REASONS FOR PROPOSED ACTION
Changes are proposed for the International Business Specialization (will refer to this specialization as IB from here on out in
the proposal) of the General Business major after a benchmarking study of 22 undergraduate business programs identified by
U.S. News and World Report as in the top 25 of undergraduate business programs nationwide and who are also members of
the National Undergraduate Business Symposium indicated areas of improvement. The Logistics, Business & Public Policy
(LBPP) Department also surveyed current IB majors to assess their views of the major including their career goals, reasons
for choosing the major, and course preferences. Based on the benchmarking study, student input and course availability,
LBPP is proposing the following changes to General Business, Specialization: International Business. In addition to the
curriculum changes listed on this proposal, LBPP is also requesting that the IB option’s title be changed in order to recognize
it as a distinct major with the title of International Business. This title change proposal is submitted in a separate proposal.
DESCRIPTION OF CURRICULUM CHANGE
Approximately, 100 to 130 IB majors graduate each year from the Smith School at the College Park and Shady Grove
campuses combined. Typically, students select IB as a major if they wish to work internationally or want a greater
understanding of global business. Because it is a general major, current IB majors have been strongly encouraged by both
recruiters and advisors to also declare a more specialized 2nd major in BMGT or outside of BMGT like a foreign language.
Due to its importance in expanding a student's career opportunities, we will strongly advise that IB be declared in
combination with another major in or outside of business.
BMGT 372 is being eliminated as a requirement because it will no longer be required as a prerequisite for BMGT477
(proposal will be submitted to VPAC). In addition two new courses are being proposed and added to the curriculum,
BMGT463 Cross-cultural Challenges in Business and BMGT466 Global Business Strategy. Both courses are being
submitted to VPAC for approval and their proposal are enclosed. These two new courses will add to the academic depth of
the major and provide a stronger foundation in International Business.
Current General Business majors with the International Business Specialization must complete 6 credits of upper level
economics courses from a number of options. This will remain the same under the new requirements; however, several
current ECON options are no longer offered or are rarely offered by the Economics Department or other campus departments.
As a result under the new requirements, LBPP has reviewed and selected relevant ECON options that have been offered in
recent years. In addition for the 2nd upper level economics requirements, students can still choose an agreed upon foreign
language course in place of a 2 nd upper level ECON.
Old Requirements
Major Requirements
BMGT 372 Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management
BMGT 392 Introduction to International Business Management
BMGT 446 International Finance
BMGT 454 International Marketing
BMGT 477 International Supply Chain Management
Any 400 BMGT or an agreed upon foreign language
Current Language options: (not published in catalog)
Any 400 level CHIN course
FREN 406 Commercial French II
GERM 412 German for International Business II
ITAL 406 Commercial Italian II
Any 400 level JAPN course
RUSS 407 Commercial Russian II
SPAN 415 Commercial Spanish II
Total Major Requirements
Upper Level Economics Requirements
ECON 340 International Economics
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
