If you’re a prospective or current MBA student, you may be interested in getting an international experience during your program. Many MBA students specialize or hope to work in international or multinational business settings, so some students find it extremely beneficial to get an international experience while in graduate school. If you want to study abroad but you’re unsure of how to make it happen, here’s some helpful information about MBA study abroad programs.
School-Specific MBA Programs
If your goal is to study abroad for a semester or summer session during grad school, then one of the best ways to do it is through your business school’s study abroad cohort programs. Most of the best business schools offer either exchange programs or cohort programs designed specifically for their students. For example, Loyola University of Chicago’s Business school offers students courses abroad in Cambodia, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. Texas A&M offers their MBA students exchange programs for semester-long experiences as well as summer programs in Denmark, France, China, and Germany. If you’re a prospective MBA student, make sure to check out your school’s study abroad programs when you’re applying. If you’re a current MBA student, talk to your school’s study abroad coordinator to learn more about what your school can offer you.
Exchange Programs
Many schools, rather than setting up cohort study abroad programs, will join a consortium or exchange network of business schools to allow their students to travel internationally for the exchange of international students. This offers students more flexibility and a broader range of schools to choose from. The Partnership in International Management is one consortium that business schools in the United States work with fairly often. This can be one of the cheapest ways to study abroad as an MBA student because you may end up paying the same amount of tuition that you would to study domestically.
Benefits of Studying Abroad
More and more, businesses are growing into a multinational sector, so many companies want MBA students who have international experiences on their resumes. Studying abroad helps you learn more about other cultures and understand how to work with lots of different people. Also, some MBA students have found that they can get through their MBA programs faster than normal because their study abroad program offered courses they wouldn’t normally be able to take until their last semester in their MBA program.
MBA Study Abroad Scholarships
Many students are unable to study abroad without a little financial help from scholarships. Some schools offer scholarship applications to their students, but there are also other ways to explore financial assistance. Check with your host school to see if they offer scholarships to international students. There are also some outside scholarships, like Scholarships for Development, that you can apply for as an MBA student. Keep in mind that any outside scholarship programs will have a much wider application pool and, therefore, may not be as accessible. It never hurts to try, though!
