Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, has for more than 50 years offered students a comprehensive education in managing business in a global context. Thunderbird's full time students represent more than 70 nations, adding a global context to every class and every project. Built on a foundation of business disciplines, international studies, and language/communication coursework, and now including a broad range of business specializations, the Thunderbird student graduates with the ability to enter business environments throughout the world and immediately make a contribution. Any MBA program will teach you about the world of business. At Thunderbird, we teach you about the world AND about business.

 

History

Today it is the world's premiere graduate school for international business, but Thunderbird began 60 years ago as a U.S. Army Air Force field -- having been built purely on patriotism and private funds. The U.S. Congress had refused to fund the massive build-up of the airplanes, airfields, and such that America, Great Britain, and China needed for the war. So a very determined General Hap Arnold approached fellow patriots such as Hollywood screen legends Janet Gaynor, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda and Hoagy Carmichael, as well as fellow visionaries Leland Hayward, John Connelly and John Swope for some much-needed philanthropic help. Without so much as a written contract, that group came up with more than $1 million -- in 1940's era dollars -- to build the base, which opened on March 23, 1941, and which trained more than 16,000 Allied pilots through war's end in 1945.

 

The one-square-mile Thunderbird airfield was literally carved out of the Arizona desert, thanks to the unbelievable generosity and unprecedented vision of some undisputed patriots. And so was Thunderbird the school.

It was Thunderbird Field's commander, Lt. General Barton Kyle Yount, who first envisioned a private business school. Yount believed that building global relationships and a worldwide economy offered mankind its greatest hope of preventing future wars. So Yount and his band of devotees petitioned Congress, bought the base on July 8, 1946, assembled a faculty, curriculum, and student body, and began classes at the then American Institute of Foreign Trade just three months later on October 1.

 

More than 50 years later, Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, has remained true to its charter. The School is still attracting pioneers, equipping them with the language, culture, and business skills they need to succeed in global business, then sending them forth to help forge that one world economy.

 

Today's Thunderbird is home to more than 1100 students representing 60+ nations. In addition to its campus in Glendale, Thunderbird operates facilities in France, Japan, China and Russia. The school also teaches students through partnership programs in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Taiwan. Thunderbird has been ranked #1 in International Business by U.S. News & World Report for six consecutive years. That honor was echoed by the Wall Street Journal in that publications first-ever ranking of graduate business schools published April 30, 2001. The Journal also named Thunderbird one of the top 25 graduate business schools in the world. At Thunderbird, everything is global.

 

Degree Earned:

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Management

 

Master of International Management (MIM) for post-MBA and dual degree/partner school program participants

 

Specializations available:

Finance, Marketing, General Management, Global Policy & Development

 

Length of Study:

12-20 months; varies by degree track, specialization, internship choices, etc.

 

Number of places:

Variable by insertion date; approximately 1200 students in the combined programs at any given point in time

 

Language of instruction:

English

 

Tuition:

$12,750(USD) per semester (2001-2002 academic year)

 

Scholarship/funding available:

Wide range of scholarship programmes available. U.S. students may also qualify for government subsidized loans. Full information available at www.t-bird.edu.

 

Starting dates:

August, January, May

 

Application procedure and deadlines:

Forms and deadline information available on website or by contacting Admissions Office

 

Student Body Profile:

Women: 34%

 

Age range:

21-57

 

Average age:

28

 

Student origin:

Europe: 9%
US: 34%
Latin America: 12%
Other Americas: 1%
Asia: 41%
Africa/Mid-East: 3%

 

Admission requirements:

• Bachelor's degree
• 2 year's work experience
• GMAT
• References
• Essays
• Résumé
• Foreign student financial certification
• Statistics and economics prerequisites
• Laptop computer

Programme content (specific requirements vary by track and advance placement):

• International Political Economy
• Regional Analysis
• Cross-cultural Communication and Negotiations
• Non-English language business proficiency (if first language is English)
• English language business proficiency (if first language is not English)
• Business Communications
• E-business Technology Management
• Decision Tools
• Financial Accounting
• Competitive Strategy
• Financial Decision Making I and II
• International Finance and Trade
• Products and Markets
• Competing Through People
• Operations Management
• Managerial Accounting
• 15 hours of advanced specialisation study