18 cr
3 cr
One additional course from the following courses:
3 cr
ECON 305 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory & Policy
ECON 306 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECON 311 American Economic History Before the Civil War
ECON 315 Economic Development of Underdeveloped Areas
ECON 316 Economic Development of Latin America
ECON 317 No longer offered
ECON 330 Money and Banking
ECON 340 International Economics
ECON 361 Economics of American Industries
ECON 370 Labor Markets, Human Resources, and Trade Unions
ECON 374 Sex Roles in Economic Life
ECON 375 Economics of Poverty and Discrimination
ECON 380 Comparative Economic Systems
Any 400 Level ECON
Or
One of the following: GEOG 422, 430, 433, 463, 464, 467 or 482
PSYC 420, 421, 423, 424, 443, 451, 452, or 460
SOCY 410, 411, 431, 432, 441, 447, 457, 460 or 462
Or
Agreed upon foreign language:
CHIN 401 Readings in Modern Chinese I
CHIN 402 Readings in Modern Chinese II
FREN 473 Contemporary French Society
FREN 474 Contemporary France: A Sociocritical Approach
GERM 489 Selected Topics in Area Studies for International Business
Any 400 Level ITAL
ARHU 308A Critical Eras: An Interdisciplinary View: Postwar World War II Japan
Through Film and Fiction
HIST 319B Special Topics
RUSS 467 Modern Russian Fiction (no longer offered)
SPAN 422 Cross-Cultural Communication
Total Upper Level Economics Requirements
6 cr
New Requirements
Major Requirements
BMGT 392 Introduction to International Business Management
BMGT 446 International Finance
BMGT 454 International Marketing
BMGT 477 International Supply Chain Management
BMGT 463 Cross-cultural Challenges in Business
BMGT 466 Global Business Strategy
Total Major Requirements
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
18 cr
Upper Level Economics Requirement with Language Option
ECON 340 International Economics
3 cr
One additional course from the following courses:
3 cr
ECON 305 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory & Policy
ECON 306 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECON 315 Economic Development of Underdeveloped Areas
ECON 316 Economic Development of Latin America
ECON 330 Money and Banking
ECON 380 Comparative Economic Systems
or an agreed upon foreign language course
Current Language options:
CHIN 412 Business Chinese II
FREN 406 Commercial French II
GERM 412 German for International Business II
ITAL 406 Commercial Italian II
JAPN 404 Business Japanese II
RUSS 407 Commercial Russian II
SPAN 415 Commercial Spanish II
Total Upper Level ECON/Language requirements
6 cr
Additional Degree Requirements of the General Business, International Business Specialization
At the Smith School of Business, a minimum of 120 credit hours are required to complete a Bachelor of Science degree.
Besides the major requirements list above and the specific Smith School of Business requirements listed below, a student
must complete the University's CORE General Education Requirements and sufficient lower and upper level elective credit to
accumulate a total of 120 credit hours. A minimum of 58 credit hours of the required 120 hours must be in 300-400 (upper)
level courses. Additional Smith School of Business degree requirements are listed below.
Freshmen/Sophomore Smith School Requirements
MATH 220* or 140** - Elem.Calculus I or Calculus I
3-4 cr
BMGT 201*** - Computer Applications in Business
3 cr
BMGT 220 & 221 - Principles of Accounting I & II
6 cr
BMGT 230 or 231**** - Business Statistics
3 cr
ECON 200 & 201 - Principles of Micro & Macro Economics
8 cr
COMM 100 or 107 - Foundations of Speech Communications or
3 cr
Speech Communication
Total
26-27 cr
*MATH 220 & 221 required for Operations and Quality Mgmt (managerial track) majors
