USC International Business - South Carolina - Darla Moore - #1 in the US?

[Anonymous]

Didnt know much about this program, but apparently it has been ranked the #1 International Business program in the America for years….
Does anyone here have any insights into this? How competitive is it? Job Placements after graduation, etc.

[Anonymous]

My DC amd nephew are there as a sophomores and one is in the business school, the other in biology. It’s a great school, and they are loving their experience.

Pros:

Great classes, descriptions from my kid remind me of my MBA work.
Big U, fun environment
Great sports school (tops in women’s basketball but also lots of other D1 sports)
Columbia is a nice, small city
Lots of study abroad activities, including 3 week “maymester”. International business requires a semester abroad.
Relatively affordable, especially with honors or capstone scholarship (giving merit aid)
Warm weather, especially during school but you escape during summer
Greek system but you don’t have to do it to have friends at all. (DS did not but nephew did)
Direct flights from DCA and IAD, or 8 hour drive.

Cons:
Its reputation is still catching up with what people think of SC/ red states. I was worried about the dynamic but it is a good mix of kids from a variety of states and backgrounds.

The distance is a bit of a pain relative to local DMV or driving distance schools, but only 1-2 a year.

It might be harder to get a job long term, but so far they seem to be well positioned. On track to get internships this summer.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a sophomore in the program. Most slots go to honors kids (direct admit if you have the gpa) otherwise you apply after freshman year. It’s very competitive. There are only about 50-60 slots.

Classes have been great and she’s had amazing opportunities and made lots of friends across all departments.

You have to double major (have a functional major-finance, accounting, marketing, Econ or supply chain too) plus a minor in a language.

Getting into the business frats has not happened though-it’s super competitive-so she’s bummed about that.

[Anonymous]

That’s because it is one of the only schools that takes its international business major seriously.

I’m not trying to put it down. But this is a major that doesn’t exist at many schools or can only be done as a secondary major or a joint degree (for example, at Penn you get a joint degree, one in international studies and one in economics).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s because it is one of the only schools that takes its international business major seriously.

I’m not trying to put it down. But this is a major that doesn’t exist at many schools or can only be done as a secondary major or a joint degree (for example, at Penn you get a joint degree, one in international studies and one in economics).

Columbia, SC is not on the coast and has no port, and no major airport either. Quite strange that the school has pushed "international business" as its signature program when the location has no international business going on to speak of.

[Anonymous]

I understand that there’s a distinction between “international business” and “business” undergrad.

No one’s gonna be confusing this degree with the combination Wharton and SAIS degree from Johns Hopkins. It doesn’t mean SC isn’t a great business school.

That said, my kid is in the regular business program at Darla Moore, and is liking it. They weren’t interested in taking the extra steps to be part of that 50 to 60 person cohort to be part of the “international” business experience.

I have a top MBA that is not in “international” business, but I work for a Fortune 100 company and work with people in multiple countries weekly. I also lived overseas in my 20s for a few years. To me the distinction is meaningless. You can go abroad AND you can study business (and languages), in college or afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s because it is one of the only schools that takes its international business major seriously.

I’m not trying to put it down. But this is a major that doesn’t exist at many schools or can only be done as a secondary major or a joint degree (for example, at Penn you get a joint degree, one in international studies and one in economics).

Columbia, SC is not on the coast and has no port, and no major airport either. Quite strange that the school has pushed "international business" as its signature program when the location has no international business going on to speak of.

It’s really not strange about the port or the airport (not really key criteria), and the Intl business program has been well known since the 90s at least.

[Anonymous]

https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/moore/study/international_business/news_events/

50 years+ of having an international business program

[Anonymous]

Also forgot to mention, SC has a great 1st year experience and U101 class, and it is well regarded. I think that helped my kid adjust.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/first-year-experience-programs

[Anonymous]

It’s number 1 because there are so few colleges offering the specific degree

There are few colleges offering the degree because it is meaningless

You can work internationally in business without that specialization and I would argue a specialization in Finance, Quantative Economics, or Applied Analytics or sub specialties like Commercial Real Estate, Risk Management would be better in preparation for a job after graduation

[Anonymous]

Job placement 2025, 70-85%. Starting salary $60-75k.

[Anonymous]

https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/moore/talent_recruiting/office_of_career_management/company_recruiter_resources/employment_statistics/

[Anonymous]

UCSD has a great program too.

[Anonymous]

My kid is international and was just accepted. She already speaks 4 languages. But is worried about the placement after year 1. How many spots are available?

[Anonymous]

The risk at schools like this and Indiana etc is that if you are not directly in (I think at USC, only honors kids are directly in) then there is a pretty big risk in selecting the school for this particular major….competition will be brutal….specially the more fun cohort tracks.