I am interested in learning more about international mba programs, and I am currently researching some schools now. I know that schools like Duke and Chicago are strong in these fields, but I believe that I may not be able to get in those schools, so I am more interested to hear from anyone who knows about other great international mba programs. I am currently living in East Asia, and I would like to either focus on this region(China specifically) or Europe. Though, Latin America is also of interest, and I do speak Spanish.

I am looking to learn more career prospects in Asia, Europe and the States, along with general thoughts, with the following programs:

1)Thunderbird
2)University of South Carolina (they seem especially strong with their excellent language tracks)
3)Georgia State: 14 month program culminating in an mba from GS, a masters from a school in France, and a certificate from a school in Brasil. It looks promising, but it is a relatively unknown school.
4) Monterrey Institute
5) UHawaii -China focus
*** Any other schools you would recommend in Europe/Asia/USA.

Thanks and look forward to any responses.

I'm pretty sure he means the Monterey Institute of International Studies, in California.

http://www.miis.edu/

Yes, I mean Monterey Institute of International Studies. Sorry for the confusion. I didn't even realize that it only had one r in CA. I actually studied at TEC de Monterrey - Queretaro during undergrad, but that is not the school I am referring to.

Any thoughts, suggestions from anyone? I am looking for opinions, facts or personal insights from anyone. I have done a fair amount of research on my own already, and I am just asking as another source of information.

If you're pursuing a language-related job (i.e. translator), then MIIS is second-to-none. If you want a career in international relations (i.e. diplomacy, policy analysis, global non-profit, etc), then MIIS would also be a decent choice.

But to be objective, I do have an unemployed friend who is an alum of MIIS' international policy studies program, so I guess I shouldn't comment prematurely about their competence in the IR field. There is also the recent scandal of one of their faculty members being a fraud. Apparently MIIS needs to improve its background checking processes for its faculty.

I'm too new of a member to post links, but you guys can google the phrase "MIIS Bill Hillar fraud" to find out more about this.

But as far as MBA is concerned, I'd stay away from that place (again... unless you want to concentrate on non-profit management). I spoke to a few MIIS students & alumni, they didn't have a whole lot of positive things to say about the MBA program. Even the student ambassador, who was supposed to promote the school, told me that the quality of their career services office was... underwhelming, to say the least. Furthermore, their lack of published in-depth employment statistics is not a very encouraging sign. Moreover, while Monterrey offers a very comfortable seaside small town environment, its not exactly a convenient location in terms of professional networking in the business sphere. The policy & language scene is another story. The Naval Post-grad School is located nearby, and so is the Defense Language Institute.

Bottom line, for those looking for an international MBA, look elsewhere first (start with Thunderbird, its been #1 in the int'l biz niche for over 15 years); if you're looking for translations or international studies, keep this school on your backup list, & I do mean BACKUP because admissions is very easy; this isn't a selective school at all.

Bradley,

I have been researching the same type of program though I want to focus more on Latin America. Here are a few that you may want to take a look at and my feelings on the ones you have already mentioned.

Thunderbird, obviously. Have heard too many good and bad things. Must visit and network to get real picture. Alum scattered.
South Carolina (Moore) - More structured than T-bird. Language learning seems more in-depth. The international internship seems neat and their career services seems involved. 75% of most recent class employed in southeast I believe.
Ga State - It is a very regional school. It will open many doors in Atlanta (I live here) or abroad gained from the internship. The program looks real great and again, the international internship is very neat.
Monterey - Don't know enough but seems to focus more on translation, non-profit, and international relations than business.
Hawaii - Don't know enough. Program seems nice but has to be very regional.

Programs you may not have looked at:

Pepperdine - International MBA - includes language learning during first year and a semester abroad second year. Many partner institutions worldwide including Asia.
U of Pitt (Katz) - MBA/MIB - Katz is famous for their 1-year MBA which they have coupled with an MIB for a traditional 21 month program. It also requires an international internship.
Boston University - International MBA - Starts in May. Spend the summer in China then return to Boston for 2 semesters.
UW Foster - Global MBA - 2-year program. First year in Seattle, 2nd year abroad. I can't find much else on this program.

Many other schools have dual degree options for international studies or a language but they take longer than the standard 2 years.

Have you found any other programs as well?