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Northeastern University International Business Program Ranked 15th in Nation By U.S. News & World Report

Posted on: Monday, 25 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

BOSTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeastern University's College of Business Administration (CBA) today announced that its undergraduate International Business program was ranked 15th in the nation and highest in New England among "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News and World Report. CBA's Bachelor of Science in International Business (BSIB) is the only program of its kind in which students study overseas in the host school's language and work overseas, building upon Northeastern University's long-established reputation as an innovator in cooperative education.

Experts agree that international experiences are becoming increasingly important to a successful college education. Recently the presidents of the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges sent a letter to Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education, outlining the steps they will take to strengthen colleges and universities in the United States. One of the points highlighted in this letter was the need to pay more attention to "international issues in the curriculum, increasing proficiency in foreign languages, and expanding the number of students who acquire international experiences."

A study by International Business Review this year gave high marks to Northeastern's international business faculty. CBA was ranked 9th in the world and 4th in the U.S. for the total number of international business research articles appearing in scholarly international business journals over a ten-year period. In the same study, CBA was rated 7th in the world and 3rd in the U.S. for the number of co-authored and co-affiliated articles appearing in those journals over the same time period. This prolific contribution to international business research has made Northeastern's College of Business Administration a thought-leader as well as an innovator in business education.

"For years, CBA has recognized that a keen understanding of international business is of paramount importance in the global economy," said Peggy Fletcher, associate dean of undergraduate programs at the University's College of Business Administration. "U.S. News has again ranked our undergraduate international business program as one of the nation's best, which reinforces our growing reputation in and contribution to this vital area of business education."

Graduates of the BSIB program have been sought after by both global companies headquartered abroad as well as U.S.-based companies with international offices. In the last several years alone, foreign-based companies, including BMW, Daimler-Benz, Gucchi, L'Oreal, and Versace have all hired BSIB graduates to work abroad. At the same time, BSIB graduates have garnered jobs at international offices of U.S. multinational corporations, including Bain & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb, JPMorgan, Liberty Mutual, PFC Energy and Raytheon.

"In some instances, overseas companies have expressed more interest in our students for internships than business students in their own country," said Nick Athanassiou, academic director of the BSIB. "Recruiters seem to love the combination of a top-flight American business education coupled with the on-the-ground experience of living in a foreign country and the opportunity to apply what they've learned in a foreign setting. By studying at a partnering foreign university, our students not only become proficient in a foreign language, but see first-hand how business practices and cultures differ from our own."

Established by CBA in 1994, the BSIB program is a unique, innovative and demanding program that prepares students for positions of international responsibility. Students simultaneously earn a Northeastern undergraduate international business degree and a second degree from a partnering foreign university in France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, or China.

U.S. students in the program study at the foreign university in the host school's language and then partake in a six-month work assignment in the host country, which gives the students the ability to gain valuable, hands-on business experience in a business culture and environment unique to that country.

"After my studies in Reims [France] were completed, I moved to Paris and secured a job with Salomon Smith Barney," said Angela Scalia, BSIB graduate and currently employed at Citigroup Global Markets. "I actually remained in Paris an additional four months after the program was completed and used what I learned studying and working abroad to help secure my current position."

"I started with PFC Energy as an intern in the Paris office during my BSIB year abroad in France, and stayed on part-time while I finished up at Northeastern in Boston," said Auden Kaehler, BSIB graduate and now employed at PFC Energy in Washington, DC. "After I graduated they gave me an offer to work as an analyst at the Washington, DC office, where I have worked ever since. My work includes quite a bit of travel, and I have done various projects in both London and Paris. I am also short-listed to be relocated to work in our Malaysia office."

About Northeastern University College of Business Administration

Northeastern University College of Business Administration, established in 1922, provides its students -- undergraduate, graduate, and executive -- with the education, tools, and experience necessary to launch and accelerate successful business careers. Among many external measures of success, CBA ranked #37 in BusinessWeek's "Best Undergraduate B-school" rankings and U.S. News & World Report ranked the College's bachelors program in international business in the U.S. top 15. The College credits its success to expert faculty, close partnerships with industry, and its emphasis on rigorous academics combined with experiential learning in the workplace.

For more information, contact: Dennis O'Connor Paradigm Communications (for Northeastern University College of Business Administration) 508-650-0100; cell: (781) 883-5109 dennis.oconnor@paradigmshiftpr.com

Northeastern University College of Business Administration

CONTACT: Dennis O'Connor of Paradigm Communications, for NortheasternUniversity College of Business Administration, +1-508-650-0100; cell: +1-781-883-5109, dennis.oconnor@paradigmshiftpr.com

Source: PRNewswire

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