Global Business Institute: Sydney - Semester

 

Welcome to the Global Business Institute (GBI), your opportunity to study and practice business at one of five international campuses. GBI prepares you for the business world through coursework that advances your degree, out-of-the-classroom experiences that create cultural competence, and internship opportunities that provide you with transferable workplace skills.
 
A center for marketing, supply chain, and finance, Sydney is a global hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Your lecturers will be renowned Australian business faculty members along with Pitt faculty based at the CAPA Sydney Program Center.
 
Want to learn more? Check out the Pitt Business To the World student blog and this video.

 

 

 

What You'll Accomplish: 

As an engaged and active participant in this program, you will have the opportunity to:

  • fulfill major elective course(s) and general elective course requirements.
  • develop your global competency skills through coursework, internship opportunities and cultural experiences.
  • gain transferrable skills towards your professional and personal development by participating in an internship. 

Sydney is known for its surfers and sunshine, but living in the largest, oldest and most cosmopolitan city in the Land Down Under offers you so much more.  Sydney is a key player in the Asia-Pacific supply chain, an epicenter of finance, and has a large natural resources industry. Additionally, brimming with history, nature, culture, art, fashion, cuisine, and design, the city has a firm reputation as one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse cities in the world.
While Australia is no longer used as a colony for exiled British prisoners, one third of Sydney’s population is born overseas, creating a fascinating and constantly evolving cultural landscape.
Study abroad at GBI: Sydney and you find yourself learning (and doing) business the Aussie way.

Where You'll Live: 

Part of the experience is to live like a Sydneysider. You will live in shared apartments spread across the city. While apartments are as varied as the city itself and no two residence are alike, all of them are located in safe neighborhoods and secure buildings. 
You can expect the following:

  • Shared bedrooms (2 or 3 students/bedroom)
  • Bedding
  • Shared bathroom
  • Shared kitchen 
  • Internet access
  • Coin operated laundry 

Please note that meals are not included in the program fee.
Regardless of where you live, you can expect a 60 to 90-minute commute to both the CAPA Center and your internship (door-to-door). Transit pass for travel on the busses/trains/light rails is included in the program fee.
You will receive your address, roommate information, and neighborhood description about 2 weeks before your departure for Sydney.
If apartment living does not appeal to you, homestays are also an option.  Email your Pitt program manager for more information. 
We do our best to provide the most accurate information about housing and amenities but due to the nature of the locations in which we offer programs and limited availability, these items are subject to change.  Contact your program manager with any questions.

What You'll Study: 

Students can take 12-18 credits (3 credits per course unless noted). 

Looking to complete the Certificate in International Business? Take the following courses to fulfill nearly all of the CPIB requirements! Course descriptions are listed in the general course list below. Please note that you will still need to meet the language requirement to receive the certificate. 

CPIB Track 

  • BUSORG 1655 - International Dimensions of Organization Behavior 
  • BUSECON 1508 - Key Issues in International Economics for Managers  

Major Elective (choose 1):

  • BUSFIN 1341 - International Finance 
  • BUSMKT 1461 - International Marketing 
  • BUSHRM 1670 - Global Workforce Management 
  • BUSSCM 1730: Managing Global Supply Chains 

CBA Elective:

  • BUS 1910 -  International Internship For Credit  

Arts & Sciences Elective:

  • PS 1345 - Politics of Oceania (this course can also be used to satisfy a Social Science general education requirement)

In addition to the courses listed below, please note that we anticipate the following courses to be offered Spring 2025:

  • International Finance (BUSFIN 1341)
  • Global Workforce Management and Change (BUSHRM 1670)
  • Sports Management (BUSHRM 1689)
  • Australian Asian Literature (ENGLIT 1360)
  • Australian Cinema (ENGFLM1391).

 

Fall 2024 GBI - Sydney Courses:

Business International Internship (BUS1910)

This is a part-time internship (20 hours per week). In addition, you will attend weekly discussion-led sessions that include educational support and mentoring in a classroom environment, develop personal and professional skills, and learn to contextualize your internship experience socially and culturally. You will receive 3 credits for this course.
Please note internships are available for students who have successfully completed three semesters of coursework at Pitt or a transfer university as a degree-seeking student. 

Consulting Field Project (BUS0600)

Management consulting will continue to be a significant and popular career option, as it provides an opportunity for challenging work, continued self-development, access to important social and professional networks, traveling, and financial rewards.  In this course, you will explore the art of using expertise in a field to advise client organizations on high-level strategic issues and provide them with management counsel. Throughout the course, you will experience the opportunity to work on solving executive-level problems and simulate consulting project activities and situations by working on business cases, exercises, and a team assignment based on real-life consulting challenges.

