Americans are leaving the US to study MBA programs at top business schools overseas in greater numbers than ever before, according to research by QS, the world’s leading MBA career and education specialists. And while the US continues to be the top destination for international MBA students, including Americans, it seems as though other countries, particularly those in the UK and other parts of Western Europe, are beginning to chip away at the US hegemony to attract top MBA talent to their programs.
Not that this should be seen as a distress signal to US business schools in any way. It is still the case that almost 80% of people considering doing an MBA would consider studying in the US which has the longest business school history, a large chunk of the schools featuring top in any ranking you may find and a mature culture of scholarships, loans and internships to attract international students.
However, a perceived lack of global awareness and diversity is the reasons why some of the US’ top talent is seeking pastures new for their management education. It may signal to the deans and MBA course designers that a little tinkering may be required under the bonnet.
International perspective
“Nearly every company interacts internationally in the new ‘flat’ world, and I wanted to get a more international worldview than the typical US school could offer,” says Eric King, an American and a full-time MBA student at the highly-regarded business school ESADE in Barcelona. King attended the prestigious QS World MBA Tour in New York to meet with admissions people and alumni from ESADE as part of his business school research and was delighted with the way the fair helped him hone down his MBA shortlist.
“This desire, coupled with a strong passion for new experience, is what originally led me to consider getting my MBA abroad. My research identified schools that I felt would give me a similar academic challenge and ‘degree equity’ as the top US schools,” King says.
Kelly Longfield is an American who chose Cass Business School in London. For her, the perceived lack of diversity in the US inspired a move to study overseas. “The US is huge and our associations are more with Canada and South America so in many ways it’s insulated. Here there is more access to Europe, the old world and emerging markets which aren’t in our consciousness so much in the US. My partner and I have decided to stay here in the UK and the exposure of this program has opened the door for us to do that.”
Global context
For Morgan Witkin, another American student also at ESADE, the more developed global context of the European program clinched it. “If you look at the world today, at the state of business, you see that bridges are being built and borders broken down. I desired to focus on global business to expand both my knowledge and my network.
“I knew I wanted to build a foundation of analytical and tactical capabilities with an MBA, but I wanted these capabilities to be applicable in a global context. Learning in a global environment such as that of ESADE, will provide me with the ability to function comfortably in the global arena. I could have studied in the States, and studied international laws and business practices- but at ESADE, I am living them.”
Statistics show that, on average, US business schools do have a smaller percentage of international students, and therefore less diversity, than on major European campuses. The Bush administration’s 2002 decision to slash the number of H1-B visas it granted to international students is partly responsible for this. His successor, Barack Obama, hasn’t inferred if he’ll move on reversing that decision. However, is it a concern to US business schools that there is a growing perception amongst its own top MBA talent that in order to truly get the most from business school they will need to leave their home shores?
Strong US schools
Not all parties think so. Michael Stepanek is MBA Program Director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He argues that it is a US school’s mandate to teach the core subjects that US employers demand. “UNC Kenan-Flagler understandably begins with US-based business models and markets. It is our obligation to prepare graduates with skills appropriate for local markets since recruiting organizations demand our students have local knowledge, applicable skills and adaptable experience. In the end, students typically attend schools in the region where they want to live and work or establish a network for future business relationships.”
Paul Danos, dean of Tuck Business School at Dartmouth in New Hampshire, agrees, suggesting that American schools have a far stronger global perspective than our sample interviewees believed: “I have found that the students who choose a particular region in which to study will give the positive reasons for their choice and vice versa. If you were to ask non-US students why they came to a top US MBA program, they would list all kinds of positive reasons including the broadening of their global perspectives. My belief is that the very best business schools in the world are all very global in their coverage and outlook, with some shading of interest and coverage toward the region in which the school is located. Most of the top schools in the US have 30 to 40 percent non-US born students and about the same non-US born faculty. Having said all of that, we know that global businesses will continue to be the dominant targets for our graduates ’ careers and we are planning even more intensive global experiences for our students.”
There are other reasons why American students would want to study in Europe. Firstly, the shorter duration of the program, one year as opposed to America’s generally two-year MBA stints, allows students to get back into a business career more promptly, which will suit many Americans.
Course duration
Kelly Longfield at Cass expands: “The idea of getting in and out in one year was very appealing. It’s hard because in the US we’re used to the two-year model and the name of the school you attend is very significant. If you get into the right name school it gets you in doors. The perception there is that a one-year program is more for people sponsored by work, or who are older and with different circumstances, and that the course is not so comprehensive.
“However coming over here the more I realized it was normal here and that reputation is good and the programs are very, very good too. What they cram into a year!”
With the pound continuing to slide, the UK may be even more attractive to US students than ever before, however nobody interviewed for this article made a point of the cost of courses being significant in their decisions. It seems more that talented Americans are increasingly coming round to the fact that, if you want to live and work overseas or get ahead in a challenging global environment, the diversity and access to other markets that European schools offer just may be the right step for them.
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