Global Business Certificate

The Global Business Certificate is the highest form of academic achievement in international business that the BYU Marriott School of Business awards.

The certificate is visible, concise evidence that you have successfully integrated classroom learning with rigorous international experience, thereby increasing your value as a potential employee or associate. It is an opportunity to illustrate to potential employers or graduate schools that you are serious about international business and have gone above and beyond expectations to achieve the certificate.  

In order to be eligible to earn the certificate, you must be a business major or minor. Students who are not business majors or minors but would like to pursue international business credentials have the option to add the Global Business & Literacy minor through the Marriott School, (with permission from their major department). After enrolling as a Global Business and Literacy minor, a student can then add the Global Business Certificate if desired. When adding the certificate to the global business and literacy minor, several requirements overlap and count for both the certificate and the minor.

To receive the certificate you must demonstrate experience in three areas:

  1. Foreign business language and/or cross cultural competency
  2. International business coursework
  3. International business experience

Classes required for the certificate may also count for general business electives of your major. The aim of the program is to utilize your foreign language skills and/or international experience to provide you with tools for success in the global business world.

Please read and follow the steps below in order to obtain the Global Business Certificate.

Step 1: Enroll in the Certificate

After reading through the six steps listed here, use the enrollment link above or below to submit your certificate plan to the Global Business Center. Your plan will be approved or returned to you for amendment if necessary. You are not officially enrolled in the certificate until your plan had been fully approved by the Whitmore Global Business Center. After receiving that approval, you may request your academic advisor to add the Global Business Certificate to your MyMap. Caution: If you add the certificate to MyMap before your plan has been approved by the Global Business Center, MyMap may include incorrect information about your plan of study.

Once you understand the steps required, you can find the certificate plan enrollment form here. Click on “Begin Application” under the listing for your degree level. Select the courses you plan to take and how you plan to fit them into your schedule.  

Step 2: Register for International Business and Foreign Language Courses

After acceptance, register for the international business and foreign language courses or English track during the corresponding semesters. Please be sure to plan in advance as some courses are only available during specific semesters. If your language is not offered at the business language level, you may fulfill the requirement through the Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL) option. Reach out to the Whitmore Center if you have additional questions about this option.

If you speak an LCTL not offered through any of our business language courses, you may still complete the business language component and earn the Global Business Certificate or the global business and literacy minor by fulfilling the following requirements:

  • Enroll in a 300-level language class or the highest level BYU offers for the language. For example, Hungarian students should take Hungarian 330. The instructor for this 300 level course will need to sign off on each of the following requirements.
    • Choose and read at least fourteen articles from business periodicals or journals in your language and write a one-paragraph summary of each article in your language. Each article must be at least one-page long and the one-paragraph summary must be approved by your language instructor and initialed with approval.  
    • While enrolled in the above class, develop a vocabulary list of at least three-hundred business vocabulary terms in the target language and English. You should choose vocabulary terms that are new and useful to your field. You can use your reading material from the second requirement to develop the vocabulary list.
    • Write a five-page business report in English on a business topic of your interest related to the country where the language is spoken. Your topic must be pre-approved by the Whitmore Center.
    • Create your résumé in the language.
  • When completed, turn in all materials and assignments listed above as PDF’s in your certificate portal, including this attestation document from your professor. We encourage you to get support and feedback from your foreign language professor and the Whitmore Center as you complete the business language requirements.

Step 3: Participate in an International Business Experience

Plan for the international business experience you would like to go on. The experience can be in the form of an international internship, field study, study abroad, or other approved international experiences.

The following international experiences are eligible to be used toward the international business experience requirement of the Global Business Certificate:

  • Short-term business study abroad programs, offered by BYU Marriott, with at least two weeks in the foreign country. These trips are directed by a business faculty member and include business visits, case studies, and cultural visits, among other activities.
  • Student exchange programs, where students take business courses in the hosting foreign institution. The program should last for at least one semester.
  • Global field studies, where students spend a semester on campus preparing a recommendation for a real international business project and spend at least one week in the foreign country doing research.
  • International business internships, or work experience, where students spend at least one month working full-time or two-months working part-time for a company abroad. International students can count their internships or work experience in the United States as an international experience.

The experience should be a true business experience. Cultural trips, service projects (not business related), English teaching experiences, and similar experiences are not accepted as an international business experience. Students are required to submit an “International Business Experience for Approval” online prior to the experience. Students are also required to write a five-page report and submit it, ideally within thirty days of finishing the experience.

Step 4: Obtain International Business Experience Approval

After deciding on your international experience or after being accepted to a study abroad or a student exchange, add the experience to the application for approval by the Global Business Center. This experience must be during your time as a BYU student in your current degree program.

