Global Affairs & International Business

Global Affairs & International Business

at a glance

Major icon MAJOR

In this age of globalization, business and commerce are intricately connected with international realities in many ways. As a Global Affairs & International Business major, you’ll learn how the principles, concepts and ideas of globalization impact businesses around the world. You’ll also get the tools you need to excel and thrive in a global age.

Careers: Business Analysis, Sales, Consulting, Graduate Studies, Accounting

international business woman business professional beome a catholic business leader

BECOME A CATHOLIC BUSINESS LEADER

When you enroll in our Global Affairs and Business major, you’ll take on a high-quality and rigorous curriculum in economics, politics and business, all built around our liberal arts core. But worldly knowledge isn’t enough. At AMU, you’ll learn how to let Christian ideals inspire your business transactions so that you can serve the Church and society loyally and generously.

light bulbFast Fact: Our alumni work in all areas of business: analysis, sales, consulting, management, logistics, accounting, information systems, sports, health care and more.

EXPLORE the OPPORTUNITY

Global Affairs & International Business

international business handshake skills you will gain

Skills you will gain with

AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEGREE

  1. See and understand the big picture. Our world is becoming more interconnected and interdependent. Discover the impact business decisions have on the world economy. Master the intricacies of the relationship between global business, culture, and politics.
  2. Learn the language of globalization. Become proficient in discussing global issues such as the trade deficit and currency exchange rates. Find out how these seemingly remote topics impact your daily life.
  3. Get a Catholic perspective on globalization. Globalization comes with many promises and perils. While business between nations has benefited many less fortunate countries, it also has created situations where natural law and human rights are sometimes violated. Using the lens of faith, you’ll learn how to properly interpret the signs of the times and evaluate different global policies in terms of their adherence to revealed truth and natural law.
international business handshake skills you will gain

CAREER PATHS

Take the NEXT STEP

start your application

Start your

APPLICATION

get some financial aid

Get some

FINANCIAL AID

Talk to an advisor

Contact

ADMISSIONS

A look into the

GLOBAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

The major in Global Affairs and International Business gives students the intellectual foundation to think about global interactions.  We know that we live in a “globalized” world, in which interactions with other countries are inescapable.  “Globalization” is not just a political phenomenon, or an economic phenomenon, or a cultural phenomenon: it affects the very fabric of our lives, and it does so in a million directions.  Not only do we need to know about it, we need to have the intellectual foundation with which to think about interactions that span the planet.  For this reason, a major like Global Affairs and International Business is an attractive complement to a solid liberal education.

While many schools may offer this kind of interdisciplinary major, what puts Ave Maria University in a position of strength is that we offer faculty in business, economics, and politics who not only have a great deal of knowledge and experience in the area but who also know each other very well and can help each other see these issues from many sides.  The Global Affairs and International Business major builds on and integrates a high-quality and rigorous curriculum in economics, politics, and business, helping students become careful thinkers and actors in the global society.

Our majors emphasize analytical thinking and tools: the intellectual equipment and critical skills needed to understand and excel in business and in most other human endeavors.  Ave Maria students have the unique fortune of building on a foundation of a liberal education, an education on the basic realities about God and the world, man and his relationship with God and nature.  Through our liberal arts curriculum, students learn that reality is coherent and intelligible and grow in the habit – in the essential business skill – of looking for patterns and seeing the sense in the apparent contradictions of the world that surrounds them.

We aim to inspire students to become business leaders inspired by Christian ideals and governed by Christian ideas.  Relying on the Catholic faith lived intensely on campus and on the general intellectual formation of the Core Curriculum, what animates the program is the Catholic view of the human person, his nature, and his ultimate destiny.  The distinctive character of the program is its belief in the dignity of the human person, in the reality and importance of the common good, in subsidiarity and solidarity, in ownership as stewardship, and in responsibility for the environment.  Because students learn to value human beings for what they are, not for what utility they bring, they are able to serve the Church and their society loyally and generously.

Mary Hunt, Ph.D. (candidate)

Assistant Professor of Business & Psychology

Mary HuntEducation: B.A., Political Science & Spanish, Wellesley College; M.B.A., Marketing, Washington University; M.S., Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology; Ph.D. (candidate), Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology
Office: Henkels 2030
Email: mary.hunt@avemaria.edu
Phone: (239) 304-7128

Gabriel Martinez, Ph.D.

