Gain a Global Edge with These Philadelphia International Business MBAs
Every day, it becomes easier and easier to make connections across the world, building a global network of business and resources that can help to benefit the world. Due to an increasingly global economy, possessing a deep knowledge and understanding of the way global markets work can be a crucial part of building a business career. There is almost no limit to the types of opportunities an education in global business will provide: from working in the fields of international trade, global business operations or planning or industrial development, and being employed by international agencies, non-profit organizations, governmental, or both public and private corporations.
According to Michigan State program globalEDGE, “demand continues to grow for individuals who understand the global context of business: from the logistics of international trade and cross-border investments to the cultural and ethical issues that are imbued in the practice of business around the world. By studying international business, you will learn about world cultures and societies, and be challenged to approach issues from different perspectives.”
In choosing to study international business in the Philadelphia metro area, aspiring business leaders can center themselves in a growing market at the center of United States history and global trade. We’ve rounded up some of the area’s top MBA programs that offer a concentration in international business, allowing students to gain specific knowledge and skills to make an impact in the global economy.
Fox School of Business – Temple University
Consistently rated one of the top business schools in the country, the Fox School of Business at Temple University offers students a number of opportunities to gain skills and earn a degree in the field of global business. The Global MBA program, based in Philadelphia, is taught by world renowned faculty and is designed to provide an experiential education in international economics, with live consulting, internship and professional development opportunities. Additional programs like the MBA from Temple University Japan in Tokyo and the EMBA at Temple University Paris offer further opportunities for students to gain a hands-on global experience with a strong business background.
Lerner College – University of Delaware
The MBA at University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business gives students the opportunity to concentrate in international business, providing the solid business background they will need to effectively conduct business in a global environment. In addition to U.S. citizens looking to expand their knowledge in international business and help their organizations to expand overseas, many students in the Lerner MBA program are international, returning home with a deep understanding of U.S. customs and the ability to navigate business across borders.
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Rutgers School of Business, Camden
Students interested in concentrating in International Business and Operations can do so at the Rutgers School of Business by pursuing a number of electives in the field. Students can take a number of electives in the fields of International Business and Operations Management to complete the concentration, including courses like: International Management, Global Operations Information Technology, Global Marketing Strategy, and International Study Abroad in countries such as South Africa, France, and Brazil.
Smeal College of Business – Penn State
While the Smeal College of Business at Penn State does not directly offer a concentration or major in international business, it is an available as an option. At Smeal, options constitute a briefer but still targeted study within a particular area, allowing students to gain a deeper education in Global Business while still receiving the more general education of an MBA.
The Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School at UPenn, well-known as one of the top business schools in the world, provides students the opportunity to pursue a joint MBA/MA in International Studies. The MBA/MA Lauder Joint-Degree provides students a range of resources and educational experiences in global business, such as the Global Knowledge Lab, which involves students working together as a team to produce a thorough research paper/master’s thesis. The program also includes two short global immersions and an optional ten-day trek called Culture Quest, organized completely by students in the program. The six areas of concentration students may choose to specialize in include: Africa, East and Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Five Chicago Booth MBAs Named Siebel Scholars, One Named McGowan Fellow
The University of Chicago recently announced it’s Siebel Scholars and McGowan Fellow for 2018, with five MBA students from the Booth School of Business being recognized for their academic achievement and leadership, and awarded scholarship money for their efforts.
Darrick Chan, Kathleen Davis, Monica Kalwani, Igo Shkilko, and Yihan Tan make up this year’s group of Booth Siebel Scholars. Each second-year MBA student received $35,000 each toward their final year of MBA tuition.
Siebel Scholars are nominated their schools deans for their academic excellence, and leadership in the fields of business, computer science, bioengineering, and energy science. Established in 2000, the Siebel Foundation presents grants to more than 90 graduate students from 16 universities in the United States, China, France, Italy, and Japan. On average, Siebel Scholars rank in the top 5 percent of their class, and many rank within the top 1 percent.
Meanwhile, Pedro Amoroso Lima was named Chicago Booth’s McGowan Fellow for 2018 thanks to his commitment to ethical leadership. Lima is one of 10 McGowan Fellows nationwide this year. These students will work together on a social impact project that will tackle a particular challenge.
Established in 2010 by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, a Chicago-based family foundation, the McGowan Fellows program awards full-year tuition to select students. The program aims to provide the resources and guidance to young professionals to become ethical, accountable leaders and role models for generations to come.
These are not the only scholarship and fellowship opportunities for Chicago Booth full-time MBAs. Full and partial tuition is awarded through merit-based awards, Chicago Booth Fellowships, and Corporate Fellowships. Merit-based awards do not require a formal application beyond the normal process of applying to Booth.
Like the merit-based awards, the 15 different Chicago Booth Fellowships have no formal application process, although interested Booth applicants are encouraged to contact the Office of Admissions (7773.702.7396) for more information. Fellowships are awarded under the categories of: Academic, Diversity, Industry, Leadership, Military, Regional, and the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Columbia Research Illuminates Unconscious Cause of Fake News
Fake news, the most oft-repeated phrase of 2017, doesn’t just rise out of some malevolent direction. According to Columbia Business School, there are many social factors hidden in the process.
Fake news has become an epidemic of sorts, as the recent investigation into how Russia used divisive Facebook posts to possibly influence the presidential election demonstrates, planted stories can have a “powerful and multiplying effect” due to their circulation on social media. Reportedly, fake news possibly impacted elections France and Kenya, as well.
