The M.B.A. Degree and the Modern Language Major

Transcription

1 The M.B.A. Degree and the Modern Language Major John K. Primeau ADFL Bulletin Vol. 7, No. 2 (November 1975), pp ISSN: CrossRef DOI: /adfl Copyright 1975 by The Association of Departments of Foreign Languages All material published by the The Association of Departments of Foreign Languages in any medium is protected by copyright. Users may link to the ADFL Web page freely and may quote from ADFL publications as allowed by the doctrine of fair use. Written permission is required for any other reproduction of material from any ADFL publication. Send requests for permission to reprint material to the ADFL permissions manager by mail (26 Broadway, New York, NY ), (permissions@mla.org), or fax ( ).

2 THE M.B.A. DEGREE AND THE MODERN LANGUAGE MAJOR THE following information resulted from a survey conducted in the spring and summer of 1975 which attempted to ascertain whether modern language majors without any previous experience in business courses would be encouraged to enter M.B.A. programs (general programs or programs in international business). In addition, the survey sought information concerning prerequisite courses in business for modern language majors who might want to pursue an M.B.A. degree, and also attempted to determine which colleges and universities in the United States and Canada offer strong programs in international business. Utilizing the Graduate Study in Management (which was prepared for the Graduate Business Admissions Council by the Educational Testing Service) as a guide, I surveyed 275 of the institutions in the United States and Canada which offer M.B.A. programs of study. I received answers from 185 of these colleges and universities. In accordance with the replies that I received, schools were divided into three basic groups: (1) institutions with programs in international business or international management that require language proficiency; (2) institutions with programs in international business or international management that do not require language proficiency; and (3) institutions that offer courses or concentrations in international business within their general M.B.A. programs. A list of these schools has been included as an appendix to this study. Most of the programs surveyed indicated that it would normally take two years to complete an M.B.A. degree; however, if the student had completed certain prerequisite courses at the undergraduate level, this period could be reduced in most cases to one full year of study. The most common prerequisite courses mentioned by the schools responding are as follows (in their relative order of importance): Basic Accounting 2-6 hours Principles of Economics 3 hours Principles of Marketing 3 hours Principles of Management 3 hours Business Law 3 hours Business Statistics 3 hours Finance 3 hours Computer-Introduction 3-6 hours Several of the leading institutions in the country also strongly recommended that a student entering John K. Primeau* their program have one year of college calculus. 1 This survey seems to reveal a number of important facts: 1. Students with a B.A. degree in modern languages and approximately hours in properly selected business-related courses are generally encouraged to enter M.B.A. programs (this is also true of most liberal arts graduates) and can complete this course of studies in approximately one year. 2. Students with a B.A. degree in modern languages with no previous courses in business are also encouraged to enter these programs; however, prerequisite courses will usually extend the length of study to two years. 3. The leading universities are normally more interested in a student's general academic abilities and mathematical aptitude rather than his or her previous background in business-related courses; of course, the student must still take the basic business courses upon entering such a program, which would then require two years to complete. 4. There are many colleges and universities in the United States that grant M.B.A. degrees, but relatively few that offer a strong emphasis on international business with a requirement for language proficiency. Strong programs of this nature would seem most attractive to modern language majors, enabling them to use their foreign language capabilities as an asset in their business careers. It is also advisable for such students to develop a strong minor in a functional area such as marketing or finance. 5. The placement opportunities for M.B.A. graduates seem to remain quite strong, even though the present economy has been depressed. The overwhelming majority of schools responding reported that opportunities for employment with the M.B.A. are excellent. This survey should help to dispel some of the common misconceptions about M.B.A. programs that are harbored by both language teachers and other members of the liberal arts disciplines. The study shows that it is not necessary to have an extensive background in business courses in order to *The author is Chairman of the Department of Modern Languages at Providence College. 23

3 be an attractive candidate for first-rate M.B.A. programs. Students who have majored in a straight language program, only to graduate and find it difficult to obtain employment, can be encouraged to redirect their energies in a new direction and utilize their language skills at the same time. In fact, I have directed several students who graduated in languages several years ago to investigate the possibility of further study for the M.B.A. degree, and they have been accepted into these programs and have begun their course of study. The list of institutions that follows will enable department chairmen and counselors to direct students to programs in business that might interest them. NOTES 'Carnegie-Mellon University; Columbia University; Cornell University; Dartmouth; Loyola Marymount (Los Angeles); MIT; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; University of Rochester; and Washington University. Institution Table I: Institutions with Programs in International Business or International Management, Requiring Languages Program Years Calif.State Polytechnic Pomona, California Univ. Proposed Master of Intl.Administration, Fall 1^ (language integral): French, Ger.,Span. Clemson-Furman Univs. (S.C.) Proposed program in Intl. Business Concordia Univ. (Quebec) Elective seminars: French New York University New York, N.Y. Pace University New York, N.Y. Intl. Business and Intl. Management (since ): French, German, Spanish Intl. Business, Fall Language requirement for program in developing countries. Union College Schenectady, N.Y. U.S. International Univ. San Diego, Calif. Intl. Management: French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish Intl. Management B.A. Students may substitute lang. proficiency for M.A. thesis. 15 mos mos.abroad A qrs.+ 2 qrs.abroad Univ. of Akron (Ohio) Intl. Business: French, German lh Univ. of New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. Lang.required for Ph.D., elective for M.B.A. Span.& Port, recommended for Lat.Am. program. Univ. of South Carolina Intl.Bus. & Intl.Mgt.: Fren.,Ger.,Port.,Span. 2 Univ. of Texas, San Antonio American Grad.School of Intl. Management, Glendale, Ariz. Intl.Business internship requires Spanish. 2 Masters in Intl. Management 1-1*5 St. Mary's Univ. (Texas) Proposed program in Intl.Mgt. or Intl.Business 24

