Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business

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The Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business, formerly known as the IS&B Program, is a four-year undergraduate course of study, which integrates business education, advanced language training and a liberal arts education at the University of Pennsylvania. It is the second of four joint-degree programs at Penn. Huntsman graduates earn two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the School of Arts and Sciences (their primary affiliation) and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School .

Contents

[edit] Introduction

The Program's goal is to enable students to take advantage of "a professional education and an understanding of the political, economic and cultural complexities in the global economy of the 21st century", thereby earning the ability to seize global opportunities and "work effectively anywhere in the world". Students are required to learn the cultural, political, and social institutions" of an area of the world in which their target language is spoken.

[edit] Student Life

The Huntsman Student Advisory Board serves as an instrument for greater student participation in shaping the program and as a forum for students to voice their opinions and raise issues. The board consists of twelve members, four of whom are selected by the existing Board members and eight of whom are elected by their peers. The Board works to build a sense of community with events such as pizza parties and coffee hours. It holds regular panel discussions on subjects such as study abroad, how to fulfill requirements, internships and recruiting.

[edit] Facilities

All Huntsmen freshmen live in a residential program on campus in the third floor of King's Court at 3465 Sansom Street in the University of Pennsylvania, after which they are free to compete for any form of accommodation they wish with the rest of the college population.

The Huntsman Program has its own building located in the heart of Penn's campus at 3732 Locust Walk, Philadelphia PA 19104-6231 (contact info). In addition to the administrative offices, the office houses a Student Lounge, Computer Lab, Classroom, and Conference Room. Students enjoy meeting with friends, studying and reading (free) international newspapers and magazines in the student lounge. The computer lab is linked to the Internet and also networked to the Wharton computer labs; it is also equipped with language software. Students can frequently be found working together on group projects in the lab. Both the classroom and conference room can be reserved for meetings. Presentations by guest speakers are sometimes given here. This is the venue for the Huntsman Comparative Capitalist Systems class.

[edit] Program Advisors, Directors, and Staff

[edit] External Advisory Board

The Huntsman Advisory Board currently consists of 20 senior level professionals (CEO's, MD's, and Presidents), primarily from the business community, who provide advice and assistance to the Program. Board members have global perspectives, with current members coming from Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. They are committed to the success of the Program and value the unique education that it provides. Notable board members are Padraic Fallon, Chairman, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, Peter Huntsman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Huntsman Corporation, Philip D. Murphy, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Co., and Lawrence Wolf, Chairman, Wolf Group.

[edit] Faculty Directors and Administrative Staff

Presently, two faculty directors are charged with the responsibility for the Program and serve as the primary advisors for students: Lance Donaldson-Evans and Janice R. Bellace. Professor Donaldson-Evans assumed the role in 2006, replacing noted Arabic scholar Roger Allen, who had been College faculty director of the Program since its inception.

A small administrative staff coordinates all of the activities of the Huntsman Program and advises students about options they have in the Program: Inge Herman, Executive Director, and Sarvelia Peralta-Duran, Associate Director.[1]

[edit] Program Curriculum

By the end of the course, students will have taken:

International Studies (IS) Major (14 courses)

  • 4 Advanced Language Courses (for example, Business Spanish, Modern Chinese Literature);
  • 3 Area Studies Courses (for example, Religion in Latin America, Africa Since 1800);
  • 3 International Business Courses (for example, Business in the Global Political Environment, International Banking);
  • 3 International Studies Courses (for example, Reading Global Feminist Theory, Medicine and the Body);
  • 1 Senior Research Project (After compulsory Study Abroad semester);

Business (B) Major (14 courses)

  • 2 Accounting Courses (Principles of Accounting and Managerial Accounting);
  • 2 Finance Courses (Monetary Economics and Corporate Finance);
  • 2 Management Courses (Introduction to Management and Leadership and Communication in Groups);
  • 1 Introduction to Marketing Course;
  • 1 Operations and Information Management Course;
  • 2 Business Statistics Courses (Biz Stats 1&2);
  • 4 Courses in their chosen Business Specialisation/Concentration(s);

College of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Requirements (until class of '09, 10 courses)

  • 2 Society Courses;
  • 2 History And Tradition Courses;
  • 2 Arts and Letters Courses;
  • 1 Formal Reasoning and Analysis Course;
  • 1 The Living World Course;
  • 1 The Physical World Course;
  • 1 Science Studies Course;

for a total of 38 Course Units.

College of Arts and Sciences (SAS) (class of '10 onward, 12 courses) The College's new curriculum takes effect starting with the Class of 2010.