Gita Johar, the Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, along with doctoral students Youjung Jun and Rachel Meng, published research entitled Perceived Social Presence Reduces Fact-Checking in which they discovered that people are less likely to investigate the veracity of ambiguous claims when they are “consumed in a group setting” and when that information “aligns with their own party affiliation.”
According to the article, Johar, Jun, and Meng “conducted eight experiments to evaluate how the presence of others affects the way that people evaluate information and the extent to which people verify ambiguous claims.” The study found that “perceiving the company of others seemed to influence people’s willingness to verify information, not how much they believed it.” Their research posited three potential reasons why “collective settings may suppress fact checking.”
- Individuals may exert less effort (and hence be less likely to fact-check claims) because they expect to ‘free ride’ on others.
- People may abide by social norms that lead them to take the words of others at face value.
- Crowds may inherently cause people to feel ‘safety in numbers,’ which decreases vigilance in general.
Johar concludes, “Animals in the wild hide out and feel safer in herds and, similarly, we feel safer in a crowd. When applied to information consumed on social media, this same instinct results in lower fact-checking.”
You can read more about the trio’s research on fake news stories on the official Columbia Business School website.
Canada’s MBA Programs are Rising
The recent release of the GMAC 2017 Prospective Students Survey Report revealed some mixed revelations. While the status of smaller U.S. school MBA programs may be up in the air, international programs, particularly in Canada, are looking rosier than ever.
Overall, schools in Canada and Europe saw a 50 percent-plus increase in application volume from international candidates, of which GMAC speculates may be a result of political turmoil, particularly in the United States. This is a direct contrast from four years prior, in which less-than half of the Canada, UK, and other European business schools were seeing international applicant growth.
In the GMAC survey, an anonymous Canadian full-time MBA also noted, “The US presidential election has had a impact on our application numbers. Many international students choose Canada as their first choice.”
Niki da Silva, the Managing Director of the full-time MBA program at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, recently spoke with the Globe & Mail after the release of the report, saying, “This is our opportunity. We have to be anti-Canadian in this moment and really talk about what we are doing. We don’t tend to do that but we need to.”
By The Numbers
Results from the survey found subtle yet distinct differences between the international applicant pools in the major MBA location destinations.
In the United States, Europe, and Canada, according to GMAC, the two most prolific countries with international applicants were unilaterally India and China, which came in either first or second place for each region. However, for Canada, the remaining top 10 international countries with high applicant pools differed slightly from the U.S. and Europe, especially regarding Middle Eastern and North African countries. The United Arab Emirates (6th most), Tunisia (9th), and Iran (10th) were no where to be found in either the U.S. or European top ten.
Breaking the applicant pools down further, GMAC found an unsurprising correlation between the distribution of citizenship by application for Canada and the U.S. and the new data trends. After Europe, which had the most diverse applicant pool (a tricky stat since Europe is qualifying every country on the continent, while the U.S. and Canada are counted as singular entities), Canada had the world’s second biggest international pool of applicants, with less than 50 percent of Canadian business school students having official Canadian citizenship.
Domestic applications, in contrast, are actually down. But the international pool in Canada is swelling, creating substantial overall growth.
“International applicants comprised the vast majority of applications to business programs in Canada—64 percent of MBA applications and 88 percent of business master’s applications.” – GMAC
Gregg Schoenfeld, GMAC’s Director of Research, also noted upward trend for Canadian schools, saying, “This is the first time in the past five years that the majority, in fact three-quarters [of Canadian schools in the survey], are saying they are growing international volumes.”
“From a speculative point of view, it seems that the U.S. political climate has essentially driven candidates to Canada,” he continued.
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The move to enroll more international applicants in Canadian schools started to emerge several years ago. Following lower periods of domestic enrollment, Canada’s MBA programs made a concerted effort to bring in more talent from abroad, creating a multi-year spring in growth that has not only benefited school enrollment, but fostered a positive international environment.
According to Global Affairs Canada, the result has been a positive economic boon as well. Upwards of 90,000 new jobs were created for Canadians just two years prior, while adding $10 billion to the country’s economy.
Tim Daus, Executive Director of the Canadian Federation of Business School Deans, previously noted that the trend was partly made possible because of the country’s flexible immigration policies, saying, “Canada’s visa requirements are much more flexible than other countries’, which gives us an edge. That makes a big difference for students who want to stay and work afterwards.”
Canadian Accolades
The substantial growth Canadian business schools have seen may not solely be the result of political overtones, rather, that many of the country’s best institutions only continue to improve.
The Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto earned some hefty recognition from Forbes‘ recently released “Best Business Schools” global rankings, earning the 8th spot among the best international two-year program in the world. Schulich grads, Forbes claims, can expect a five-year net gain of over $48,000.
Last year’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranking of the best non-U.S. business schools also recognized both the Ivey Business School at Western Canada University and the Rotman School of Management among the top 25 programs in the world. Both the aforementioned Ivey and Rotman programs were recognized among the world’s 100 best by the Financial Times this year as well.
New GMAC Report: Is the GMAT Getting Easier?
Is the GMAT getting easier? That’s the question that the Graduate Management Admission’s Council (GMAC), a non-profit organization of leading graduate management schools, set out to answer in their recent market intelligence report: The GMAT Exam Is Not Getting Easier: The Fallacy of Score Increases and the Impact of Score Preview. The 26-page white paper is the first in an annual series that will serve as a sort of quality assurance (QA) report for the GMAT.
The Best Los Angeles Global MBA Programs
Globalization is a foregone conclusion in the business world. Emerging markets overseas are gaining economic momentum and cultural fluency of international issues are becoming increasingly essential for business leaders. MBA students and graduates who ignore the undeniable shift toward interconnected markets may be left behind in today’s globalized world.
