FAQ

School/ Curriculum/Faculty

Yes, the Hult MBA is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), and the school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC). Hult is also a member of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Bertil Hult is the founder of EF Education First, a global education company with offices in 50 countries. In recognition of Mr. Hult’s generous support of the school, the school was renamed Hult International Business School in 2003.

Hult International Business School was formerly known as the Arthur D. Little School of Management, which was established in 1964 as an extension of the ADL management consulting practice (the oldest management consulting firm in the world, started in the late 1890s). The school was renamed in 2003 in honor of benefactor Bertil Hult.

Our curriculum is designed around four modules: Foundations, Integration, Global Application I and II, spanning 12 months. The first two modules (Modules A & B) feature required functional courses as well as strategy. The last two modules (Modules C & D) consist primarily of elective courses and an action learning program.

60 credits are required for completion of the program standard for most two-year MBA programs.

Action Learning is the philosophy behind our MBA curriculum. It is an approach to learning that links theory with practice. Theory is taught in the classroom through lectures and required readings. The theory is put to test in real-life situations - through case study of real business problems and business simulations. Action Learning means “learning by doing," not simply sitting in a classroom, but actually going out in the real world and applying the tools and concepts to real business situations.

Hult offers a top-ranked one-year U.S. program. Hult was ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2008 as the 31st best business school in the world and 16th best in the U.S. (see www.mba.eiu.com ).

1. Hult offers a unique opportunity to study in four of the world’s key economies: Boston, London, Dubai and Shanghai, which enables students to learn about the global business practice in a truly international environment and get access to the exciting career opportunities available in these fast growing markets.
2. Most Hult students say that one major advantage is that the Hult MBA is a one-year program, one of the few 12-month U.S. MBA programs. Our students save a year of tuition and opportunity costs, and minimize time away from busy careers. Our accelerated, intensive program gets students back to the workforce sooner.
3. Our students are internationally experienced professionals with an average age of about 30 and a range of 25 to 45 years old. They bring with them an average of seven years of work experience and come from a wide range of professions and industries. The result is a student body with a wealth of experience to contribute and share with their classmates and a diverse alumni network.

The contents of our accelerated one-year program are the same as in a standard two-year program, just delivered in a compressed timeframe. Our program consists of 60 credits, the same as in most two-year programs. We cover all the core MBA courses, such as Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Operations Management, Organizational Behavior and Strategy, required by most MBA programs. Our students experience the equivalent required courses of other MBA programs, a selection of electives and a series of Action Learning experiences.

A one-year program is extremely intensive. Students attend classes five days a week, about six hours a day, which is much more intensive than a standard two-year or 18-month program. Vacation breaks are limited to two weeks over the course of the program. By comparison, a student in a standard two-year program will typically attend classes a few hours a day with five or six weeks of vacation in December/January and three months during summer.

It is important that all potential students be made aware of the commitment and discipline required to be successful in a one-year program.

Because the Hult program is accelerated, there is little time for additional extracurricular activities such as internships. However, Hult pays special attention to equipping its students to re-enter the job market soon after their graduation. During the MBA program, Hult students are required to participate in an action learning program, which provides practical experience by delivering solutions to a real-world business problem.

Hult specializes in international business and global management. Our curriculum develops the skills to deliver across multilingual, multicultural, multi-time zone boundaries. Hult faculty bring their extensive international experience into the classroom, and our campus rotation expands the horizon by taking our students abroad to gain firsthand experience and develop local knowledge about the global marketplace.

During the two elective modules, students select up to five electives according to their interests. This is an opportunity to delve deeper into areas of interest, strengthen weaknesses or further broaden their skill sets.

Hult aims to enroll approximately 60 students per cohort with a total of eight cohorts in Boston, London, and Dubai campuses for this September 2009 intake. In core courses, it is one professor to 60 students. In elective classes, it is one professor to 20 students. On field studies, it is one professor to seven students.

Our faculty members primarily come from the U.S. and Europe and teach at the Boston, London, Dubai and Shanghai campuses.

One of the great strengths of the school is the Hult faculty. Our faculty has outstanding credentials combined with real-life experience running and managing successful businesses. They are experts in teaching international managers. 80 percent have extensive international experience, and a substantial percentage of them are actively engaged as directors of corporations, consultants or managers of entrepreneurial enterprises.

