensive mode which is credited towards your degree.

• Collaborating on projects across campuses and locations with students from business and other disciplines.

• Undertaking an overseas internship as part of the Global Entrepreneurship and Internship Programme (GEIP).

RMIT's aim is for international business graduates to become better global citizens because they have benefited from examining business practices through a global lens and through a socially responsible business lens. You will emerge with an understanding of how various activities within and between organisations and industry sectors are connected.

The roles and industries an international business qualification can lead to include:

• Policy development and advice, especially within an organisation.

• A wide range of trade, and finance-related roles.

• Business analyst.

• Logistics and supply chain management roles, such as advising procurement managers regarding fair trade and ethical sourcing in logistics import/export industries.

• Government relations and consultancy, for example, advising on trade-related issues.

• Economic research and developing economic policy or regulatory guidelines.

• Management consultant.

• Business roles relating to corporate social responsibility and sustainability, with respect to business strategy, rankings, ethical ratings and indexes, and improving business consultation, partnerships, and social and environmental impacts.