Concentrations

International Business

Goal: To prepare international professionals to be able to successfully navigate the dynamic and diverse global contexts for entrepreneurship and enterprise.

Curriculum: Ten units of graduate coursework are required for the International Business concentration of the MAIS program.

These include: Foundations of Chinese Business (MAIS 530), Global Economics & Enterprise (MAIS 531), and International Management & Leadership (MAIS 533). Starting with a general survey of the history, sociology, and economics of business in China, students develop an intimate understanding of best practices and approaches to commercial activity in China. Methodologies and strategies appropriate to Chinese marketplace are developed through practical and experiential implementations of business theories and research. The curriculum concludes with an exploration of the leadership styles and outcomes of CEOs and business leaders in multinational corporations in China.

Thesis: Most students in the International Business concentration pursue thesis research in the area of business, with topics ranging from Consumer Spending Behavior; Small Business Growth; Wine Industry; Logos and Branding; Television Commercials and Segmentation; Job Satisfaction for Employees; and Corporate Philanthropy. Examples of non-business related thesis topics include Attitudes towards Marriage, Cross-Straits Relationships between China and Taiwan; and the Nanjing Massacre.

Outcomes: Graduates with an International Business concentration in MAIS find positions as analysts at multinational corporations, entrepreneurs of international business, international business consultants, import-export coordinators, marketing agents, and many other opportunities with companies in the US, China and around the world.

International Education

Goal: To prepare international educators to be able to successfully navigate the dynamic and diverse global contexts for teaching and learning.

Curriculum: Ten units of graduate coursework are required for the International Education concentration of the MAIS program.

These include: Foundations of Chinese Education (MAIS 520), Environmental & Instructional Design (MAIS 525), and Literacy & Language Acquisition (MAIS 527). Starting with a general survey of the history, sociology, and philosophy of education in China, students develop an intimate understanding of best practices and approaches to primary, secondary, and tertiary education in China. Methodologies and strategies appropriate to Chinese classrooms are developed through practical and experiential implementations of educational theories and research. The curriculum concludes with macro and micro perspectives on educational policy, practices and psychologies as they occur in China and around the world.

Thesis: Most students in the International Education concentration pursue thesis research in the area of education, with topics ranging from Comparative Teaching Methodologies; Environmental Education; Student Motivation to Study Abroad; Teacher Attrition; and Discrimination in Education. Prior examples of non-education related topics include Panda Conservation; China’s Aging Population; and Filial Piety.

Outcomes: Graduates with an International Education concentration in MAIS find positions in various facets of education such as; international school teachers, K-12 school administrators, university student affairs officers, curriculum designers, educational consultants and researchers, entrepreneurs in educational businesses, UNICEF officers, doctoral students, and other exciting vocations.

International Development (Available starting Summer 2013)

Goal: To prepare international non-profit (NPO) and non-government (NGO) agents to be able to successfully navigate the dynamic and diverse global contexts for sustainable economic development and social responsibility.

Curriculum: Ten units of graduate coursework are required for the International Development concentration of the MAIS program.

These include: Foundations of International Development (MAIS 540), Social Change & Project Management (MAIS 541), and Social Policy & Sustainability (MAIS 543). Starting with a general survey of the history, sociology, and economics of international development in China, students develop an intimate understanding of best practices and approaches to NPO & NGO work in China. Methodologies and strategies appropriate to diverse Chinese contexts, both urban and rural, are developed through practical and experiential implementations of development theories and research. The curriculum concludes with an investigation of strategies for creating enduring change that persists beyond the length of a given intervention or action, fostering local ownership, policy change and sustainable development.

Thesis: Most students in the International Development concentration pursue thesis research in the area of development. This thesis will derive from participatory/action research that documents and assesses the student’s development project in China.

Outcomes: Graduates with an International Development concentration in MAIS are poised to find positions at non-government organizations (NGOs), non-profit organizations (NPOs), sustainable development divisions of multinational corporations (MNCs), foreign service and diplomatic agencies, relief and aid movements, environmental agencies, and other organizations engaged in international development efforts in China and around the world.