Context
This lens assesses the programme type and content. Attention has been given in the ranking to not only how the programmes are being taught but what is being taught. Subsequently, within the International Trade Rankings there is a significant emphasis on international trade programme content and whether these courses are mandatory, optional or not offered. Programme content has been categorised and evaluated using six key areas of International Cross-Border Trade: Trade, Trade Policy, Trade Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Trade Finance and Accounting, Leadership and Soft Skills and Future Skills. These six key areas are defined as follows:
Pillars | Definition |
Cross-Border Trade | Relating to the core principles of international trade, including topics such as investment, marketing, sales, and risk. |
Cross-Border Trade Policy | Relating to trade in a wider socio-political context, covering areas such as trade agreements and international development. |
Cross-Border Logistics & Supply Chain Management | Relating to the movement of goods and services, with topics such as managing supply chains, and running manufacturing operations in foreign countries. |
Cross-Border Trade Finance and Accounting | Relating to the aspects of finance and reporting, with topics including trade finance, foreign exchange, accountancy and tax, insurance, trade law, customs and ESG reporting. |
Cross-Border Leadership and Soft Skills | Relating to various aspects of management including leadership, people management, ethics, and cultural understanding. |
Future Skills | Relating to digital skills, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. Though not trade specific they are increasingly in demand from students. |
The six key areas are further distributed into over 40 trade-related topics which were asked in the International Trade Survey:
Cross-border Trade |
|
1) Market Entry Strategies |
6) Cross-border Marketing |
2) Trade Sustainability |
7) Cross-border Sales / E-commerce |
3) Business Risk Assessment |
8) Foreign Direct Investment |
4) Business Risk Mitigation |
9) Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) |
5) Cross-border Procurement / Negotiation |
|
Cross-border Trade Policy |
|
10) Trade Agreements |
13) International Development & Trade |
11) Geopolitics / Current Issues in Trade |
14) Regional Business Environments |
12) Macro Economics of Trade |
|
Cross-border Trade Logistics |
|
15) International Supply Chain Management / Logistics |
18) Incoterms / Trade Documentation |
16) International Operations Management |
19) Digital Trade |
17) Manufacturing Management in a Foreign Country |
|
Cross-border Trade Finance & Accounting |
|
20) Import / Export Trade Finance |
24) Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting |
21) Foreign Exchange |
25) International Trade Law & Arbitration |
22) International Accounting / Taxation / Insurance |
26) Customs & Tariffs |
23) Cross-border Financial Reporting & Governance |
27) Digital Payments |
Cross-border Leadership & Soft Skills |
|
28) Cross-cultural Leadership |
32) Cross-border Strategies & Frameworks |
29) Cross-border Consulting |
33) Cross-cultural Communications |
30) Decision Making |
34) International Ethics |
31) Global Talent Management |
35) Foreign Language |
Future Skills |
|
36) Artificial Intelligence |
40) Digital Transformation |
37) Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies |
41) Machine Learning |
38) Cloud Technology |
42) Network Security |
39) Data Analysis |
|
We analyse each of the courses subject to its availability, whether it is mandatory (core) course, optional (elective) course or course not available. Mandatory course is scored by 1 point, optional/ elective course by 0.5 point and course not available as 0 point. The total score is normalized and scaled from 20-100.
Source of Data
Institutions were invited to submit data via the International Trade Survey. QS verified this data through desk-based research. Where data was not provided via surveys, we have attempted to source this from the publicly available information on the program’s website. This is in-line with QS’s general policies on data collection and validation.