Bachelor of Business (International Business)

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 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 smart phone or via computer facilities on-campus. You will be able to access the same software from home using myDesktop.

Find out more about student computing at RMIT.

Ongoing assessment throughout the semester includes examinations, presentations, group projects, research projects and practical assignments.

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 Program. 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.

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 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 Program (GEIP).

Find out more about international opportunities in the College of Business.

This program 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 program 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.

Business minors (PDF 201KB 14p) can be selected from the same disciplines as listed above, as well as behavioural business, business analysis, economics and finance, entrepreneurship, financial planning and taxation, human resource management, IS security and risk management, law or the flexible business minor. Other minors can be selected from many disciplines offered across RMIT.

When planning your studies, you are advised to check which elective and minor courses are offered each year.

You will gain foundation knowledge across several areas of international business in the first half of the degree. You will then develop deeper knowledge and the ability to apply a range of critical perspectives across key areas of business practice and management. 

Your core international business studies will cover:

• Financial markets. You will be introduced to the financial markets environment in which business organisations operate globally, and you will collaborate in small teams to critically analyse problems in real-life treasury dealing situations using live data in the RMIT Trading Facility.
• Economics and trade. You will be introduced to the economic theory of free trade and the effect international trade (or intervening in the trade process) has on economic welfare, economic growth and income distribution.
• Global trade operations. You’ll gain insights in to the operational and strategic aspects of global trade operations related to the exchange of goods and services across international borders, as well as the politics of global trade and the regulatory environment.
• Cross cultural management. Equips you with the awareness, knowledge and skills needed to work in a multicultural workplace and successfully lead in organisations by considering behaviours, intercultural sensitivity, cross-cultural communication and diversity.
• Socially responsible management. Provides you with knowledge and skills to think innovatively about how to take social and environmental issues into account in ways that both contribute to core business strategy, and also improve outcomes for society through engagement with stakeholders in the value chains of international business.
• Political economy. Consolidates and deepens your understanding of the political, economic and cultural environments in which international business operates, and the role of global business as actors in the international political economy, including relationships with the key international institutions and actors.
• Design thinking. You will explore creativity, innovation and design and their importance within organisations and business in the context of increasing levels of risk and uncertainty globally, thereby gaining a uniquely RMIT perspective on contemporary challenges and opportunities in international business. 

Here are some examples of how an international business degree incorporating the most popular majors, minors and elective sequences can align with a career path.

• Economics – analyse and interpret quantitative data and communicate recommendations for strategic decision-making.
• Finance – work on a foreign exchange trading desk, or advise on capital expenditure or foreign investment.
• Logistics – combine expertise in supply chain management informed by knowledge of global and regional trade, political and cultural environments, and the growing imperative to manage global operations responsibly.
• Marketing – advise on marketing concerns beyond the brand and company, but also in the context of a product or company’s impact on society and in different cultural contexts.  

If you choose electives as your flexible courses, you may wish to consider

• a business internship elective
• global experience options 
• BUSM4599 Business Skills for Start Ups, a course designed for students interested in starting up their own business, covering the stages from concept through to launch
• a sequence of electives related to a particular career specialisation.

Professional bodies may offer students and/or graduates membership, opportunities for entry into professional qualification programs and other career enhancing benefits. 

For further information about membership and opportunities for students and graduates, please visit our accreditation and membership page.