Global perspective is at the heart of the Smeal MBA curriculum. Once again this spring, students enrolled in both the full-time and Executive MBA programs will take part in weeklong immersion trips to an international business center. The college is also preparing for expanded engagement in India via new partnerships between Smeal and select Indian universities.
The international business experience at Smeal was launched in 2004 as a required part of the MBA curriculum. The immersion offers students firsthand exposure to the international economy and the particular challenges and opportunities of doing business in another culture and under different laws and regulations. First-year students in the full-time MBA Program will visit one of four destinations in March: Santiago, Chile; Shanghai, China; Prague, Czech Republic; or San Francisco, California—the latter for international students. In April, second-Year EMBA students will visit Istanbul, Turkey. Learn more about past global immersion experiences at our Go Global website.
James B. Thomas, the dean of the Smeal College, recently visited India to meet with some of the country's leaders in government, business, and education. His mission was to lay the groundwork for potential faculty exchange programs, the creation of a Smeal MBA immersion program in India, and other collaborative projects with Indian business schools, including the Indian School of Business; Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore; and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Smeal Professors Rank Among the Best.
The Princeton Review recently published its guide to
the best business schools. For the second-consecutive year,
Smeal’s faculty ranked eighth-best out of the nearly 300 schools
profiled. According to the guide, which relies on the opinions
of current students to paint a picture of business schools,
“students love the ‘many opportunities to build close relationships
with a world-class faculty.’ One student explains, ‘MBAs are
on a first-name basis with all faculty and staff. Everyone really
goes out of their way to make sure you are on the right path
in virtually everything.’” Learn more about the MBA faculty
and hear
about their approach in the classroom.
Smeal Addresses the Financial Crisis.
With companies and entire economies facing extreme turbulence, institutions like Smeal have a role to play. “Business schools have to provide access; that’s the key word for us,” says Dean James B. Thomas. “It’s access to information, insight, and understanding.” It’s also access to measured and thoughtful insight from proven business experts like the ones at Smeal. Hear their thoughts about the genesis of the crisis and an uncertain financial future.