Chair of the Economics Department, Associate Professor of Economics, Director of Online Education

Gabriel MartinezEducation: B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, University of South Carolina; M.A., Economics, University of Notre Dame; Ph.D., Economics, University of Notre Dame
Office: Prince 111
Email: gabriel.martinez@avemaria.edu
Phone: (239) 280-1611
Curriculum Vitae: Download

John May, M.B.A.

Chair of the Business Department, Executive-in-Residence

John MayEducation: B.S., Bacteriology, University of Maine; M.B.A., University of Maine
Office: Henkels 2020
Email: john.may@avemaria.edu
Phone: (239) 280-1652

DAVOR PRANJIC, M.A.

ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR OF BUSINESS

Davor PranjicEducation: B.B.A., International Business, Schiller International University; M.A., Economics, University of South Florida
Email: 
davor.pranjic@avemaria.edu

 

Peter Whalen, Ph.D.

Ungarino Associate Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Education: B.S., Marketing, Florida State University; M.B.A., Business Administration, Saint Louis University; Ph.D., Marketing, University of Oregon
Office: Henkels 2046
Email: peter.whalen@avemaria.edu
Phone: (239) 280-1694

  • Our alumni work in all areas of business: analysis, sales, consulting, management, logistics, accounting, information systems, sports, health care.  Many have gone on to graduate study in business, law, and other areas.
  • The Department of Business offers a major and a minor in Business Administration, a major and a minor in Accounting, a major in Finance, and a major in Global Affairs and International Business.
  • We have a close relationship with the Career Services Department.  Jointly we run a Corporate Internship program, through which students are placed in internships that are overseen by our faculty.
  • Our professors have multiple, advanced degrees in management, accounting, finance, economics, taxation, and law.
  • The top 20% of business juniors and seniors is qualified for membership in Sigma Beta Delta, the business honor society.

In addition to the core curriculum, global affairs majors take the following courses

  • ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ECON 202 Principles of Microeconomics
  • ACCT 201 Financial Accounting
  • POLT 205 Introduction to International Relations
  • STAT 230 Applied Statistics
  • ECON 301 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  • FINC 201 Fundamentals of Finance
  • BUSN 400 International Business

One Elective out of

  • ECON 316 Markets, State, and Institutions
  • ECON 320 Economics and Ethics of Development
  • ECON 322 Globalization and International Trade
  • ECON 421 International Macroeconomics
  • ECON 415 Special Topics in Economics (with approval of the Chair of the Department of Economics)
Click the button to view our typical 4-year plan.

INTERNSHIPS:

Ave Maria University is fortunate to be connected to a strong, nationally-recognized network of business managers and CEOs who are looking for the skills and the virtues that characterize Ave Maria students.  We are very active in developing our students’ career potential, connecting them with suitable internships, and ensuring their success.

CAREERS:

The Global Affairs and International Business major prepares you for careers that need people who are familiar with the workings of the world economy, with exchange rates and capital flows, with international risk assessment and converging economic development, with diversity in legal structures and the variety of cultures.  This means that the GAIB major will open up possibilities in three different areas:  businesses that operate across borders (export and import, outsourcing, multinationals); international financial institutions (banks, stock markets, multilateral lenders); and governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work in diplomacy, conflict resolution, and economic aid.

AFFILIATIONS:

The Business Honor Society Sigma Beta Delta has a chapter at Ave Maria University, to which the top twenty percent of juniors and seniors are admitted.

More to help you

ON YOUR JOURNEY

young professional man career services success

CAREER SERVICES

Career Services prides itself on providing students, alumni and employers with the opportunity to connect. No matter where you are in your career search, whether it’s deciding on a path, preparing for your first job interview or working on graduate school or fellowship applications, we can help.

catholic college priest giving eucharist faith

Catholic Culture

The spiritual life on campus is the beating heart of Ave. Whether it’s attending Mass, receiving the sacraments, participating in retreats or getting spiritual direction, you’ll find the spiritual support you need from the priests and staff of Campus Ministry.

undergraduate core curriculum woman studying

CORE CURRICULUM

With AMU’s core curriculum, you’ll not only achieve breadth of knowledge, but also depth of knowledge. You’ll encounter the truth about God and His creation more completely through the dynamic interplay of all of the liberal arts, including theology and natural science.

sunny college in florida ave maria university apply mobile

GO AHEAD AND APPLY!

Sunny skies, warm temperatures, a beautiful campus. What more could you want? How about a community-like atmosphere, quality instructors who care about your success, a wealth of spiritual activities, expert career guidance… and that’s only the beginning. Imagine your future at AMU. It all starts by filling out our free application today.

Apply
Inquire
Visit
Majors
Donate

What are you

LOOKING FOR?

NEXT STEPS