But Miami Business School is bucking the trend. Our Chinese graduate student enrollments are double what they were last year. There are three reasons.
First, there’s increasing awareness in China of Miami as a welcoming, multicultural city at the heart of New America, offering great higher education options along with beaches and fun. All higher education institutions in South Florida - FIU and MDC as well as the U - should benefit from Miami’s rise.
Second, our portfolio of one-year Masters's programs in hardcore subjects such as Finance, Accounting, Taxation and Business Analytics, appeals to Chinese students. The curricula of these programs are sufficiently heavy in math and computer science that graduates qualify for three-year work permits in the US rather than the normal one year. Such programs appeal to all foreign students but Chinese on average are very well-trained in math so tend to meet our admission standards.
Third, Miami Business School is known on Chinese social media as a China-friendly place to study. Some 15 percent of our full-time faculty are Chinese, Chinese-American or have worked in China. As a school, we celebrate with our students Chinese holidays such as the Chinese new year and their mid-autumn festival.
This year, around 350,000 Chinese students are studying at US universities. Collectively, they pour $20 billion annually into the US economy. A high proportion pays full tuition, subsidizing scholarships for Americans.
In addition, Chinese students contribute greatly to the cultural melting pot of the modern university. They are eager to learn about America, and our American students learn from them about China. International understanding is something that the global university is uniquely able to promote.
In the next few months, Miami Business School will again be asking South Florida businesses to provide real-world projects for our graduate students to work on. These projects often blossom into internships or full-time job offers. Miami Business School is a magnet for international talent and many foreign students are eager to stay in South Florida and contribute to our economy. Please welcome them.