New Requirement: "Foundational Approaches"

New Requirement: "Sector Requirement" Full courselists have recently been provided: (1 course from each sector is required)

  • Sector I: Society
  • Sector II: History and Tradition
  • Sector III: Arts and Letters
  • Sector IV: Humanities and Social Science
  • Sector V: Living World
  • Sector VI: Physical World
  • Sector VII: Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Although a 40-course curriculum may at first appear excessively rigorous, many courses are offered which satisfy several of the program's requirements at once.

[edit] Study Abroad

As an essential part of the Program, while fulfilling the 40 c.u. curriculum, Huntsman students study abroad for a minimum of one semester (typically during the junior year) at another university in the area of the world in which their target language is spoken.

The semester abroad is an immersion experience designed to develop a student's understanding of a country's culture, its political and social institutions. Huntsman students learn how to live, study, and possibly even work in an environment that is different from their prior experience; language skills will automatically be strengthened by such exposure. When they study abroad, Huntsman students take standard courses with regular university students, live with families or in student dormitories, take a course load similar to that at Penn, and do not attend "island" programs designed for foreign students.

All grades earned abroad are converted into Penn grades and are factored into a student's grade point average. Courses taken abroad may also fulfill major requirements. Typically, Arts & Letters, History & Tradition, and Area Studies components of the CGS requirements are the easiest to fulfill while abroad.

[edit] Admissions

Admission to the Huntsman Program is competitive, with a target class size of approximately 40 students (it was 25 for '98 and '99). Recent classes have been over 50 students. Detailed admissions statistics are presently unavailable (Please see Penn's admissions statistics for a rough guide), though the program has an admissions rate lower than Harvard. Based on Huntsman alumni figures, approximately half the class are international students. For the Class of 2011, the program enrolled 87 percent of accepted students and surpassed universities like Harvard, Yale or Princeton with regard to yield.

[edit] Application Procedure

Prospective students apply to the Huntsman Program as part of their application to Penn (Transfer students are not accepted). There is a separate section[2] of the Penn application that must be completed by students who want to be considered for the program. Applicants are required to:

  • write an additional essay about their interest in international issues (for example, "Discuss a current international issue which demonstrates how international affairs and business intersect."),
  • indicate the language (approved languages are: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish) in which they will demonstrate proficiency and use as their language of specialization within the program;
  • indicate their level of preparation in mathematics, and
  • indicate the single degree school for which they would like to be considered if they are not admitted to the Huntsman Program. (one may also opt for an all-or-nothing approach - if not admitted to the Huntsman Program, one can choose not to be considered at all for admission to Penn)

No interviews are required, although interviews are offered and can help.

Applicants are also encouraged to apply Early Decision; a binding commitment which has generally been well rewarded in the Admissions Decisions.

[edit] Entry Consideration

Students are encouraged to take the SAT II in their particular language of specialization if possible as well as the SAT II: MATH II-C. AP credit in Math and other subjects are also bonuses. The Huntsman Program has developed its own language tests for Arabic, Hindi and Russian. Arrangements are made for qualified applicants to take these tests.

Applicants to the Huntsman Program must have outstanding verbal and mathematical academic credentials and intermediate-level proficiency in their target foreign language. They are expected to have academic and extracurricular activities indicating an international awareness as well as leadership skills and the ability to work independently. Students are encouraged to apply early decision provided all required testing can be completed in time.

[edit] History

1992 - Janice R. Bellace, Wharton's undergraduate dean at the time, conceived of a unique undergraduate joint degree program, and shepherded what became the Huntsman Program through the SAS and Wharton faculty approval process. She stepped down as undergraduate dean in June 1994 to become Wharton's deputy dean and chief academic officer [3], just before the first "International Studies and Business Program" freshmen matriculated in Fall 1994.

1997 - Jon Huntsman, Sr. gave $10 million to endow the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business (he then followed up with a $40 million gift a year later)[4].

1998 - The first 22 Huntsman Program students graduated.

[edit] Alumni

The number of Huntsman alumni is still relatively small. The first class graduated in May 1998. There are now 261 Huntsman alumni. For a fully alphabetized list regardless of year, including some email contacts, please see the program's official alumni directory.

Most Huntsman alumni are currently working in one of the following fields:

  • Financial Analysis
  • Investment Banking
  • Management (General)
  • Management (Consulting)
  • Government Service
  • Marketing
  • Money Management
  • Securities and Currency Trading


The majority of Huntsman alumni work in the United States for consulting firms, dot.com companies, investment banks, and large companies. However, many Huntsman alumni work, either full-time or special assignment, for global firms around the world.

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