PULLMAN – Starting this spring, WSU Distance Degree Programs (DDP) students can go global with a major in international business.
“WSU’s strategic plan emphasizes preparing students to excel in a global society,” said Janet Kendall, director of academic programs at DDP, “and the new international business major supports this.”
WSU’s International Business program, ranked 18th in the nation in the 2007 U.S. News and World Report, has offered the major for more than 20 years, preparing students for employment with multinational corporations, overseas assignments and positions that carry worldwide responsibilities. Now students will have access to the major online. The deadline to apply for spring semester admissions is Dec. 19.
The major has two special requirements. First, students must complete nine credits of study abroad – but not in the business major. The idea is to promote cultural immersion, said Bonnie Burkett, an academic coordinator for WSU College of Business. “They can study anything they want, language, history, geography, anything that interests them.”
The second requirement is one year of foreign language study beyond the high school level, or at least three 200-level foreign language credits. That requirement goes hand in hand with studying abroad, Burkett said, and gives students a deeper comprehension of different cultures.
Alexandra Hutchinson, a 24-year-old paralegal in Seattle, was one of the first online students to sign up for the major. Hutchinson had studied international business at Seattle University. “I chose international business originally because I would love to travel in my job and maybe become an importer or exporter,” she said.
Hutchinson fulfilled the language requirement during her previous college studies. A six-week summer program will meet the study abroad requirement. Then, when she graduates, she’s either going into the business world or to law school.
For more information on the online international business major, call 800-222-4WSU. For general information on the major, log on to www.business.wsu.edu/academics, and click on International Business Institute.
