Monday, November 9, 2020
  Around Campus, Announcements

By Victoria Brito

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – The UTRGV Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship will offer a Master of Science in Global Commerce accelerated online program starting January 2021. 

The degree program, which will be housed in the Department of International Business and Entrepreneurship, is intended to meet the regional need for expertise in cross-border commerce.  

It will consist of 30 credit hours, is fully online, and can be completed in as little as one year. 

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the graduate program on Oct. 14.  

Federal financial aid is not yet available for the program because it has not been approved yet by the U.S. Department of Education.  

Dr. Russell Adams, associate professor and chair of international business and entrepreneurship at UTRGV, serves as program coordinator. Dr. Tom Coyle, associate professor of international business and entrepreneurship, serves as the program director.  

“The goal of the program is to graduate students with the skills necessary to significantly contribute to the missions of companies that move substantial numbers of goods across borders,” Adams said.  

Course offerings for the proposed program include the following three-credit-hour courses: 

  • INTB 6304 International Business.  
  • INTB 6313 International Supply Chain Management.  
  • INTB 6323 Global Lead Sustainability.  
  • INTB 6322 Import Export.  
  • INTB 6308 International Trade.  
  • INTB 6393 Cross-Border Data Flow and Digital Innovation.   
  • BLAW 6331 International Commerce Law.  
  • INTB 6306 Global Procurement.  
  • INTB 6332 U.S. Customs Law and Border Regulations.   
  • INTB 6312 Global Inventory Analytics with SAP.  

 

UTRGV is the only university in Texas to offer such a curriculum fully online. Course offerings directly align with local, state, national and international demand for employees in the field of trade.   

“The MS in global commerce was developed with input from international business leaders and Customs and Border Protection managers,” Coyle said. “We developed this program specifically for managers whose corporations move goods across international boundaries. Global trade is only going to grow and become more complex. This degree will help enable business professionals keep their organizations competitive in this ever-changing global economy.” 

Graduates of this program will be equipped with the necessary skillset to master practical skills through experiential learning. Courses prepare graduates to fill roles within multinational corporations in the region.   

Dr. Janna Arney, UTRGV interim provost and deputy president, said UTRGV has the geographic advantage of having community partners on both sides of the border.  

“Many of our students work in or will work in industries that require collaboration with Mexico or beyond,” she said. “Gaining the hard skills offered in this degree plan will greatly improve our students’ chances of success with job options and cross-border relations.” 



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.