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June 1, 2001
Business students who are not in the jet set and who would prefer to continue their education on campus rather than online can still get a healthy dose of global perspective right here on U.S. soil. More B schools are incorporating international coursework into their programs for undergraduates and midcareer grad students.

Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz., was ranked first in its specialty by corporate recruiters in a survey published in April by the Wall Street Journal. More than half of the 1,500 students and 110 faculty members hail from 80 foreign countries, and nine languages are spoken in classes. Almost every course—from finance fundamentals to global marketing management—requires that students form multinational teams to solve real-life business problems suggested by alumni working in 135 countries. "At any school, you're going to have international students," says Miamian Armando Ureņa. "But here you develop a strong international network."

Undergraduate business programs are also going international. At New York University's Stern School of Business, applications have jumped 40% since the school adopted a global curriculum for all undergrads four years ago. The program includes coursework in Asian, European and Latin American business and culture, and a study trip abroad for all 350 juniors, who in March visited businesses in Italy, Hong Kong and Mexico.

Bianca Feld, a junior from Philadelphia, traveled to Hong Kong as part of a team that had studied Internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks, whose stock had been falling sharply for several months. "Their biggest problem is an immense amount of debt," says Feld. "This company was spreading itself too thin." When Feld's team expressed this view in meetings at PCCW headquarters—and backed it up with data—managers there seemed taken aback at the students' sophistication.

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