**MATH 140 & 141 required for Information Systems and Operations and Quality Mgmt (technical track) majors
***BMGT201 also satisfied by CMSC 102, 103 or advanced computer programming course.
****BMGT 231 required for Information Systems and Operations and Quality Mgmt (technical track) majors
Junior/Senior Smith School Requirements
BMGT 340 - Business Finance
BMGT 350 - Marketing Principles
BMGT 364 - Management and Organization
BMGT 367 - Career Search Strategies and Business
BMGT 380 - Business Law
BMGT 495 - Business Policies
Total
3 cr
3 cr
3 cr
1 cr
3 cr
3 cr
16 cr
Current Catalog Description
International Business is an option in the General Business major and responds to the global interest in international
economic systems and their multicultural characteristics. This degree option combines the college -required courses wi th five
International Business courses and a selection of language, culture, and area studies courses from the College of Arts and
Humanities and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Updated Catalog Description
International Business is an option in the General Business major and responds to the global interest in international
economic systems and their multicultural characteristics. This degree option combines the college -required courses with
International Business courses and provides students the opportunity to apply a specified upper level foreign language course
toward this specialization’s requirements. It is strongly recommended that this program be declared in combination with
another major in or outside of business in order to assure that graduates will have specialized career focus. (If the title change
is approved, the major would just be listed as International Business and the following would be deleted from the above
description: “is an option in the General Business major and”)
Typical 4 Year Plan
Year 1, First Term
Year 1, Second Term
Courses
Credits
ENGL101 (if not exempt) or COMM107
3
MATH 220 (or as placed)
3
ECON200
4
CORE class
3
Lower level elective
3
16
Courses
ECON201
MATH220 (if still needed) or BMGT230
COMM107
CORE
CORE
Credits
4
3
3
3
3
16
Year 2, First Term
Courses
BMGT220
BMGT230 (if still needed) or elective
Lower level elective
BMGT201 (if not exempt) or elective
CORE (Lab Science)
Year 2, Second Term
Credits
3
3
2
3
4
15
Year 3, First Term
Courses
College Core
BMGT392 (Major requirement 1 of 6)
College Core
College Core
ECON340
BMGT367 (College Core)
Credits
3
3
6
3
15
Year 3, Second Term
Credits
3
3
3
3
3
1
16
Year 4, First Term
Courses
2nd Upper Level ECON from options
BMGT454 (Major requirement 3 of 6)
BMGT446 (Major requirement 5 of 6)
Professional Writing
Upper level elective (3 of 4)
Courses
BMGT221
CORE
Remaining electives
CORE
Courses
Upper level elective (1 of 4)
BMGT477 (Major requirement 2 of 6)
College Core
Advanced Studies Core
Upper level elective (2 of 4)
BMGT367 (if still needed)
Credits
3
3
3
3
3
1
15-16
Year 4, Second Term
Credits
3
3
3
3
3
15
Courses
BMGT495 (College Core) (340/350/364 prereqs)
BMGT463 (Major requirement 5 of 6)
BMGT466 (Major requirement 6 of 6)
Upper level elective (4 of 4)
Credits
3
3
3
3
12
Major/Economic Requirements: Prerequiste/Course Sequencing Structure Junior/Senior Year
1st Semester/2nd Semester
BMGT392
BMGT477
ECON340 (prereq: ECON200 & 201)
2nd Upper Level ECON (can also be taken in 3 rd or 4th semester of Junior/Senior Year)
3rd Semester/4th Semester
BMGT446 (prereq: BMGT340)
BMGT454 (prereq: BMGT350)
BMGT463
BMGT466
Approved Foreign Language (prereq: varies with course selected)
Course Descriptions
ARHU 308 Critical Eras : An Interdisciplinary View (3) Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs. An interdisciplinary
exploration of a critical period, ranging from a year to an era, stressing the relationship between different forms of human
expression and the social milieu.
BMGT 372 Introduction to Logistics and Supply Chain Management (3) The study of logistics and supply chain
management involving the movement and storage of supplies, work-in-progress and finished goods. Logistics cost trade-offs
with the firm and between members of the supply chain are examined.
BMGT 392 Introduction to International Business Management (3) Prerequisite: ECON 200; or ECON 205. A study of
the domestic and foreign environmental factors affecting the international operations of U.S. business firms. The course also
covers the administrative aspects of international marketing, finance and management.
BMGT 446 International Finance (3) Prerequisite: BMGT 340. Financial management from the perspective of the
multinational corporation. Topics covered include the organization and functions of foreign exchange and international
capital markets, international capital budgeting, financing foreign trade and designing a global financing strategy. Emphasis
of the course is on how to manage exchange and political risks while maximizing benefits from global opportunity sets faced
by the firm.
BMGT 454 International Marketing (3) Prerequisites: BMGT 350 plus one other marketing course. Marketing functions
from the international executive's viewpoint, including coverage of international marketing policies relating to product
adaptation, data collection and analysis, channels of distribution, pricing, communications, and cost analysis. Consideration is
given to the cultural, legal, financial, and organizational aspects of international marketing.
