International business degrees typically start with core business courses: these are general business courses such as finance, accounting and marketing. As the student progresses, he will need to start in business courses that involve the global instead of the local market. For example, advertising is a typical upper-level course in business marketing. In international business marketing however, the effects of different cultures and country environments may be added to study how to create effective international advertising campaigns.
An international business degree generally focuses on a handful of countries as the main area of study. It is common for an international business program to take students on study tours to these countries. These tours immerse students in both a cultural and professional experience; students will visit companies and study the different business models specifically tailored to that country's culture. Some international business programs take this a step further by providing a long-term experience. In this case, daily classes are conducted completely within the foreign country.
International business students have the necessary background to help companies transition into the international and global markets. They often work as expert consultants to the company, contributing to international launch strategies and competitive analysis. Some might be hired to start a new division in international business; he would be responsible in working with and training managers and employees about the target country's business culture.
Some international business programs either require a foreign language or will integrate language learning into the curriculum. For programs requiring a language, the language typically has to be a major language other than English, though not necessarily any particular major language. This is to integrate their skills into business projects that require knowledge of the language. Language learning is often more reserved for programs conducted outside the local country. In addition to general language, students would also learn fundamental business language/lingo that applies in that country.