Zhejiang Gongshang University (ZJSU) continues to cooperate with Missouri State University aiming to provide the current excellent graduate students of ZJSU distinguishing opportunities to study in the United States. The students having studies in the United States for one year will be awarded Master of Business Administration of Missouri State University, which is internationally-recognized (verified by AACSB) and verified by the Ministry of Education of the P.R.C Academic Degree Verification Center. They will enjoy treatment of the returning overseas students according to the state’s stipulations.

This program was initially launched by the former State Commission for Commerce and Trade with American universities in 2001 especially for training of the preparing leading cadres of mid-level managers at central enterprises. Afterward as it was implemented according to the documents issued by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, it was joined by giant enterprises including Petro China, China Aviation Industry Group, China Ordnance Equipment Group Corporation, China Merchants Group, Minmetals Group, Baoshan Steel Group and Wuhan Steel Group; then it was joined by the economic management preparatory cadres and enterprise managers organized by the provincial and municipal governments of Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Shenzhen and Xiamen. So far more than 1500 learners have graduated. Since 2008, this program was expanded to cooperate with the well-known universities of China. The students recommended by China’s cooperating universities enjoy the same favorable conditions as that of the students sent by the government and to receive Master of Business Administration granted by Missouri State University after spending one year attending the Graduate Program of the institution for one year. The current universities joining in the project include South China University of Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Jiaotong University, East China University of Science and Technology, Communication University of China, China Agricultural University and Dongbei University of Finance & Economics. Zhejiang Gongshang University started to join in the cooperative program in 2009 and so far there have been several dispatches of students successfully graduated from the program.

I. Features of the Program

1) High Profile of the Institution. Missouri State University is a comprehensive research public university and all academic degrees of business and accounting awarded at its College of Business are accredited by the Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), the world’s most authoritarian business school verifying institution of the world. Only 10% of the 1700 business schools in the United States are fully accredited by business and accounting degree AACSB. In Chinese mainland, currently only few business schools including the ones of Tsinghua University, China-Europe International Business School and Fudan University are accredited by AACSB and more than 10 other universities are applying for entry into AACSB accreditation incubation period.

2) MOE-Recognized Overseas academic degrees and credentials and status of returning international students. After graduation, the students could be awarded certificate of returning international student issued by the Education Office of China Embassy in the United States and after completing studies and getting back to China, the students can transact verification of overseas degrees and credentials at Overseas Study Service Center of MOE and according relevant stipulations of the state, the students can enjoy the treatment for returning international students.

3) TOEFL and GMAT exemption. Approved by the American institution, this program offers current graduate students and students of graduate classes at Zhejiang Gongshang University exemption of TOEFL or GMAT scores. The admission is mainly done based on recommendation of Zhejiang Gongshang University, the scores accomplished by students in their English training, actual English proficiency, work and internship experiences and potentials for career development. This program does not accept application from any individuals and the candidates must be recommended by the cooperating universities of China.

4) More Time and Fees Saved. Short-term of studying, enhanced learning for about one year (usually the MBA courses of American institutions are of 1.5-2 years because of long summer and winter vacations). This program provides intensive courses with no summer and winter classes. The attending students could save time and living expenses of one year.

5) Combination of Learning and Practicing. In addition to the course-taking, the institution attaches importance to combination of learning and practicing and regularly hold events for students of this program: a) Visiting well-known enterprises in the United States; b) Hearing speeches of enterprises’ senior managers; c) Participating in classes on actual work skills; d) “Shadowing” internship; e) Attending speeches of different sorts, communities and culture & entertainment events. The institution encourages and requests students to actively participate in extracurricular activities, to improve their English and to deepen understanding of American society and culture.

6) Understanding about American Society. Students have opportunities to get in touch with American families, to participate in American family activities during weekends and holidays. Some teachers in charge of classes might invite the students to participate in their family parties so that the students would be given more opportunities to deeply understand American society.

(7) Concentrated Study of the Whole Class. The students could help each other in learning and living while teachers could adjust the phase of course-instruction so that the student would be able to easily pass through the adaptation period.

(8) The same identity with that of American students. As graduate students formally admitted by Missouri State University, the students would transact the entry registration and other entry procedures while attending the class. After completing all required courses and attaining the qualified scores, the students would receive Master of Business Administration Degree. The students would be enlisted in global alumni network of the American institution and enjoy the same honor and career qualification as their American alumni including permanent academic identity, transcripts and other all services for alumni.

