Master of Business in International Business

Course details

The Master of Business in International Business is a HETAC-accredited, level 9, post-graduate course for graduates who wish to further their understanding of international business and open up exciting new career prospects. The MB equips the student with the necessary knowledge base, skills, competencies and strategic awareness to succeed in the international business environment. Students will analyse and evaluate scenarios and provide suitable outcomes. In the MB in International Business, the lecturer asks the questions and the students research and formulate the answers.

The programme’s overall aims and objectives are that graduates will:

• Acquire and understand the key knowledge areas relevant to the study and practice of international business.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the seminal and current theories and concepts in the study of international business.
• Apply a practical range of skills for analysing and evaluating problems and proposing solutions in the international business environment.
• Communicate – orally, in writing and electronically – in international business, analysing case studies, making presentations, preparing reports, engaging in interpersonal interactions and team working arrangements.
• Apply a range of competencies for successful practical participation in international business, including executive decision-making, ethical awareness, cultural sensitivity and strategic planning.
• Utilize a range of research methodologies to analyse business data and propose tenable conclusions
• Undertake the research and writing of a substantial project with minimal supervision.

Graduates will be able to gain employment at managerial level in a variety of multi-national enterprises, international financial services, consulting, entrepreneurial concerns and the public sector. The MB in International Business provides an effective platform for progression to the institution’s MBA in International Business or to doctoral studies. During the programme students will develop research and presentation skills that will make them highly desirable to employers.

There are three broad subject strands to the MB programme:

• The international environment - this is studied through the broad political economic background, the international regulatory framework and the issues of corporate governance and ethics at an international level.
• International management - Cross-cultural management assess the impact of different cultures on management, while international entrepreneurship examines the issues of new business development in the international environment, and corporate policy looks at the strategies of global firms.
• International business functions - The special issues of business functions operating across national boundaries is analysed in relation to corporate finance and marketing in large multinational firms.

While the research methodology module provides a foundation for the dissertation, the research theme runs through all modules. The dissertation forms a capstone in permitting the students to pull all the strands together in a major integrative research work.

Semester 1

• Cross cultural management
• International regulatory environment
• The political economy
• International corporate finance
• Designing and conducting research

Semester 2

• Corporate policy

And one module from the following:

• International entrepreneurship
• International business ethic and corporate governance
• International strategic marketing

Semester 3 (summer)

• Dissertation

Masters requirements

An honours bachelor degree in a cognate discipline is required. If the applicant has an honours bachelor degree in a non-cognate discipline, it will be necessary for the applicant to complete such bridging modules as the Admissions Office deems necessary in order to achieve the prerequisite intended learning outcomes for participation in the programme. The length of this bridging programme depends on the amount of prerequisite learning outcomes achieved by the applicant, but normally will not exceed duration of one year.

Entry requirements

• American College Dublin has two intakes per year: in September and January.
• Students may apply directly to the Admissions office of American College Dublin.
• Applicants whose first language is not English should have an IELTS score of 7.0 (or equivalent).

Further education students

The College accepts students from further education colleges to all of its courses. Students must have gained three distinctions in a cognate area of the degree programme that they wish to study. Students must have a full level 5 or level 6 award and this award may have been taken over a number of years. Students with a FETAC qualification can gain access to both American College Dublin and American College Delaware.

Along with academic knowledge that students receive throughout the duration of their chosen subject, students will also acquire and develop transferable career skills from their degree discipline. These skills along with potential career paths are provided below to give you a well-rounded view of what the course has to offer.

These skills include:

• Cross-cultural management
• Analytical skills
• Effective communication skills
• Strategic thinking
• Strong presentation Skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership
• Team work
• Interpreting statistical data
• Time management

Graduates from the MB in International Business programme have been successful in perse areas such as:

• Accountancy/Finance
• International Finance
• Advertising
• Banking
• Human resource management
• Management
• Marketing
• Multinational enterprise
• Entrepreneurship

Students who have completed the MB in International Business may be considered to the MBA programme or to doctoral studies.