MBA
Global Perspectives at Katz
The Katz Program offers a global perspective from focal points in each of the core courses to study abroad opportunities. A number of partnerships and exchange programs also bring students from all over the world to share their culture while studying at Katz.
Overseas Study Opportunities For Katz Students
Global Research Practicum (GRP)3 credits
This three credit MBA elective enables students to study abroad during the spring break, providing a hands-on experience in an international culture. Students consider business issues from a global perspective and are exposed to the business environment in that region. Students conduct an individual or team research project and take an eight day trip to visit various businesses in the selected region. Students develop a research question in their area of managerial specialization and draw evidence from the field study to support their project report. While abroad, students visit, discuss with management, and explore business practices with selected organizations and/or companies. The group meets for three, three-hour class sessions prior to the trip. At the final class session after the trip, students present projects in both written and oral forms.
In the past we have offered courses focusing on Europe, Latin America, and Asia, with various destinations within each region. The destination of the course varies from year to year depending on student interest, faculty availability, and logistical constraints. There will be two Global Research Practicums in Spring 09, one to Munich, Germany and Prague in the Czech Republic and the other to Santiago, Chile. Travel takes place over the Katz spring break (usually early March depending on the academic calendar). Specific information on potential courses will be available early fall.
Expenses related to all academic aspects of the course/trip are covered by the Katz School. In addition to tuition, students are required to cover airfare, ground transfers, hotel, and meals.
For more information, contact Patricia Hermenault - hermenault@katz.pitt.edu
Exchange Programs
European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
MBA students may spend a semester as exchange students at EBS, an elite private business school near Frankfurt, Germany. The master’s degree program is conducted in English, but exchange students visiting EBS are provided with a two-week intensive language course to help them become acclimated. Credits earned at EBS can be transferred to count toward the Katz MBA degree. Exchange students pay tuition at Katz. They are also responsible for fees, airfare, health insurance, and accommodation while overseas.
EBS also offers a three-week summer school, conducted in English. The course is a combination of classroom learning (lectures and case studies) and experiential learning through corporate visits and guest speakers from the corporate world. The main focus is the European business environment. The program is open to both full-time and part-time MBA students in good academic standing, who have completed a minimum of 24 credits by the end of the spring term. By participating, in addition to a great experience studying abroad (in English), students earn three elective Katz credits to count toward their MBA degree. Tuition is paid at Katz. Fees, airfare, and room and board are the student’s responsibility.
University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany (near Munich)
MBA students may spend a semester as exchange students at the University of Augsburg, taking business-related courses. Proficiency in the German language is required. Credits earned can be transferred to the Katz MBA degree. Exchange students pay tuition at Katz. They are also responsible for fees, airfare, health insurance, and accommodation while overseas.
University of Federico Santa Maria, Chile
MBA students may spend a semester as exchange students at the University of Santa Maria, taking business-related courses. Adequate proficiency in the Spanish language is required. Credits earned can be transferred to the Katz MBA degree. Exchange students pay tuition at Katz. They are also responsible for fees, airfare, health insurance, and accommodation while overseas.
Students Bring A Global Perspective Into The Katz Classroom
European Business School
Exchange Program
Within the framework of a reciprocal students exchange program between the two institutions, starting in the academic year 2008-09, EBS will send to Pittsburgh exchange students from the EBS full-time master’s of science programs to attend the Katz MBA program. The EBS students will have successfully completed the German component (two semesters) of their three-semester master’s program. The EBS students will be at Katz for the fall semester.
Dual Degree Option
Students from the master’s programs at EBS have the option of completing a dual-degree program in which they are awarded a master’s of science degree from EBS along with their MBA degree from Katz. This program is not part of the exchange program described above. Students in the MS/MBA program will have completed the first two semesters of their MS program at EBS when commencing their studies at Katz. All EBS fellows will come to Katz for the fall and spring semesters.
University of Augsburg
Exchange Program
Each fall, the long-standing cooperation between the University of Augsburg and the University of Pittsburgh enables three advanced business students from Augsburg’s five-year degree program to visit Katz for a semester as non-degree exchange students.
Augsburg Executive Fellows
The Augsburg Executive Fellows are a group of German professionals who are enrolled in the executive MBA program at the University of Augsburg. A partnership between Katz and the University of Augsburg enables this group of students to travel to Pittsburgh to study at Katz in the spring semester. By the time the Augsburg Fellows commence their studies at Katz, they have fulfilled the core requirements for the Augsburg MBA program, and they come to Pittsburgh to earn elective credits. Upon their return to Germany, they work on their master’s thesis and graduate in November of the same year.
The group consists of 25 to 30 students each year, most of whom study at Katz for the spring term only. If they can be away from their jobs for the entire period, they also have the option of staying at Katz for the whole semester. The Augsburg Fellows enroll in both full- and part-time MBA courses. These students bring a European flair and significant work experience to share with teammates at Katz.
Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile
Exchange Program
Each fall or spring, the cooperation between the University of Santa Maria, and the University of Pittsburgh enables two advanced engineering/business students from Santa Maria’s five-year degree program to visit Katz for a semester as non-degree exchange students.
UCIS Scholarship Recipients
The University Center for International Studies (UCIS) at the University of Pittsburgh cooperates with various organizations and institutions around the world to promote student exchanges for the entire University, providing a two-semester tuition scholarship to international students. Such non-degree special students may enroll at Katz during the fall and spring semesters.