(9) Well-equipped Logistic Support. Missouri State University provides particular services of airport transfer; during the appointed period to arrive, the institution would help the students to look for accommodations, to sign house-rental agreements, to transact entry registration procedures, to open up email box, purchase furniture and daily appliances and open up mobile and bank accounts. One to two months prior to arrival in the United States, the students would receive program pamphlets, calendar of the whole year, textbooks of all courses and other details about the program. After arrival in the United States, students would be arranged to participate in Orientation. During the students’ stay for class-attending, the institution would provide various sorts of assistance to the students offering them consulting and helping them to solve specific problems about their studying and living.

Graduate Program Students and Students of the Graduate Courses at Zhejiang Gongshang University (including the MBA graduate students and academic graduate students of other professions)

1)Recommended by Zhejiang Gongshang University

2)Open to all majors

3)Good academic performance during the past four years at the university with GPA of higher than 2.75

4)Great proficiency in English before attending the courses, the candidates should meet the English requirements of the American institution (equivalent to about TOEFL-IBT 79).

III. Timing and Procedures of Application for the Program

IV. Schooling System and Curriculum

The schooling system of the MBA program is 12 months which is divided into 11 modules. There are two MBA classes with concentration on International Management and MBA class with concentration on Finance and Financial Management for the fall-entering classes.

   MBA Courses with Concentration on International Management

     MBA Courses with Concentration on Finance and Financial Management

V. Methods of Teaching and Training

The program adopts core courses of business schools in American institutions and teaching plan, teaching methods, textbooks and teaching management mode of MBA Degree Courses in American institutions of the same periods. All courses are taught by senior professors and scoring of all courses made taken by small tests, mid-term examinations, final examinations, group discussions or completion of the assigned dissertations.

VI Organization Management

During the period of studying abroad, the students should strictly comply with the stipulations of Zhejiang Gongshang University and Missouri State University on academics, management and personal behaviors.

VII Standards of Charging and Payments

   Expenses of the MBA Program

1)     The total tuition for entering the Fall 2016 Class is USD 31,720; the application fee is USD 130 and the medical insurance fee for the academic year 2016-2017 is USD 1,284.

2)     The fees under students’ own management include: annual living expenses (approximate USD 5500-6500) and book fee (approximate USD 200-800, depends on purchase of new books or second-hand books).

3)     Payments:

a.      While submitting the application materials for entry, the graduate students of MSU should pay the application fee;

b.      After obtaining the visa and in three weeks before arriving in the United States, the students should pay to the MSU tuition and medical insurance fee.

About Missouri State University of U.S.A and Its College of Business Administration

Missouri State University is a comprehensive research university offering PhD, Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in more than 100 professional fields and it is particularly advantaged in management and biology among the large number of fields.

The College of Business Administration of Missouri State University is the biggest management school in the state of Missouri and eight states in central part of the United States. It is also one of the business colleges with largest scale across the States with 5000 current students. In the assessment of “Computer World” an authoritarian publication in the United States about the best Technology MBA courses in the United States, Missouri State University is ranked 8thacross the United States. The authoritarian “Princeton Review” ranked Missouri State University as one of the best management institutions in central of the United States. The College of Business Administration of Missouri State University is one of the business institutions in among the universities in Central western part of the United States accredited by AACSB and all of its business and accounting degrees granted are accredited by AACSB. AACSB is the most authoritarian and universally-recognized accrediting organization of business institutions. Of more than 1600 business institutions in the United States, only about 10% provide AACSB-accredited business and accounting degrees which include all famous universities of the United States. This accreditation is carried out every five years and operated in a strict way and it well deserves the universally-recognized most authoritarian accreditation of business administration. The College of Business Administration accredited by AACSB possesses a high standard of academics, high-level teaching resources, strict entry requirements and accordingly tuition fees. 

The MBA Program of Missouri State University recruits students with some practical experiences or of the disciplinary fields of economics, finance and accounting. By fully interacting with professors in charge, the students could closely combine the management concepts and management skills at international standard with the practical contexts. The designated courses focus on the development of students’ decision-making abilities and on integrity, internationalization and applicability. The teachers participating in the program are senior professors of the university. These well-experienced teachers are good at utilizing students’ learning initiative and can make the curriculum arrangement better adapt to the real circumstance of this program’s students.

