The University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business announced today that its undergraduate international business program is ranked No. 1 according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best Colleges publication released on Monday, Sept. 13. This announcement marks the 23rd consecutive year that the program has been ranked as the top undergraduate international business program in the country.
“To earn the 23rd consecutive year as the No. 1-ranked undergraduate international business program is a testament to the world-class faculty, top-performing students who go on to have illustrious careers and a challenging and robust curriculum that make a top-ranked program,” said Darla Moore School of Business Dean Peter Brews. “To not only have the No. 1 undergraduate IB program but also the No. 1 International MBA program, as announced earlier this year, demonstrates the excellence and academic rigor of our programs and the career preparation we provide our graduates.”
The Moore School’s undergraduate international business program is selective, admitting no more than 200 students annually. Once admitted, students have the opportunity to select from one of two distinct programs: the global international business program or the international business cohort program. Both programs require students to double-major in a functional area, providing graduates with additional specialized knowledge and skills in fields such as accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing, operations and supply chain, real estate or risk management and insurance. Typically, the first jobs of international business graduates are linked to these other majors, and many also complete the Moore School’s top functional major cohort programs such as the Finance Scholars or Marketing Scholars programs or the business analytics concentration.
The employability of undergraduate international business graduates is evident in the high job placement rates from the 2021 graduating class, which despite a record year of unemployment resulting from a global pandemic, reported a record placement rate of 98 percent 90 days after graduation, 12 percent more than 2020 and 9 percent more than a pre-COVID-19 2019. These reporting graduates had an average starting salary of $62,952.
“Our alumni enter the workforce understanding the international context of business and possessing a global perspective that prepare them to immediately contribute to their organizations,” said Marc van Essen, chair of the Sonoco International Business Department and faculty director of the undergraduate international business program. “The undergraduate international business faculty provide the Moore School’s top students who come from all over the world with an all-encompassing and relational view of working across cultures so they can successfully collaborate with colleagues all over the globe.”
Study abroad is an important aspect of the international business program with undergraduate students committing to at least one semester abroad as part of the global international business program or several semesters abroad with one of the Moore School’s five international business cohort programs offered jointly with an international partner institution.
Learn more about the Moore School’s top-ranked international business program.