I know I want to end up in some sort of international business career, specifically involving German language as it is, of the languages I’ve tried to learn, the language I am best at. I think that I will end up getting an M.B.A. after undergraduate, but right now I’m stuck trying to decide on a college application. For the other ones I have done, I didn’t really worry about the specifics as I know that students are expected to change their minds, but I am currently in the process of applying for a specific state university’s honors program. The application specifically asks what I want to major in and where I see myself going with this in terms of career. I honestly am so indecisive I can’t even think of a solid stance on this. I know some schools offer an international business major, but the one I’m applying to doesn’t. I think I’ll try to double major, and my options that interest me are economics, human resources management, history, and international relations. Which combination of two would best serve me in terms of going from getting an M.B.A. to a career in international business? Thank you in advance.
International relations is a field rather than a skill set. You are best off learning a skill set, though complimenting that with a field of study in a double major can work very well.
Of the areas you mention, economics is going to be your most rigorous course of study. You will learn a way of thinking and analyzing and will need a decent knowledge of calculus and statistics. Those are all very marketable skills. The question would be what to double major in.
My bias would be history (depending on how well it’s taught and whether you choose an area of study that’s intellectually engaging - perhaps you can even choose an international focus). You will be doing a ton of writing so will learn to articulate and defend your ideas coherently and persuasively. It’s also one of those social sciences that can be quite fascinating, depending on your specific are of research. If data-intensive, you would be able to bring in your statistical knowledge to drive home some rigorous arguments. Choosing electives in your other areas of interest, i.e. human resources management and international relations, will help you develop your interests in these areas and also give you ideas for the type of work you want to do or the type of major you want to pursue once you start on the MBA. Also, they compliment your core academics with some practical and “real world” courses.
For the MBA I’d also recommend picking up a skill set or two - finance, accounting, supply chain, MIS, etc. are skills that can be applied to international or domestic organizations. While your goal is international business and your foreign language skills will help quite a bit, you actually don’t know whether you will be able to work overseas or not - or you might be state-side some years and on the other side of the pond the next . . . or you might be stationed in Asia. The point being that your skills are transferable, while focusing on a field of study may not be. That being said, the masters level is the time to really specialize so a concentration in International in addition to a skill set may be a good idea at that point.
Good luck to you!
If I were you, I would major in one of the concentrations that you find under business: Finance, Information Systems, MGMT, Accounting, etc, or Major in economics and add a minor in history or IR to it. A lot of business schools have international business too. There’s also schools like Bryant and Bentley that have a dozen business concentrations!
Keep in mind that for the top MBA schools you are generally expected to have at least 2 - 5 years of meaningful work experience before you apply. Therefore you want to choose an undergrad major that will give you sound employment prospects upon graduation.