Broadcast: January 30, 2003 
By Nancy Steinbach

This is the VOA Special English EDUCATION REPORT.

We continue our reports about how people from foreign countries can attend a college or university in the United States. Today, we tell about a popular graduate degree. It is known as the M-B-A. The letters represent the words "Master of Business Administration."

M-B-A students learn to deal with all kinds of business situations. They learn to solve business problems. They develop skills needed by many different companies.
M-B-A programs teach students about subjects including economics. They also teach about the structure of organizations and about finance, marketing and policy2. Students then do more study in areas that interest them.

It usually takes two years to get an M-B-A degree if you attend school full time. Many programs permit students to take classes while they work. These programs take longer to complete.

Business is one of the most popular study areas for foreign students in the United States. To be admitted to an M-B-A program, foreign students must have a bachelor's3 degree. They must show a clear understanding of English by doing well on the test of English as a foreign language. Most students also take the Graduate Management Admission Test. Most of the one-thousand-five-hundred M-B-A graduate programs around the world use these test scores.

The University of Maryland University College in Adelphi offers an M-B-A program for people who wish to study part-time. Students can choose to complete all the requirements by computer. Or they can do the work both on-line and by attending traditional classes. Many foreign students attend the M-B-A program at the University of Maryland University College. To get more information using a computer, go the university's Web site, w-w-w dot u-m-u-c dot e-d-u.(www.umuc.edu)

        Information about other M-B-A programs is on a Web site called m-b-a dot com. The address is w-w-w dot m-b-a dot com. (www.mba.com)

Or you could attend a meeting of the Graduate Management Admission Council. These M-B-A Forums are held one day each year in cities in several areas of the world. Representatives of business colleges explain programs and answer questions from people interested in studying business.
1. MBA  abbr. Master of Business Administration, 工商管理硕士
2. policy [5pClIsI] n. 政策，方针
3. bachelor [5bAtFElE] n. 文理学士