New International Business Degree Offered at Kettering University

Business Wire, April 7, 2008

FLINT, Mich. -- Going global is at the heart of Kettering University's new undergraduate Business degree. "This is the answer for students with a strong interest in the international world of business," said Dave Strubler, interim department head.

Kettering's new Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree is structured around an international concentration that will require students to do one of four things:

* study abroad for a term,

* take three international cognate classes on campus,

* master a second language, or

* minor in International Studies.

The new degree begins in July 2008, starting with the 2008-09 academic year.

Strubler said in addition to the international concentration in the core curriculum, students will be able to earn a minor outside Business or choose a second concentration within the department. "We developed this degree to follow Kettering's missions of preparing students for the global economy," Strubler explained. "We're breaking the mold with this program."

Previously, Kettering offered a more technically-focused Bachelor of Science degree (the BSBA). Now students can choose between the BBA and the BSBA. All Business majors currently have a choice of seven concentrations:

* Accounting/Finance,

* Information Systems,

* International Business,

* Human Resource Management,

* Marketing,

* General Business and

* Supply Chain Management.

Students will be introduced to general cross-cultural business methodologies and then certain areas of study will focus on more specific cross-cultural business practices. One way the program will help prepare students to negotiate and work with multiple cultures, Strubler said, is to require them to develop business plans targeted at specific cultures. "This will be a very applied approach," he said.

Another component of the program includes short, faculty-led trips overseas during Kettering zero sections (10-day to two-week periods between academic terms) that would combine business and cultural experiences. Some of the targeted countries include China, Mexico, India and Germany.

For more information about Kettering's new BBA degree, visit Kettering's website at: www.kettering.edu. Located in Flint, Mich., Kettering University is the home of the country's most advanced professional co-op program.