As a mainstream management institution in the United States, the MBA courses offered at Missouri State University represents mainstream courses of American management institutions and add a lot more contents according to the students’ actual needs. In addition to the traditional courses including accounting, finance, financing and management, the institution has also added frontier courses including international finance and international management, which can help students to get in touch with the latest concepts of management and operation. While fully reflecting mainstream of American management education, the curriculum set up caters to touching with the latest issues of nowadays in order to make sure that the students can timely and efficiently transfer their learning into actual management. The whole curriculum is divided into 11 modules, each of which covers a big subject. In selection of textbooks, international authoritarian textbooks and monographs are selected and supplemented by teachers’ own edited papers, case-studies, latest academic dissertations and research reports.

Q & A about the Cooperative Master’ Degree Program Co-founded by Zhejiang Gongshang University and Missouri State University

Q I. Are the master’s degrees recognized by the Ministry of Education of P.R.C?

A: The Ministry of Education of P.R.C recognizes the degrees and identity of the returning international students who completed their studies overseas. After graduation, the students could be awarded certificate of returning international student issued by the Education Office of China Embassy in the United States and after completing studies and getting back to China, the students can transact verification of overseas degrees and credentials at Overseas Study Service Center of MOE and according relevant stipulations of the state, they can enjoy the treatment for returning international students

Q2: What about details of the tuition abroad and other expenses?

A: The tuition abroad includes the fees for taking all degree courses, computer accounts, email box, on-campus internet facilities, sport facilities, library and use of the health centers. The students pay the medical insurance to enjoy the excellent medical insurance provided by the American university to international students.

Other expenses borne by the students themselves (calculated according to the average conditions. It is only for reference due to different consumption of different individuals.)

1.    Accommodation: According to the setting of the off-campus double-room apartments within one kilometers far from buildings of the College ofBusiness Administration, the average area for use is about 75-100m2 equipped with a living room, kitchen (with refrigerator and bowl-washing machine), 1 or 2 bathrooms, carpet, air-conditioner, heating facilities but most of the apartments are not facilitated with furniture. Each should pay about 180-220 dollars each month when the apartment is shared by four, 230-280 dollars each month when shared by three and 300-420 dollars each month when shared by two.

2.    The monthly payment for self-cooked dinners is about 100-150 dollars and the miscellaneous fee for personal mobile phone is about 50 dollars.

3.    The fee paid for textbooks of graduate courses is about 200-800 dollars (depends on what kind of the textbooks: borrowed, new, old, domestic copies, international version, purchased through online shopping and others)

Q 3. Why are the tuition and living expenses so low?

A: Compared with other ACCSB-accredited MBA Programs in the United States, the payment of this program is the lowest. The area where MSU is located is one of the ten areas of the United States where living expenses are lowest.

Q4. Some students recommended by the cooperating institution in China are not required to take TOEFL, does it mean that English proficiency is not attached great importance?

A: This program is cooperative exchange program of the universities requiring students to possess high proficiency of using English. Before leaving for attending the desired programs, the students are required to have good foundation in professional knowledge and English proficiency. The students should lay a firm foundation in English usage prior to departing by attending the graduate classes and taking the English enhanced training.

Q5. What academic standards should be met for students to attain the Master’s Degree of Business Administration? Is there any opportunity for students to retake the failed courses?

A: The Master’s Degree of Business Administration offered at Missouri State University has very strict academic requirements. For teaching planning, teaching methods, teaching management modes and requirements for graduation, please refer to official website of the university. It is simple to say that the GPA of the students’ 11 courses should meet 3.0 (equivalent as B) with no more than 4 courses scored C. If there are some courses the students fail to pass during the one year studying in the United States, Missouri State University will try to arrange the students to retake some failed courses while taking other regular courses and will exempt the tuition for taking the re-taken courses (except for the academic misbehaviors of the students). If the students still have some failed some course after one year of studying in the United States, the institution will arrange the students postpone the visa to stay at school for retaking the failed courses or retaking the courses through the internet after the students get back to China, But in such cases students should pay for the tuition incurred from retaking of the failed courses.