Carson College of Business

The Carson College of Business (CCB) at Washington State University prepares students to become innovative and purposeful leaders with the skill and knowledge to succeed in the global marketplace. CCB graduates lead insightfully by effectively applying core business competencies, employing a global perspective, and embracing diversity. CCB students, graduates, and researchers apply integrated business tools and entrepreneurial perspectives to successfully execute and deliver transformational innovations across disciplines and around the world.

Carson College Core Business Requirements

The following Core Business classes are designed to provide business majors with a solid foundation in business, strengthen their professional skills, and meet the learning outcomes listed above.

• B A 100 Intro to Business
• HBM 101 Professional Development
• B A 102 Exploring Careers in Business
• B A 201 Ethics, B A 202  Teams, B A 203  Innovation; or B A 211 Ethics, Teams, Innovation
• B A 204  Decision Analysis, B A 205  Spreadsheets, B A 206 Data Visualization; or B A 212 Decision Analysis, Spreadsheets, Data Visualization
• ACCTG 230 Intro to Financial Accounting
• ACCTG 231 Intro to Managerial Accounting
• B LAW 210 Law & the Legal Environment of Business
• MGTOP 215 Business Statistics
• MIS 250 Managing Information Technology
• I BUS 380 International Business
• MGTOP 340 Operations Management; or HBM 494 Service Operations Management (HBM/WBBM majors only)
• FIN 325 Intro to Financial Management
• MKTG 360 Marketing

International Experience Requirement (IER)

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the IER, students should be able to:

• Appreciate differences in the external environmental factors that affect global business
• Identify the specific elements of the cultural environment that affect global business decisions
• Evaluate the implications of the external environmental factors on global business decisions
• Incorporate global economic, political and cultural factors when making global business recommendations

Students can satisfy the IER requirements by completing one of the following:

1. Study abroad for 6 or more credit hours. Two smaller study abroad programs may be cumulated to meet the entire 6 credit-hour requirement. International students in the Carson College of Business (not including WSU Global students) will meet their study abroad requirement through their study in the United States.
2. Complete a major or minor in a foreign language.
3. Students that demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language (e.g., STAMP test) will be deemed to have met the Carson College of Business International Experience Requirement. [Honors College students that meet their demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language will also be deemed to have met the Carson College of Business IER.]
4. Complete a minimum of one year of international experience in any of the following areas: military service, Peace Corps, Volunteer work with an organization, missionary work, or other.  Documentation must be submitted to the student's academic advisor for approval.
5. Complete two of the following:
   1. The Global Leadership Certificate or other certificate with a major international component (e.g. The East Asia Program) as approved by the administrative head of the Department of Marketing and International Business.
   2. A brief study abroad program of at least 3 credit hours.
   3. An “international non-business course”. Approved courses include: AMDT 413; ANTH 301, 306, 307, 309, 312, 316, 317, 320, 330, 350, 370, 405, 417, 418, 450, 469; ARCH 428; ASIA 302, 315, 373, 374, 477, 479; BIOLOGY 401; CES 301, 325, 372, 377, 379, 380, 401, 405, 421, 426, 470; COMSOC 321; CRM J 405; CROP SCI 360; ECONS 427, 428, 430, 433, 453; ENGLISH 373, 410, 457; FINE ART 331; FOR LANG 410; H D 350, 403; HISTORY 331, 373, 374, 436, 464, 466, 473, 477, 479, 491, 492, 494, 495; HUMANITY 350; PHIL 314, 315; POL S 314, 424, 427, 435; RUSSIAN 410; SOC 331, 332, 375, 415; SOE 300, 312, 390, 412; SOIL SCI 360; TCH LRN 480, 487; WOMEN ST 316, 332, 340, 406.
   4. An approved 300-400-level “international business or economics course”. Approved courses include: ACCTG 420; ECONS 327; I BUS 415, 416, 435, 453, 470, 482, 496; MIS 441.
   5. At least 3 credits in a foreign language. Approved courses include: CHINESE 101, 102, 203; FRENCH 101, 102, 203; GERMAN 101, 102, 203; ITALIAN 101, 102; JAPANESE 101, 102, 203; LATIN 101, 102; RUSSIAN 101, 102, 203; SPANISH 101, 102, 203; or as approved by advisor. Sign Language is not an approved foreign language to satisfy this requirement.
   6. An international internship approved by the Department of Marketing and International Business (maximum of 3 credit hours).
   7. An accepted petition to the Department of Marketing and International Business to allow the use of extensive international travel experiences at the collegiate or corporate level for up to 3 credit hours towards the International Experience Requirement. Although petitions must be approved prior to the international travel, exceptional cases can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Normally such an experience will be at least three months in duration.
   8. A University course research project with an international business research focus that is a significant part of the course learning component, and that constitutes 40% or more of the class. The petition for allowing a project work to count towards the International Experience Requirement should be signed off by the course instructor, and the final approval will be made by the Department of Marketing and International Business for Pullman based students, and an IBUS Fellow or Area Director for urban campus students. *
   9. Participate as finalists in an international or global case competition (e.g., Global Case Competition conducted by WSU International Programs). The determination of whether a case competition can be counted towards the International Experience Requirement will be made through a petition to the Department of Marketing and International Business. Although only final round participants can be considered, exceptional cases that did not make it to the final round can also be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Department of Marketing and International Business, which will make the final approval.