Many have experience teaching at business programs at the top business schools. More information about Hult faculty is available at the school website (www.hult.edu).

We do not have tenured professors; rather we recruit academic specialists who also may be professors at different business schools. This gives our program a competitive advantage, enabling our curriculum to remain flexible and dynamic, since we hire professors based on their relevant research or backgrounds according to what the curriculum will emphasize. Many of our professors have taught at our school for more than 10 years and some for more than 20 years.

Program Location / Campus Rotation

Yes, the degree awarded is the same U.S. MBA degree whether you study at our campuses in Boston, London or Dubai. All three campuses have the same admissions requirements, follow an identical academic curriculum, use common faculty and offer the same career services and student services support. There is no difference in doing your Hult MBA from Boston, London or Dubai campus.

You will be offered a place on the other campus or the option to stay on the waitlist through the other rounds of admission for your preferred campus. If the seats are full in your preferred campus and you are not interested in doing your MBA from the offered campus, then you have to apply again for your preferred campus the following year.

Yes. While the Toolbox and core courses (Modules A and B) must be completed at your home campus, you can study abroad during your elective modules (Modules C and D). You may choose to study at Boston, London, Dubai or Shanghai in Module C, and either Boston, London or Dubai in Module D. For example, you may study the Toolbox, Module A and Module B in Dubai and then travel to Shanghai for Module C and complete your program in Boston.

Yes, there are seat limitations at each campus. However, we will try to accommodate as many students as we can for their preferred campus for electives. In the event your preferred campus is full, you will be offered the other campus for your electives. Students from home campus will be guaranteed a seat if they choose to do their Module C and Module D in their home campus.

There are no additional tuition fees to be paid to the school. However, you will incur additional charges for travel, lodging and food. You can arrange your own air tickets and housing by deciding to stay with your friends or relatives, swap your accommodations with students in other Hult campus, stay in a hotel or simply rent an apartment. To help our students, we will offer air tickets and affordable accommodations facilities at an additional cost. In addition, we will assist with visa arrangements.

Yes, you may bring your family with you, providing they obtain the necessary visas. You will have to arrange for their accommodations, travel and food. Should you require any assistance, our student services team will be more than willing to help you.

No, it is not compulsory to study overseas. You may complete your MBA entirely at your home campus.

Yes, we will help you to arrange the necessary visas for your overseas study.

Admissions/ Demographics

A complete application includes:

• Completed Hult application form (submit your application online at http://hult.topapply.com )
• Statement of purpose
• Current resume
• Two letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts (as well as graduate school transcripts if applicable)
• Official GMAT score report
• Official TOEFL score report (applies to non-native English speakers; waived for those who have attended at least one year at an English-language university)
• USD $150 application fee

Hult accepts applications on a rolling basis. International students and students who would like to apply for financial aid are encouraged to submit their applications in an early round of deadline.

Finances

Yes, we do. Hult International Business School makes admissions decisions independent of an applicant’s financial situation. We work with applicants to find the most beneficial funding options to cover education-related costs.

• Merit-based scholarships are awarded toward tuition reduction.
• To be considered for financial aid, students must submit a financial aid application form with supporting documents.
• Decisions on scholarship are made only after an offer of admissions is made.
• Scholarships are available to all students regardless of citizenship.

International students can apply for scholarships and have several options if they wish to borrow to help meet their educational costs.

Financial institutions in many home countries offer education financing specifically for local citizens wishing to pursue an MBA. These loans are typically repayable after completion of the course, although other terms vary widely.

Hult has also established a partnership with Erika Finance, a Swiss financial institution to offers student loans to international students at a very competitive interest rate. The loans are offered over five years with repayment starting from six months after graduation.

The Hult tuition fee is $49,800 USD ($46,200 USD for the MBA plus $3,600 USD for the required MBA Toolbox).

This includes tuition for the MBA and a four-week pre-MBA Toolbox. There are additional fees for the case study packs, technology, student activities and medical insurance. Students must also budget for housing, other living expenses, additional books and supplies, a laptop computer, Students who are taking the program in Dubai are offered an option to stay at the accommodation provided by Hult with an additional fee.

