International Mobility Low among US MBA Graduates

By Tim Dhoul Updated Jul 08, 2019

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Introduction
Full-time MBA students in the US less inclined to broaden their horizons?

International mobility and US MBA graduates

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US citizens are far less likely to change their geography after completing an MBA degree than the global average, according to an alumni survey conducted by the FT.

The international mobility of full-time MBA graduates worldwide stands at around a third in a survey of over 9,000 alumni who completed their course of study in 2012. This means that one in three MBA graduates were found to be working outside the country of their citizenship three years on from business school.

Among US citizens, however, the equivalent number is a mere 12%. Only those who hailed from mainland China and took their full-time MBA at a couple of local institutions produced a lower rate of international mobility than this. In comparison, two-thirds of French and Italian citizens are said to have used the degree to switch their country of employment and 93% of Venezuelans.

But, perhaps this information isn’t all that surprising. The US is the birthplace of the MBA degree and consequently has the most established employment market for its graduates as well as providing the world’s largest volume of opportunities to those who are fresh out of business school. Indeed, in the FT survey, the US was also found to be comfortably the most popular location to switch to, ahead of the UK and Singapore, which – to a lesser extent - act as centers of attraction in their respective regions of Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Full-time MBA students in the US less inclined to broaden their horizons?

However, the low international mobility displayed by the US MBA graduates on the job front may have its origins in the programs offered by US business schools. Data from the FT also reveals that only 6% of those enrolled in a full-time MBA program in the US spend more than a month abroad during the program, be it through a course or internship undertaken. Among MBA programs outside the US, this proportion comes in more than four times higher, at 26%. Might this be something that relates to the costs involved in travelling away from the US for a prolonged period of time, or are students there less inclined to try and broaden their horizons during the MBA?

Certainly, there are exceptions to this rule to be found in the US. Full-time MBA students at Stanford GSB and UNC Kenan-Flagler tend to spend as much time abroad as those enrolled in MBAs outside the US. UNC offers four different ways to factor international study experience into a full-time MBA, while Stanford GSB offers five, with these options encompassing everything from short-term study trips to consulting projects and longer-term exchanges.

This might not be enough to ensure either school ranks among the FT’s highest when focusing solely on international study experiences during an MBA, but Stanford does makes the top 15. Meanwhile, for the international mobility of MBA alumni in employment terms, the FT’s highest-ranking US business schools, Columbia Business School and Wharton, both fall outside the top 40. On the whole (again, there are exceptions), class of 2015 employment reports from schools in the US have shown that more MBA graduates are staying on to work in the US after graduation than in the recent past, so this picture isn’t likely to change in the immediate future. While this speaks to an upsurge in hiring from US employers responding with confidence to the country’s economic recovery, some may find the relatively low levels of international mobility and an apparent lack of either desire or options to explore the business world outside the US to be something that warrants further consideration.

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Tim Dhoul

Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).