BA (Hons) International Business with Portuguese
Portuguese is the third most spoken European language after
English and Spanish and the seventh most spoken language in the
world, with over 200 million native speakers.
Why Combine Portuguese and International
Business?
The dominance of this Romance language exploded in the
15th and 16th centuries, with the rise of the
Portuguese Empire, the most significant part of which being
Brazil. In addition to South America, Portuguese is also
spoken in parts of Africa (Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau)
and Asia (Macau and East Timor). Studying our BA (Hons)
International Business with Portuguese course will grant you and
your future employer access to all these markets, although the
fast-growing economy of Brazil is where you’ll find the majority of
your Portuguese language opportunities.
How will my international business career benefit from my
speaking Portuguese?
Brazil
is the largest national economy in South America and the tenth
largest economy in the world. It has large and developed
agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors and is a
major exporter of aircraft, coffee, cars, soybean, iron ore, orange
juice, steel, textiles, footwear and electrical
equipment.
Brazil’s presence in the financial services and commodities
markets has also been expanding and it is frequently referred to as
one of the four emerging economies known as BRIC (Brazil, Russia,
India and China). Our BA (Hons) International Business with
Portuguese course will both prepare you for a business career in
the Portuguese speaking world and enable you to graduate with a
network of potential employers and business partners as a result of
the course’s study abroad and work experience placements. As
part of your degree, you will spend time studying international
business in Portuguese at
Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo or
ISCTE Business School or
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa in Lisbon.
International Business and Portuguese Language Course
Details
Your BA (Hons) International Business with
Portuguese course will cover the main areas of international
business in conjunction with intensive Portuguese language
tuition. It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner in
Portuguese or already speak the language at intermediate or upper
intermediate levels (as long as you aren’t a near-native
speaker).
You will be placed in a class appropriate to
your level and taught by a native Portuguese speaker in a class no
greater than 12 students. Your two semester study abroad in
either Portugal or Brazil will ensure you graduate with advanced
Portuguese language skills, no matter your level at the start of
your time at EBSL.
EBSL has links to thousands of companies
around the world and you will be expected to identify five or six
for whom you’d like to gain work experience. Using our
Careers and Business Relations department’s contacts and resources,
you will complete 36 weeks of work experience by the time you
graduate. This can be with companies in the UK, your home
country, or in any other country that speaks a language in which
you have proficiency – including Portuguese!
EBSL students have gained work experience in
Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo in Brazil, Lisbon in
Portugal and Angola (in the mining and oil and gas
industries). Work experience enables you to further develop
your language skills, apply the theory from your classes to the
world of international business and develop your own network of
contacts. These features of our BA (Hons) International
Business with Portuguese course will put you in a very strong
position when you come to securing a good graduate job.