SUU International Partnership Offers Double Degree

Published: September 27, 2007 | Read Time: 3 minutes

Starting next Fall semester, Southern Utah University business students will be able to earn a Bachelor's degree from one of the top-rated business schools in Europe in addition to their Bachelor's degree from SUU.

This program is a relatively new format in American academia for globalizing the student experience, and as the only such opportunity in the state of Utah, SUU will provide a unique opportunity for international accreditation to students across the state.

Last Friday, SUU President Michael T. Benson signed a double degree agreement with the Groupe Ecole Superieure de Commerce et de Management (ESCEM) in Tours and Poitiers, France. Through this agreement, students who study at ESCEM for one academic year as part of their business-track studies at SUU will receive a Bachelor of Arts in International Management from ESCEM in addition to an SUU undergraduate degree.

The new program is part of SUU's study abroad exchange program, through which participating students pay their tuition and fees to SUU, and will still be able to use any scholarships or financial aid they receive at SUU. Students will not have to pay any extra tuition or fees to ESCEM. In addition, their time in France will count toward their four-year degree at SUU, which means students won’t have to take extra classes or spend extra time or money for tuition along the way.

Carl Templin, Dean of SUU's School of Business said “This is such a unique and exciting opportunity for our students to get international experience and a valuable European degree to complement their SUU degree. Both schools are accredited by AACSB-International, and a double degree with foreign experience will serve as a perfect gateway into international business.”

The curriculum planned for SUU students at ESCEM will focus on international business and marketing. All class instruction will be conducted in English, so students need not be fluent in French to take advantage of this unique opportunity. With increased exposure and an awareness of issues that impact the global marketplace, students with this double degree will be much more marketable upon graduation than their peers with little or no international experience.

ESCEM currently has an MBA double degree agreement with the prestigious Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. SUU will be their only American Bachelor’s double degree partner.

The double degree is due in part, to a successful history between ESCEM and SUU as partner universities working together on their study abroad programs. This double degree increases opportunities and incentives for more students to gain international academic experience.

According to SUU’s Director of International Outreach Alla Paroiatnikova, SUU is “very proud that ESCEM has chosen us as their only undergraduate double degree partner in the United States. It really says something about the quality of SUU’s business program. As the first international double degree program in Utah, we will offer SUU business students a benefit no other Utah school can.”

The double degree program will be the newest addition to SUU's existing international exchange program. Through the international exchange program, SUU students can study at any of SUU's 13 international partner universities for a semester or academic year while paying tuition and fees only to SUU.

---

Contact Information:

435-586-5400
Contact the Office of Marketing Communication