Step 5: Submit an International Business Experience Report

You need to submit a report, specifying the tasks performed and lessons learned from your experience to the Global Business Center within 30 days of the completion of your international business experience or within 30 days of approval of your international business experience (whichever is later). Reports that are written poorly, or not submitted in a timely manner, will not qualify for the Global Business Certificate requirement. 

Your international experience report is a personal reflection. It is not allowed to use AI to generate this reflection. Determination of AI use is at the discretion of Whitmore Center staff. If AI use is suspected, a student may be offered one chance to rewrite the reflection, but this is not guaranteed and subject to time constraints and other factors.

The report should be five to eight pages in length, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font and include the following:

  • Name of company or organization, including location and background
  • Name(s) of faculty in charge of the program
  • Length of the experience
  • Accomplishments or achievements during the experience period
  • Your duties and responsibilities within the organization
  • Business-related learnings, as well as cultural learnings
  • Application of learnings to future career goals

Step 6: Receive the Global Business Certificate

Once you complete the certificate requirements and graduate from BYU, you will have officially earned the certificate. You will be invited to a certificate graduation dinner in April of the year you graduate.

Contact the Global Business Center at gmc_certificate@byu.edu or call (801) 422-6495 for further questions.

Certificate Requirements

You only need to choose one of the following tracks:

  • The Foreign Language Track is for those who are bilingual (English and one other language).
  • The English Track is for those who are not bilingual (English and one other language).

1. Intro to International Business (3.0 credits)

2. GlobalHub (3.0 credits)

3. International Business Elective (3.0 credits)

Complete one of the following courses:

4.1 Foreign Language Track (3.0 credits)
  • MSB 596R (BUS M 596R): Arabic, Chinese (or CHIN 347), French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, Spanish, or LCTL
  • SPAN 323B
  • PORT 323B
  • CHIN 347
  • JAPAN 390
4.2 English Track (3.0 credits)
  • One regional studies class or international elective (3.0 Credits, must be approved by the Whitmore Center. See Approved Courses Here. Visit the Whitmore Center for questions)

5. International Experience

Your program must be a business-related study abroad, student exchange, international internship, an internship with a multinational corporation, or international field study project.

Begin Application

1. Intro to International Business (1.5 credits)

2. International Business Elective (6.0 credits, 2 classes)

Complete two of the courses listed

3.1 Foreign Language Track (3.0 credits)
  • MSB 596R (formerly BUS M 596R): Arabic, Chinese (or CHIN 347), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or LCTL
3.2 English Track (6.0 credits, 2 classes)
  • MSB 432: International Business and Culture
  • Regional studies class or international elective (must be approved by the Whitmore Center. See gbc.byu.edu for specifics)

4. International Experience

Your program must be a business-related study abroad, student exchange, international internship, or international field study project. International experience must be completed during enrollment in your current program.

Begin Application

1. Intro to International Business (3.0 credits)

Choose one of the courses listed

2. International Business Elective (6.0 credits, 2 classes)

Complete two of the courses listed

3.1 Foreign Language Track (3.0 credits)
  • MSB 596R (formerly BUS M 596R): Arabic, Chinese (or CHIN 347), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or LCTL
3.2 English Track (6.0 credits, 2 classes)
  • MSB 432: International Business and Culture
  • Regional studies class or international elective (must be approved by the Whitmore Center. See gbc.byu.edu for specifics)

4. International Experience

Your program must be a business-related study abroad, student exchange, international internship, an internship with a multinational corporation, or international field study project.

Begin Application

1. Intro to International Business (3.0 credits)

2. International Business Elective (6.0 credits, 2 classes)

Complete two of the courses listed

3.1 Foreign Language Track (3.0 credits)
  • MSB 596R (formerly BUS M 596R): Arabic, Chinese (or CHIN 347), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or LCTL
3.2 English Track (6.0 credits, 2 classes)
  • MSB 432: International Business and Culture
  • Regional studies class or international elective (must be approved by the Whitmore Center. See gbc.byu.edu for specifics)

4. International Experience

Your program must be business related: study abroad, student exchange, international internship, international field study project.

Begin Application

1. Intro to International Business (3.0 credits)

2. International Business Elective (6.0 credits, 2 classes) 

Complete two of the courses listed

3.1 Foreign Language Track (3.0 credits)
  • MSB 596R (formerly BUS M 596R): Arabic, Chinese (or CHIN 347), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or LCTL
3.2 English Track (6.0 credits, 2 classes)
  • MSB 432: International Business and Culture
  • Regional studies class or international elective (must be approved by the Whitmore Center. See gbc.byu.edu for specifics)

4. International Experience

Your program must be business related: study abroad, student exchange, international internship, an internship with a multinational corporation, international field study project.

Begin Application