THE MBA PROGRAM AT AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

American International College is a private institution with just under two thousand students, located in Springfield, Massachusetts in the New England region of the United States. Founded in 1885, AIC offers both graduate and undergraduate programs in business administration, as well the liberal arts, health sciences, education, psychology, and criminal justice. The college focuses on helping students acquire skills that place them favourably in the job market, while at the same time providing them with a comprehensive liberal education, a strong sense of social responsibility, and ethical guidance. The School of Business Administration currently has approximately 500 undergraduate students. Its 125 graduate students are enrolled in one two degree programs – the Master’s in Business Administration or the Master of Science in Accounting and Taxation.

Undergraduate business students take a set of core courses that cover the major business subjects – accounting, marketing, finance, management, information technology, data analysis – and can afterward specialise in their area of choice. All students complete an internship before graduation. They also have many opportunities to participate in special projects that give them first hand experience in entrepreneurship, community service, multicultural interaction, leadership and team building.

The MBA program builds on the AIC’s mission and values. Started in the 1950s as a way to meet the needs of local corporations in formal business executive training, it provides solid grounding in the skills and competencies necessary for success in today’s highly competitive job market. These include the technical areas of finance, accounting, operations management, market research, and quantitative methods. The program balances these “hard skills” with “soft skill” training in leadership and teamwork, conflict management, communication, and business ethics. In all courses, students work in teams and are required to present their views and findings to a forum of peers.

Both the MBA program and the undergraduate business majors focus on blending theory and practice. Instructors have practical business experience along with the requisite academic training and credentials. The majority of students also have considerable business experience. Emphasis on participation and interaction gives students a chance to develop skills by applying them. They also learn persuasion techniques through working in teams drawn from backgrounds diverse in gender, ethnicity, working experience, and professional orientation.

Many students enroll soon after completing undergraduate business studies. However, students who have a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field also find the MBA a stimulating program of study and an effective entry point into the business world. To prepare them for their advanced business studies, the college offers business foundation courses in the principal disciplines. Once this foundation is completed, the total MBA requirement is 12 courses or 36 credits.

The AIC campus occupies 55 acres in the centre of Springfield, a medium sized city located between Boston and New York. The New England region is known for its role in American history and for its leadership in the Knowledge Economy of the 21st century. Springfield is home to major financial service firms and is evolving as a centre of technology and specialty marketing. AIC maintains strong links with major employers in the area, including MassMutual and the Hartford Insurance companies, Hasbro, Bank of America, United Technologies, and Callaway Golf. Recently the college completed a major technology infrastructure update, which will provide extensive capabilities for computer training and for use of information technology in both distance and blended learning formats.