GBI Florence: point of distinction and focus is Manufacturing and trade for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

GBI London:  point of distinction and focus is Business Finance

GBI Sydney:  point of distinction and focus is Environmental Sustainability

 

Key Issues in International Economics for Managers (BUSECN1508)

Fulfills a requirement for the CPIB/ Global Management major. 
The objective of this course is to examine theoretical analysis of international trade and commercial policy. Students will look at the pure theory of international trade as exemplified by comparative advantage and gains from trade in the classical and neoclassical models and explore alternative explanations of trade and development. The theory of customs unions and modern day explanations of preferential trading arrangements will be explored and some of the principal unresolved theoretical and practical problems of free trade will be examined.

International Marketing (BUSMKT1461)

Fulfills a marketing major elective for Pitt Business students.
This course reflects the increasing amount of international marketing carried out by a wide and diverse range of organizations. Starting with why organizations may wish to expand their activities across national boundaries, students develop knowledge to identify which markets to enter, the methods of market entry available, and the management and control implications. The student will be encouraged to perceive the role of a global marketing manager, and to make decisions that could affect the outcome of a global marketing plan. This includes the international marketing environment and the international marketing mix, namely product, pricing, distribution and promotion, as well as emerging issues in international trade such as trading blocs, trade barriers, and the standardization versus customization dilemma.

Sports Marketing (BUSMKT1470)
Managing Global Supply Chains (BUSSCM1730)

Fulfills a marketing major elective, a supply chain major required course, a Certificate in Supply Chain Management required course, a core requirement for the global management major, a Certificate in International Business elective, and an elective for the Certificate Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Cross-Cultural Communication (COMMRC1170)

This course will increase the understanding of basic concepts and principles regarding communication between people from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds within Australia, including Aboriginal, and immigrant populations. The course will use theory and research in the area of intercultural communication, and will help you develop this knowledge in understanding and improving human interaction in both the study abroad environment and international contexts. It will develop effective intercultural communication skills for learning abroad in Australia, and focus on a study of the social, structural and historical dimensions of relations between and among racial, ethnic and gender groups in contemporary Australian society. This course is designed to increase student’s awareness and appreciation for the complexity of intercultural communication skills in everyday situations. It offers a critical perspective on current theory and research in intercultural communication. The primary objective of the course is to develop cultural relativist attitude.

Writing the City - Sydney (ENGWRT1200)

This course is a creative writing workshop keyed to exploring the experience of travelling and living abroad in Sydney in either verse or prose texts. Along with the writing workshops, we will also read and discuss texts that focus on Australia in general and Sydney specifically from both native and foreign perspectives, noting particularly the literary techniques and strategies that various writers have used to express their experiences and observations. The class sessions will be divided almost equally between the reading and critical evaluation of selected texts and a written response to the stimuli. Half of our weekly time will be devoted to the examination of a text dealing with various authors’ experiences of Australia. These texts will provide us with a forum for discussing each author’s relationship to and the literary expression of place. The other half of our class time will function as a writer’s workshop in response to the set texts: each student will present his/her own work orally (accompanied by photocopies) to the group for reactions, critique, and suggestions for revision. 

Australian History - Aboriginal History to Colonization (HIST1005)

Using contemporary issues in Australia - race, immigration, culture, environment, politics and foreign policy - the course explains the historical origins of issues & provides critical analysis. This course begins in 2010 and looks back into Australia’s past, asking and answering a series of questions to explain contemporary attitudes and events, as part of an ongoing dialogue between the present and the past. What aspects of our colonial history help explain Australia early in the twenty-first century? What aspects of twentieth-century history will guide Australia in the twenty-first century? What is black armband history? Why do Indigenous Australians remain a disadvantaged group in society? What is the history of class, race and ethnicity in Australian society? What type of immigrants should we encourage? Why have refugees become such an important issue? Why is gender parity and sexual liberation important? What is popular culture and how does it change? How do governments decide on foreign policy, overseas trade policy and foreign aid? What are our obligations and expectations in time of war? What is the place of nationalism in Australia? We ask these and other contemporary questions, and provide historical answers based on an Aboriginal history that dates back 60,000 years and a recent history beginning in 1788. 

Politics of Oceania (PS1345)

This course examines the government and politics of Australia and Australian engagement in Asia. It will do so by surveying similarities with and differences from the North American democratic model and by examining Australia’s substantial and abiding interests in the Asian region. By the end of the course, students will be aware of the magnitude of the influence that the Asia Pacific region has had on Australian foreign policy. Comparisons with the United States of America will be encouraged.

