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Career Development: Part of the Curriculum
Jane Willis Director of Graduate Career Management, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina
The Moore School's IMBA program is known for its innovative elements and for its excellence. Please elaborate.
Our International Master of Business Administration program (formerly called Master of
International Business Studies or MIBS) was launched in 1974. We were ahead of the curve then, and we still are. The Moore School successfully pioneered the concept of a fivemonth internship abroad for all IMBA students, where they live and breathe the business culture of another country. Since 1974, more than 5,000 students have worked as interns in more than 30 countries. Through this process, students turn what they've learned in an academic setting into marketable, practical business skills. No matter where they will work in the future — in the United States or in another country—they are able to think and act globally.
The IMBA approach has paid off. For 17 consecutive years, our graduate international business program has been ranked #1 or #2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, the Moore School was ranked #5 in the world by Latin Trade magazine, and included among the top schools in rankings appearing in Business- Week, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal Europe, Forbes, and others.
We created a single global graduate organization called the Graduate Alumni
International Network (GAIN) to foster a global network of Moore graduate alumni. This helps our grads keep in touch with the school and with each other. It's also becoming an invaluable job hunting tool.
Speaking of jobs, it's been a difficult few years for MBA graduates in the United States and abroad. What's the current outlook for Moore School grads?
Things are definitely looking up. Not only have we seen an increase in employer visits to campus in the past year, we have also seen a significant increase in the volume of direct hire positions being posted through our office. The exciting thing about this trend is the value it holds for both our students and our alumni, since direct hire positions are often posted on both our online recruiting system and our alumni Web network. This allows us to provide a level of service to alumni never seen before, and it increases out attractiveness to employers because of the additional reach.
The bottom line, however, always boils down to the numbers, and we are quite pleased with this year's outcome. Eighty percent of the 2005 IMBA graduating class actively seeking employment was gainfully employed ninety days after graduation. This is a significant increase over last year and is on par with national trends, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' recent employer survey.
To help us increase our placement rates, we partnered with a global executive search firm, Lee Hecht Harrison, to provide a greater level of service to our students. This partnership led to more personalized career coaching and in-depth guidance in networking and personal marketing. This partnership was highly unusual and highly successful. Not only did the graduating class have better results in the job market, but they also left Moore with a good feeling about the school and our commitment to them.
Must IMBA students learn a foreign language to earn their degrees?
No. Students may enroll in the program's Language Track, in which they learn one of seven languages — Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, or Spanish — or they may enroll in the Global Track. Rather than learn another language besides English, these students pursue additional course work that focuses on the political, economic, and business factors affecting the investment climate of various regions throughout the world. Global Track students have an internship in a country where English is the native language. International students in the Global Track typically have their internship in the United States.
The Moore School has what you call a "parallel curriculum" in addition to its regular courses. What is this? At Moore, we believe it is our responsibility to provide quality career and professional coaching as well as top-notch business education. To that end, we have designed a parallel curriculum that addresses three main areas of career and professional development;