(Please see tuition and living expenses on www.hult.edu and on p.14 of the application form.)

Cost estimates vary depending on whether you’ll be coming to the city alone or with a family and what kind of lifestyle you are accustomed to living.

All 2009 students must budget approximately $79,800 USD for one year in Boston, £42,800 GBP for one year in London, and $72,595 USD for one year in Dubai.

If you are accepted, you must confirm your attendance within 14 days of notification of acceptance. At this time, you must pay a non-refundable deposit of $3,000 USD to reserve your place in the class. The next payment of 50 percent of your total Hult invoice is due 60 days before your class starts, and the remainder is due 30 days before class starts.

Should you wish to pay in installments, you may opt for the two-part payment schedule. There is an additional fee of $1,200 for such a payment plan. The first installment is due 30 days before the start of your program. The second installment is due six months later.

We accept credit cards for the application fee, the deposit and fees payments. Alternatively, the deposit and fees payments can be by bank transfer.

Post MBA/Career Services

Our career services office develops individualized career strategies beginning with a career strategy interview with one of our career counselors. We offer:

• Access to a variety of local and international recruiting events
• A personalized career strategy and action plan
• A series of practical work-shops designed to build your career management skills offered throughout the MBA year

To support our students for global placement, we have established Career Services personnel in Boston, Dubai, London and Shanghai. This team develops relationships with companies and sources job opportunities for students. All the job openings in various countries will be posted on the extranet and available for all Hult students to access across all campuses.

Our alumni have been hired by leading multinational companies and global development organizations in a wide range of sectors, including financial services, consulting, manufacturing and marketing. Recent Boston graduates have been hired by market leaders in each industry, such as Consulting: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Roland Berger, Deloitte & Touche, PWC; Banking: UBS, JP Morgan, State Street; FMCG: Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson; IT: Dell, Hewlett Packard, Panasonic, Qualcomm; Education: EF Education First. .

Our average base salary is around $92,073 USD for recent Boston graduates. Keep in mind this is an aggregate number and as our students work all around the globe, salaries are in a wide range of currencies and tax situations and then converted to USD.

For our Boston program, historically around 80 to 85 percent of students have been placed within three months of graduation. This placement track-record is good given that most students only start looking for work after they graduate due to the demanding pace of an accelerated one-year MBA, and that the majority of our students are from outside of the U.S.

Our recent Hult graduates from Boston are employed all over the world. Approximately 60 percent of Hult Boston graduates obtain employment in the United States. The remainder is employed in the Europe, South America and Asia.

We have alumni in 120 countries around the world and at senior levels in virtually every industry and function. We would be happy to put you in touch with several alumni from your area or industry.

OPT, the “Optional Practical Training” visa, is a 12-month work visa for foreign students upon completion of their studies in the U.S. This visa allows foreign students to engage in practical training employment. The OPT visa is limited to 12 months. Beyond the 12 months visa limitation, students must find employer sponsorship to continue to work in the U.S.

Student Visas and Accommodations

After you’ve been accepted to the program and confirm your acceptance, we will ask for financial documentation related to the program expenses.

For Boston students, an I-20 form will be issued when we receive all the required and accurately completed documentation for you to arrange your visa appointment. Wait time will vary from country to country. I-20 visas are valid 90 days before the program start date. Hult staff will work with you to make sure that all the required documentation is in place and that you have the proper information for any visa interviews that may be required.

For Dubai students, application for the student visa can be submitted through the school. Normal processing lead time is seven working days.

We provide living facility for students studying in the Dubai campus. Shared accommodations will be provided to Hult Dubai students with a fee of $8,000 USD. Option to upgrade to a single-room facility is also available with an additional fee per year.

However, we do not offer dormitory housing options in Boston; rather many of our students share accommodations with other Hult students or with students from other colleges and universities in the Boston area. Our staff can recommend realtors with who have been helpful in placing students in past years. Many of our students take over an apartment from one of our current students.

The best way is to come to Boston two weeks prior to the program start date to finalize your housing arrangements. We can provide you with ample information about the local housing market, including details about the housing arrangements of current students. Please contact our admissions office directly for more information.