BMGT 463 Cross-cultural Challenges in Business (3) Examines in depth the nature of international cultural valuedifferences and their behavioral-related effects in the workplace. Topics include decision-making and leadership styles and
reactions to various work assignments and reward structures. (New course proposal sent to VPAC for approval.)
BMGT 466 Global Business Strategy (3) Focuses on the strategic challenges that directly result from and are associated
with the globalization of industries and companies. Topics include drivers of industry globalization, difference between
global and multi-domestic insdustry, global expansion strategies, sources of competitive advantage in a global context, and
coordination of a company across a global network. (New course proposal sent to VPAC for approval.)
BMGT 477 International Supply Chain Management (3) Prerequisites: BMGT 372. The study of the importance of the
supply chain management concept within an international arena. Coverage of the structure, service, pricing and competitive
relationships among international carriers and transport intermediaries, documentation, location decisions, international
sourcing and distribution and management of inventory throughout the international supply chain.
ECON 305 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory and Policy (3) Prerequisites: ECON 200; and ECON 201; and MATH
220. Analysis of the determination of national income, employment, and price levels. Discussion of consumption,
investment, inflation, and government fiscal and monetary policy.
ECON 306 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (3) Prerequisites: ECON 200; and ECON 201; and MATH 220. Analysis
of the theories of consumer behavior and of th firm, market systems, distribution theory and the rol of externalities.
ECON 311 American Economic Development (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201); or ECON 205. An analysis
of the major issues in the growth and development of the American economy. Basic economic theory related to such topics as
agriculture, banking, industrialization, slavery, transportation, and the depression of the 1930's.
ECON 315 Economic Development of Underdeveloped Areas (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON
205. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 315 or ECON 416. Analysis of the economic and social
characteristics of underdeveloped areas. Recent theories of economic development, obstacles to development, policies and
planning for development.
ECON 316 Economic Development of Latin America (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 201 and ECON 203) or ECON 205.
Institutional characteristics of Latin America and an analysis of alternative strategies and policies for development.
ECON 340 International Economics (3) Prerequisite: ECON 200 and ECON 201. Credit will be granted for only one of the
following: ECON 340 or ECON 440. Formerly ECON 440. A description of international trade and the analysis of
international transactions, exchange rates, and balance of payments. Analysis of policies of protection, devaluation, and
exchange rate stabilization and their consequences.
ECON 350 Introduction to Public Sector Economics (3) Prerequisite: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON 205. Credit
will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 350 or ECON 450. Formerly ECON 450. The role of federal, state, and
local governments in meeting public wants. Analysis of theories of taxation, public expenditures, government budgeting,
benefit-cost analysis and income redistribution, and thei policy applications.
ECON 361 Economics of American Industries (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON 205. A survey of
industrial organization theory. Analysis of the structure, conduct, performance, and public policies in selected American
industries.
ECON 370 Labor Markets, Human Resources, and Trade Unions (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or
ECON 205. Credit will be granted for only one of the following: ECON 370 or ECON 470. A survey of labor markets and
the American labor movement. Analysis of labor force growth and composition, problems of unemployment and labor
market operations, theories of wage determination, the wage-price spiral, collective bargaining, and governmental regulation
of employment and labor relations.
ECON 374 Sex Roles in Economic Life (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON 205. Discrimination
against women in the labor market; the division of labor in the home and the workplace by sex; the child care industry;
women in poverty.
ECON 375 Economics of Poverty and Discrimination (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON 205. The
causes of the persistence of low income groups; the relationship of poverty to technological change, to economic growth, and
to education and training; economic results of discrimination; proposed remedies for povert and discrimination.
ECON 380 Comparative Economic Systems (3) Prerequisites: (ECON 200 and ECON 201) or ECON 205. A comparative
analysis of the theory and practice of various types of economic systems, with special attention being given to the economic
systems of the United States, the Soviet Union, Mainland China, Western and Eastern Europe, and lesser developed
countries.
