An International Education

The current formula of teaching international content—via textbook case studies and intermittent contact with international students and faculty—is not enough, he says. Further, Prestwich says some MBA programs that do have international facets concentrate on big American multinationals and their dealings with other countries but have little information for people who may work in small or midsize businesses that deal with foreign companies.

“MBA programs need to be taught with more outside perspective, perhaps by a more diverse staff of internationally experienced faculty,” Prestwich says. “We are certainly making our graduates much more globally aware than they were even a few years ago, but we still have more to do.”

Despite his concerns, Prestwich knows many schools have made steps toward a more globally focused MBA in recent years. At Metropolitan State, for example, the number of international business classes available to undergraduate and MBA students has doubled since 2001. Though Metropolitan State encourages students to study abroad, many are unable to participate because they have full-time jobs and families. But the school does have a unique cohort program with three partner schools in Taiwan, and this spring, 24 Taiwanese students will graduate with MBAs from Metropolitan State.

The school also features a diverse student body, which adds to the global perspective in the classroom. In his “international political economy” class this semester, for example, Prestwich surveyed the students and discovered that only four out of the 22 students were born in the United States. The rest were either immigrants or foreign students with visas. Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, India, Russia, Lithuania, Germany, China, Liberia, Ethiopia, Belarus, and Somalia were among the countries represented in his class. “It’s like a mini United Nations in there,” Prestwich says.

Making a Comeback

Overall, despite some bumps in the road, things are looking up for U.S. business schools, Wilson says. Indeed, he says that the 2005–2006 school year will likely be seen as the comeback year for the MBA. “The number of people taking the GMAT has gone up notably over the last year,” he says. (Worldwide, 203,613 tests were taken in 2004, and 211,010 in 2005.)

Internationally focused curriculum, as demonstrated at many Minnesota schools, is on the rise. Global issues in business are becoming recognized as important areas of focus at business schools around the country.

On the federal level, the Bush administration is trying to help international students obtain visas with fewer hassles. In January, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outlined measures to guide U.S. efforts to increase education exchanges.

“We’re seeing MBA recruiters back on the campuses, salaries are inching up in the work force, and the jobs are finally starting to become available,” Wilson says. “This year, I foresee the MBA coming back strong.”