International Business Honors Program

The Honors in International Business (hereafter also referred to as the Honors program) will provide FAU undergraduate students with the opportunity for enriched learning through active faculty mentoring, honors coursework and international experience, culminating in an Honors portfolio that connects Honors coursework and the experiential component

Undergraduate students who successfully fulfill all requirements below and have a final cumulative GPA of 3.25 or greater at the time of degree conferral receive a designation of Honors in the Major on their transcript. The transcript designation is "Honors in International Business".

Requirements for Eligibility and Admission to Honors in International Business:
Eligible students must have:

1.  Acceptance into the College of Business at FAU as a declared major in International Business.
2. Cumulative/Overall GPA of at least 3.25.
3. Formal application can be submitted after completion of, or in the semester of completing, 30 credit hours and no later than 3 weeks prior to the beginning of the semester for which students seek to enroll in the Honors in the Major Program. Transferred courses from incoming students will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The application package should include:

• Application form
• Unofficial transcript
• Resume

Requirements to maintain Eligibility for the Honors in International Business

1. Maintain good academic and ethical standing;
2. Maintain cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 overall;
3. Maintain cumulative GPA of 3.5 in all three Honors-in-the-Major courses;
4. Participate in all enrichment requirements.

Students will not be allowed to continue in the Honors program for:

1. Violation of the Code of Academic Integrity.
2. Any grade of less than a “B” in an Honors-in-the-Major enrichment course. Please see below for more details.

The Honors in International Business Enrichment Requirements

Requirement #1: General Enrichment
In general, Honors students are required to:

1. Participate in a form of extensive mentoring in practical research by approved course instructors.
   1. In addition to course instructors, Honors students will meet regularly with a designated faculty mentor from the International Business Program.
2. Honors students will be expected to participate in activities and, where possible, serve as officers of the undergraduate club for the International Business Program – currently the Student Global Business Association
3. Honors students will be invited to all the International Business Program’s faculty seminars and workshops.
4. Students will have a total of 2 years to complete all requirements for the Honors program, after which they will have to meet with the director to discuss their situation and options.
   1. NOTE: Prior to application, students who have already completed four (4) or more of the approved Honors-level courses available in the program are not eligible for the program. Please see the next section for a list of approved courses.

Requirement #2: Coursework
The Honors in International Business program requires the completion of three (3) courses where additional enrichment requirements through an Honors Compact Form have been agreed upon. Ideally Honors courses should be completed no later than the end of the Fall of their senior year at FAU.

Course Selection and Honors Compact Procedure

1. Students must register for an approved course that may be designated as Honors level. Courses that may be designated as Honors-level include:
   • FIN 4604 International Finance
   • MAN3442 International Business Negotiations
   • MAN 3600 International Business
   • MAN 4602 Global Business Operations
   • MAN 4610 Managing Human Resources Globally
   • MAR 4156 International Marketing
2. Students will approach the course instructor and request that the course be designated as Honors-level.
   1. This decision is entirely the instructor’s - the instructor is not required to work with the student. However, a system will be developed so that all faculty will share the responsibility of supporting the Honors Program coursework requirements.
3. The student will present the Honors Compact to the Instructor with their portion of the form. A form for the Honor’s Compact will be provided by the International Business program;
   1. The Honor’s Compact form is available online at https://www.fau.edu/honorsinthemajor/documents/upper-division-honors-compact-form.pd 
4. The instructor will determine the nature of the honors-level enrichment of the course.
5. After the student and the instructor sign the Honors Compact, it will be sent to the Honors in International Business program faculty advisor, as well as to and the University Honors Director, for final acceptance.
   1. Honors Compacts must have final approval completed no later than 3 weeks after the beginning of a semester.

 

Requirement #3: Honors Capstone Project
A student’s Capstone Project consists of two parts: An experiential component, followed by the creation of a portfolio exploring the connections between work completed in their Honor’s Compacts and the experiential component. The final portfolio will act as their Honors Capstone Project.

Part 1: Experiential Component

1. Completion of the equivalent of one semester of ONE (1) of the following experiences after entering the IB Honors program:
   1. Study abroad. Study abroad will be as a full-time enrolled student at an International Business Program and/or FAU approved foreign university or college.
      1. MAN 4956 International Business Study Abroad course enrollment, or approved equivalent, required for at least one (1) semester.
   2. International internship with an organization that is doing, or dealing with, for-profit business while living in a foreign country. The International Business Program must grant approval of the internship before it has begun.
      1. MAN 4940 Management Internship course enrollment required for at least one (1) semester.
   3. Domestic internship with an organization that is doing, or dealing with, for-profit business involving substantial international on-the-job duties.The International Business Program must grant approval of the internship before it has begun.
      1. MAN 4940 Management Internship course enrollment required for at least one (1) semester.

Part 2: Honors Capstone Portfolio Project
Honors students will create a portfolio consisting of the following:

1. Completed work from all three Honors Course Compacts.
2. An analysis of the experiential component using Honor’s Compact coursework with the goal of exploring connections between Honors experiences and documenting honors achievements.
   1. Analysis will consist of applying Course Compact work to real-world situations experienced by the student during the internship or study abroad.
   2. The Capstone Portfolio Project represents at least 25% of the student’s grade in the associated internship/study abroad course evaluated utilizing a set of criteria based on the experiential component.
   3. Honors students will be required to score at least a 75% on their final Capstone Portfolio Project to complete the requirement.