CHIN 401 Readings in Modern Chinese I (3) Prerequisite: CHIN 302 or equivalent. Non-majors admitted only after a
placement interview. Readings in history, politics, economics, sociology, and literature. Emphasis on wide-ranging, rapid
reading, reinforced by conversations and compositions.
CHIN 402 Readings in Modern Chinese II (3) Prerequisite: CHIN 401 or equivalent. Non-majors admitted only after a
placement interview. Continuation of CHIN401.
CHIN411 Business Chinese I; (3) Prerequisite: CHIN 402 or permission of department. Non-majors admitted only after a
placement interview. Not open to students who have completed CHIN 303. Conversation, reading, and writing applicable to
Chinese business transactions, social meetings, and meetings with government organizations, plus background material in
English on professional business practices and social customs associated with business.
CHIN412 Business Chinese II (3) Prerequisite: CHIN 411 or permission of department. Non-majors admitted only after a
placement interview. Not open to students who have completed CHIN 304. Continuation of CHIN 411.
FREN 406 Commercial French II (3) Prerequisite: FREN 306 or permission of department. Advanced study of commercial
French language—terminology and style—leading to preparation for the Paris Chamber of Commerce Examination.
FREN 473 The Construction of French Identity III: Cross-Cultural Approaches (3) to the Study of Contemporary
French Society Patterns of communication, mythology, and ideology in modern France, from the Third Republic to the
present, through historical and cross-cultural approaches, with reference to the Francophone world.
FREN 474 Contemporary France: A Sociocritical Approach (3) Recommended: FREN 473. A sociocritical approach to
understanding modern French society through the study of print and non-print media documents (autobiography, film, and
paraliterature), with reference to the Francophone world.
GERM 411 German for International Business I (3) Prerequisite: GERM 302 or equivalent or permission of department.
Advanced skills in German for international business, including understanding and writing correspondence, reports, graphics,
ads, etc., according to current German commercial style.
GERM 412 German for International Business II (3) Prerequisite: GERM 411 or equivalent or permission of department.
Continuation of GERM 411.
GERM 489 Selected Topics in Area Studies (1-3) Prerequisite: GERM 302 or equivalent or permission of department.
Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
HIST 319 Special Topics in History (3) Repeatable to 6 credits if content differs.
ITAL 406 Commercial Italian II (3) Prerequisite: ITAL 306. Advanced study of commercial Italian language terminology and style- in the area of business and finance. Emphasis on cross-cultural communications and international
business operations, including exporting and banking. Readings on sociological issues of contemporary Italy used for written
and oral practice of Italian and vocabulary enrichment.
JAPN403 Business Japanese I (3) Prerequisite: JAPN 302 or equivalent. Formerly JAPN 303. Conversation, reading, and
writing applicable to Japanese business transactions, social meetings, and meetings with government organizations, with
background material in English on professional business practices and social customs associated with business.
JAPN404 Business Japanese II (3) Prerequisite: JAPN 403 or equivalent. Formerly JAPN 304. Continuation of JAPN 403.
RUSS 407 Commercial Russian II (3) Prerequisite: RUSS 307. Continuation of RUSS 307 focusing in the more difficult
and complex Russian business documents and Russian business ministries.
SPAN 422 Cross-Cultural Communication (3) Prerequisite: (SPAN 325 and SPAN 326) or (SPAN 346 and SPAN 347) or
permission of department. Junior standing. Focuses on the relationship of language and culture of those operating in world
markets. Particular attention will be given to cross-cultural communication, linguistic systems, and culture specific
perceptions of the Hispanic world.
SPAN 415 Commercial Spanish II (3) Prerequisite: SPAN 315 or permission of department. Sophomore standing. Business
Spanish terminology, vocabulary and practices. Emphasis on everyday spoken and written Spanish. Readings and discussions
of international topics. Cross-cultural considerations relative to international business operations, including exporting and
banking.