Syllabus:
Analyzing and Exploring the Global City - Sydney (URBNST1414)

This course is designed to encourage students to engage in a critical analysis of the development of modern cities, in particular Sydney. It will trace Sydney's development from a "colonial outpost" into the "thriving metropolis" it is today. The course will examine how the forces of colonization, migration, modernization and globalization have affected the city and its inhabitants. Students will gain insights into the changing dynamics and identities of its inhabitants, and will also look at the forces which have shaped Sydney's relationship with the rest of the world. The course is organized thematically, with each theme examining different aspects of the city. It begins with an introduction to the city, then a discussion of Sydney as a colonial city, moving into an analysis of its identities, impact of migration and finally its commerce, cityscape and urban future. The course ultimately intends to help students contextualize their travels and encounters in the city, and will help them develop informed interpretations of Sydney while they are here.

Experiential Learning Description: 

Please note that internships are available for students who have completed three semesters of coursework at Pitt or a transfer university as a degree-seeking student.

More than 75% of GBI: Sydney students complete an internship. An international internship is your opportunity to create a stand-out resume, and you will be challenged to apply your coursework to the work world, acquire cultural competence, and create professional connections that can last a lifetime.  Not only will your LinkedIn profile get a boost, but your marketability to future employers will too. 

Internships via GBI Sydney are 20 hours per week, excluding commuting time. In addition to workplace experience, you will also meet with peers and faculty for internship seminars to help you get the most out of the experience.  Internships are always unpaid, always for three credits, and always pass/fail. 

You can sign up for an internship regardless of your major as a part of the application process. Keep in mind that you will not know what your internship placement is until 14 days before departure. While this may seem like a long time to wait, keep in mind that our partners are searching for an internship just for you. Your past experiences, coursework, and desired placements areas are all taken into account.  This kind of personalized service takes time but is well worth the wait. 

 

Pitt runs this program in partnership with CAPA: The Global Education Network. For more than 45 years CAPA: The Global Education Network has worked with institutions of higher education to build programs that meet students goals for learning abroad. 

The CAPA Sydney Center is hosted at TAFE NSW Sydney Institute, in a beautiful centrally located heritage building.

Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts: 

Rick Moslen

I’m Rick, and I’m a Global Experiences Program Manger at Pitt Business. I have managed international programming, advised & taught international students, and helped others strengthen their cultural competancies for over seven years. My international interests began as an undergrad, and since then I’ve explored over 26 countries and have experienced everything from presenting on a panel at a music festival in Spain, to studying traditional dance music in Peru, to getting chased by monkeys in Malaysia (not recommended), to hiking to the top of Table Mountain in South Africa. Fun fact: I love turbulence on planes (it’s like getting rocked to sleep).

Feel free to contact me at rickmoslen@business.pitt.edu or 412-383-5476.

 

Schedule an appointment

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Items Billed by Pitt

  In-State Out-of-State
Tuition $10,077 $19,260
Program Fee $9,222 $9,222
Study Abroad Fee $400 $400
Total Billed by Pitt $19,699 $28,882

Estimated Additional Out-of-Pocket Costs

Airfare $1,800 - $2,200
Personal Expenses and Meals $3,000 - $5,000
Local Cell Phone $100
Visa $125
   

 

What's Included: 

As a part of your GBI: Sydney fee, the following are included in the program:

  • Tuition for 12-18 credits
  • Housing
  • Orientation in Sydney
  • Cultural Events and Activities
  • An Unlimited Transit Pass
  • Excursions to Blue Mountains and Australia Walkabout Park
  • Health Insurance
  • Membership to the ACU Student Union
What Else You Need to Know: 

Mandatory Student Agreement Meeting
All students are required to attend the mandatory agreement meeting.  This virtual event will cover important topics relevant to study abroad like health, safety, security, and more. It will also you the chance to meet other students studying abroad on your programs!  Alumni and staff will also be present to help you start thinking about your goals for the program. Your program manager will follow up with more information once you begin your application! 

 
Application Process
Students must apply for the program via Pitt's study abroad website (select "Apply Now") and, additionally, through CAPA's website (your program manager will supply you with the link). 
 

Scholarships
Pitt Business students may apply for the CBA International Programs scholarship on PittFundsMe. Please note that the application deadline for the Pitt Business International Scholarship is the same as the program application deadline. 

For additional scholarship opportunities, be sure to check out the Pitt Study Abroad page.