When walking through the College of Business Administration, there is a world of students at the door – literally.
In the college, 37 percent of the 76 students pursuing a Master of Business Administration are international, according to the Center of Institutional Research. Of the MBA students, 14 percent are from Asia, 10 percent are from Africa and 9 percent consists of students from Eastern and Central Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Sixty-seven percent of the MBA students are from North America.
The MBA program has been listed in the Princeton Review of Best Business Schools, including a high ranking for “greatest opportunities for minority students” in 2009.
Also attracting students to the college is the Supply Chain Management program, which was ranked in the top 20 on the U.S. News and World Report’s list of the leading undergraduate supply chain management and logistics programs nationwide.
Besides being a recognized college, Brian Childs, the associate director of graduate studies for the College of Business Administration, is unsure why the college attracts such a high percentage of international students.
“We have graduate positions for any students, regardless of nationality,” he said.
Mayumi Kitaarashi, a student studying at the University for one year, is in the United States and here to improve her English skills.
“I came to America because I have always liked English, and I want to learn more about American students,” Kitaarashi said. “In America you have very strong opinions, and I use this to help my English.”
There are not only students coming from other parts of the world to study at the University. According to the 2008 Record of Progress – the annual report from the College of Business Administration – there are now new opportunities to study abroad in China.
Rodney Rogers, dean of the College of Business, and the college’s coordinator of study abroad programs, Mark Bennion, went to China to sign agreements with Hong Kong Baptist University, University of Macau and Lingnan University.
According to the Record of Progress report, the programs are taught in English, so students still get the experience of being in another country but also participate in their business programs.
For more information about studying abroad contact the Center for International Programs, Education Abroad at 419-372-0479. For more information about the study abroad program in the College of Business Administration contact Mark Bennion, International Programs Coordinator at 419-372-8270.
