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Over 3,000 U.S. colleges and universities
offer four-year undergraduate programs in
business at the bachelor's degree level, and
over 1,000 programs exist at the master's degree
level. Over 500 programs at each level
have earned professional accreditation in
the field from AACSB International (www.aacsb.edu,
the most well-established of several professional
groups involved in the review of business
higher education program quality).
Also available are a much smaller number of doctoral-level programs, many two-year associate degrees
and a variety of certificate programs and
other nondegree training opportunities related
to the field. For the English language student,
specialized programs exist both for the
pre-M.B.A. student and for business professionals.
If you’re interested in a degree
program, you’ll want to start early
(ideally a year or more before you plan
to start classes). You need time to find
the right program for you and have the best
chance at admission and financial aid.
For undergraduate programs, admissions
requirements are the same as for other majors.
First, you need to demonstrate proficiency
in English (typically by taking the TOEFL
test). Some universities offer “conditional
admission” if you are not quite good
enough in English but meet other entrance
requirements—this means that you would
start in an English language program and
then can continue immediately on to degree
study once you successfully complete the
training and/or achieve acceptable TOEFL
scores.
Schools will also generally want to see
your original high school transcripts, or
notarized copies if originals are not available.
You will need to fill out an application
form and pay a processing fee. Often scores
on the SAT Reasoning and/or two or three
SAT Subject tests will be requested, though
some schools do not require these of international
students and others do not require them
from any applicants. More selective institutions
often have such additional requirements
as recommendations from your teachers, information
on extracurricular activities, and a written
statement of purpose or other essay.
Core subjects for U.S. business administration
programs include accounting; business statistics;
marketing; finance; management information
systems (computer technology as it relates
to management); management and decision
sciences; human resources management; operations
management; organizational behavior and
development; supply chain management (including
transportation and logistics), and the business
environment (including economic systems,
legal and ethical considerations, and international
and multicultural issues).
The current trend is towards cross-functional,
interdisciplinary teaching. Internship and
other “real world” experiences
as well as team and individual pursuit of
research and business projects are generally
critical to programs.
Typically, bachelor’s of business
administration (B.B.A.) and master of business
administration (M.B.A.) programs would survey
all the core disciplines and also allow
time for specialization in a particular
area. Most schools also offer more specialized
programs focusing on more in-depth study
of a single core discipline or on other
areas such as entrepreneurship, as well
as specialized programs focusing on particular
business environments, such as international
business or engineering management degrees.
These most frequently lead to either a specialized
M.B.A./B.B.A. or to a Master of Science
(M.S.)/Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.
M.S. programs are usually more research-oriented
than the M.B.A. and in some cases are intended
to lead to doctoral study. Doctoral management
programs usually award either the Doctor
of Business Administration (D.B.A.) or the
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. Historically,
the D.B.A. provided a more general perspective
on management, while the Ph.D. emphasized
research in a specialized area of management.
However, the difference between the two
degrees is no longer so precise and varies
from institution to institution. The Ph.D.
is the more commonly offered degree.
A doctoral degree provides preparation
for an academic or research career. Graduates
often move on to faculty positions in colleges
and universities, though some may fill specialized
staff positions in government and industry.
It is not necessary to earn an undergraduate
degree in business in order to attend a
U.S. graduate business program, even at
the doctoral level. All undergraduate majors
are acceptable, and some business schools
even prefer applicants who have majored
in fields other than business.
The GMAT is usually a required entrance
test for graduate programs, though a few
programs ask for the GRE instead or accept
it as an alternative. Applicants will also
generally be asked to write a “statement
of purpose” and sometimes additional
essays as well as submitting references
from their professors and/or employers.
Work experience is a very important factor
in admission to graduate programs. Many
programs expect at least two years of full-time
work experience. However, it is possible
for students to enter a program directly
from undergraduate school. Some business
programs enroll mainly this type of student.
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