* Students also need to obtain pre-approval from course instructor prior to start of project work on the petition form that is available with advisors at the respective campus locations.

Carson Career Amplifier Program

The Carson Career Amplifier Program (CCAP) engages students in co-curricular activities and programs that provide students with the opportunity to develop professional skills and experiences that employers are seeking. In addition to required coursework, earning a degree in the Carson College of Business requires students to complete several categories of co-curricular requirements each year. Categories are based on a subset of the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies and include:

• Communication
• Leadership
• Professionalism
• Career Management

The CCAP program helps students to develop the professional skills needed to become business leaders of tomorrow. With a focus on professionalism, networking, and engagement, students will select from a menu of online and in-person activities that satisfy each requirement.  Each year, CCAP requirements become progressively more involved; from learning about student success strategies in the freshman year, to participating in an internship or study abroad as a junior or senior.  Details about requirements for satisfying annual milestones can be found on the Carson College website.

Students can expect to spend a minimum of 7-10 co-curricular hours each year, depending on how students choose to satisfy each requirement.  However, as students become involved in leadership activities and high impact learning experiences, the amount of co-curricular hours will increase. For example, over the course of one academic year, a student attending weekly club meetings could spend about 26 hours in club meetings, a summer internship could total 300-400 hours, and a 6-week faculty led study abroad program averages about 250 hours.

Examples of activities that could be used to satisfy competencies:

Communication: • Networking events • Professional development seminars on resume/cover letter development and interview preparation • Mock interviews • Jobs or volunteer work that involve public speaking;

Leadership: • Increasing commitment/involvement in clubs and organizations resulting in the opportunity to take on leadership roles. Includes business clubs, student government, current work, Greek & Residence Hall leadership, community organizations, roles such as Resident Assistant (RA) and Research Assistant. • Structured leadership programs/trainings • Increasing leadership responsibilities within current employment;

Professionalism: • Activities that increase student understanding of professional standards expected in higher education (in and outside the classroom) • Activities that increase student understanding of professional standards expected by employers (internships, relevant work experiences, business consulting projects) • Opportunities that allow students to strengthen and demonstrate their professionalism and work ethic;

Career Management:  • Assessing oneself (strengths/weaknesses, interests/dislikes, abilities, values) • Learning about majors, internships, careers/employers, professional development opportunities in order to make informed decisions • Setting major/career goals based on analyzing oneself and career opportunities • Identifying areas within one’s skillset that need to be developed/strengthened • Pursuing activities that strengthen areas needing growth & development.

Options used to satisfy competency will be based on the availability of events/activities at each campus and Global Campus students will have the ability to satisfy requirements through events/activities in their surrounding community and current employment site. If an activity/event is not on the list, students, advisors, and faculty will have the ability to propose additional events/activities that align with the goals for a competency. Each year (based on credit hours) will be tracked as milestones in the myWSU system. Completion of the first year of the CCAP is required for admission into the College. Subsequent years will be tracked annually.  Completion of the CCAP for all 4 years is required for graduation.