4 Table II: Institutions with Programs in International Business or International Management Not Requiring Languages Institutions Program* Years American Univ., Washington, D. C. Int. Bus. 2 Babson Coll., Wellesley, Mass. Int. Bus. Mgt. 2 California State, Fullerton, Calif. Int. Bus. 1-2 Columbia Univ., New York, N. Y. Int. Bus. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N. Y. Int. Bus. 2 Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Canada Int. Bus. 2 Univ. of Denver, Denver, Colorado Int. Bus. Mgt. 2 DePaul Univ., Chicago, Illinois Int. Bus. 2 Drake Univ., Des Moines, Iowa Int. Bus. 1-2 George Washington Univ., Washington, D.C. Int. Bus. 1-2 Georgia State Univ., Atlanta, Ga. Int. Bus. 1-1*5 Baylor Univ., Waco, Texas Int. Bus. Mgt. 1-2 Harvard Univ., Boston, Mass. Int. Bus. and Int. Bus. Mgt. 2 Indiana Univ., Bloomington, Ind. Int. Bus. 2 Kent State Univ., Kent, Ohio Int. Bus. (Doctorate) Northwestern Univ., Evanston, 111. Major within Master's in 2 Mgt. Program C.W. Post, Long Island, New York 2 Penn State Univ., University Park, Pa. 1-1% Pepperdine Univ., Los Angeles, Calif. 16 mos. St. Louis Univ., St. Louis, Missouri 1-2 Seton Hall Univ., So. Orange, N. J. Int. Bus. Certificate ** San Diego State Univ., San Diego, Calif. Int. Bus. 2 Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La. Int. Bus. 2 Univ. of Alabama, University Int. Bus. and Int. Bus. Mgt. 2 Univ. of Baltimore, Baltimore, Md, Int. Bus. 1*5-2 Univ. of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Int. Bus. 1*1-2 (language strongly recommended) Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver 2 Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, 111. Int. Bus. 2 Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Calif. Int. Bus. Mgt. 1*5-2 Univ. of Houston at Clear Lake City, Houston Int. Bus. 2 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, 111. Ph.D., Int. Bus. M.B.A. 2 Univ. of Maryland, College Park, Md. Int. Bus. 1-2 Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Int. Bus. and Int. Bus. Mgt. 2 Univ. of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 1*5 Univ. of Texas, Dallas, Texas Int. Bus. Mgt. 1 Univ. of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio Int. Bus. 1-2 * Int. Bus. = International Business Int. Bus. Mgt. = International Business Management ** = Evening Program 25

5 Table III: Institutions with M.B.A., with Courses in International Business or International Management Institutions Years for Program Boston Univ., Boston, Massachusetts Bowling Green State Univ., Bowling Green, Ohio 1-2 California State Univ., Chico, California 3 sem. California State Univ., Fresno, California Cleveland State Univ., Cleveland, Ohio 1-2 Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, New Hampshire 2 Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, Florida Indiana Univ. at South Bend, South Bend, Indiana 2 Kent State Univ., Kent, Ohio 2 Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 1-2 Long Island Univ., Brooklyn, New York 1*5-2 Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles, California 1-2 McGill Univ., Montreal, Canada (IB concentration) 1-2 Mankato State Coll., Mankato, Minnesota 2 Northeast Louisiana Univ., Monroe, Louisiana 1-2 Northeast Univ., Boston, Massachusetts 1-2 (18 mos. mgt., 6 mos. intern) Ohio State Univ., Columbus, Ohio 2 Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, Virginia 1-2 Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, Indiana 1-2 Univ. of Rochester, Rochester, New York 2 Roosevelt Univ., Chicago, Illinois 1-1*5 Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, Illinois 1-2 Southern Illinois Univ., Edwardsville, Illinois 1*5-2 Sloan School of Management-MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (IM concentration) 2 (Language required only for those students who choose the Intercultural Communication Branch of the International Management concentration; French, German, Russian, Spanish) Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 2 Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 1-2 Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 1-2 Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 1-2 Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 1 Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 2 Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri 1-2 Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 2 Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 1-2 Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 2 Univ. of Texas, Arlington, Texas 1-2 Urtiv. of Virginia 2 Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, Virginia 1-2 Washington Univ., St. Louis, Missouri 1-2 (combined programs with other graduate divisions) Western Michigan Univ., Kalamazoo, Michigan (concentration) 1*5-2 College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 1*5-2 26