双语时事系列22：全球MBA速成班排行榜

双语时事：全球MBA速成班排行榜出炉

In these tough times, lots of workers are stuck in a bind: They need an M.B.A. to boost their career, but they can't afford the cost or the time out of the work force.

The solution? Many are turning to programs that let them earn a degree in half the time, often at a fraction of the cost.

Accelerated M.B.A. programs, which take between 10 and 15 months to complete, have been around for decades and are the norm in Europe. Although these programs are much less common in the U.S., they're growing increasingly attractive -- especially among older students, who are becoming less willing to spend two years out of the work force.

These programs have rarely been evaluated by outsiders, in part because they're still less ubiquitous than their two-year counterparts. About 90 accredited schools world-wide offer the accelerated M.B.A., and many of them only recently added the option.

But the degree's growing popularity and reach led The Wall Street Journal to take its first close look at accelerated M.B.A. programs. To measure these programs' quality, and student and alumni satisfaction with them, the Journal, with the help of research firm Management Research Group and survey technicians Critical Insights, surveyed the current graduating classes and alumni who graduated two years earlier at 48 schools. We looked only at schools that have graduated four or more classes with 12 or more students. We eliminated schools where students had little or no work experience. Responses came in from 1,361 recent grads and 735 alumni. We asked students about everything from the programs' flexibility to career services. And we pressed alumni on issues like the usefulness of the training in their careers and whether their degree protected them in the recession.

The result is the Journal's first-ever ranking of accelerated M.B.A. programs. The ranking comprises nine European schools, five in the U.S. and one in Latin America. Some smaller, lesser-known schools -- along with bigger schools that haven't been offering a fast-track degree long enough -- might be noticeably absent for now. But as the degree gains ground, more entrants are sure to be evaluated.

At the top of the list are three European schools with a strong tradition of delivering respected degree programs. At No. 1: IE Business School in Madrid, praised by students and alumni for the diversity of its student body and networking opportunities. From Switzerland, IMD's rigorous leadership-oriented 11-month program came in at No. 2. The U.K.'s Cranfield School of Management, with its teamwork-focused atmosphere, is No. 3. Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and Babson College's F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business -- both in the U.S. -- round out the top five.

These schools stood out by delivering a strong curriculum and cramming in a healthy dose of international exposure. The best schools also cultivate relationships with local and global companies, giving students the chance to work on real-world projects.

At IE, students and alumni say the program's intensity lent itself to constant engagement in their course work, as well as close bonds with their classmates. They say they benefited from IE's additional programs, such as the Venture Lab, a competition that awards student entrepreneurs capital to launch a business. At IMD, the course work had the rhythm of a real job, students said -- real, that is, if 100-hour workweeks are the norm.

The driving factor for pursuing a fast-track M.B.A. among those surveyed was the ability to re-enter the work force faster -- more than 82% of students put that at the top of their list. When it came to choosing a school, students and alumni cited reputation (92% said it was critical and 43% called it the most important consideration) and an international focus (74% said it was critical and 15% said it was at the top of their list) as the biggest criteria.

Indeed, almost all the schools offer plenty of chances to stretch internationally. At IMD, students recently traveled to South Africa for 12 days to meet with 20 companies to help get new ventures off the ground. Eighty percent of INSEAD's students spend time at the school's two campuses -- one in Fontainebleau, France, the other in Singapore. Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, requires its students to spend five weeks abroad doing mini-internships. Other schools, like IE, offer international seminars and exchange programs from Latin America to China.

The ranked schools also prepared graduates to land higher-paying jobs and excel in a global business environment, according to students and alumni. And most survey respondents say recruiters and managers view their fast-track degree in the same light as a two-year degree.

Of course, these programs aren't for everyone. If you're expecting hand-holding or significant help changing careers, an accelerated M.B.A. might not be for you.

Many students complained that their career-service departments didn't do enough to help them build contacts or make inroads to a new career. In addition, there's sometimes not enough time to squeeze in an internship or consulting projects -- which means no chance to build contacts at a new company. And some students said the alumni networks weren't well developed, unlike the strong networks at two-year programs.

Still, for people looking for a boost in their current career -- or a way to wrangle the skills they have into a new industry -- the fast-track M.B.A. can produce a boost in title and salary. On average, alumni survey respondents reported pre-M.B.A. base pay of $55,050. At their first job after graduation, that figure increased to $95,000. And two years later, the same alumni earn just over $110,000.

What's more, many alumni said they felt the degree protected their careers in the economic downturn. 'I have friends who've been laid off who were at the same level as me [prior to graduation],' says Justin Rose, who graduated from Kellogg's one-year program in June. 'When they interviewed for [new] jobs, they were told the firms would only hire M.B.A.s.'

All of this comes with a heavy commitment to studies. While IMD is famous for its six-day, 100-hour weeks, most of the programs in our ranking also have rigorous course work. Nearly two-thirds of the students surveyed said they spent more than 15 hours each week on schoolwork outside the classroom.

在眼下的困难时期，很多职场人士都陷入了这样一个困境：他们需要一个MBA学位来推进职业发展，却负担不起脱产学习的经济成本和时间。

有什么解决方案吗？很多人开始转向让他们可以用一半的时间获得一个MBA学位的课程，花费也只有过去的几分之一。

MBA速成班需要10到15个月的时间，最早出现在几十年前，目前在欧洲很普遍。尽管这类课程在美国要少见得多，却变得越来越吸引人──特别是在年纪较大、不愿花两年时间脱产学习的学生中间。

很少有外部人士对这类课程进行评估，原因之一是它们仍没有两年制MBA项目那么普遍。全球共有约90所学校有资格提供MBA速成课程，其中很多还只是最近才推出。

不过MBA速成班越来越受欢迎、范围越来越广，因此《华尔街日报》对其进行了首次的详细研究。为衡量这些项目的质量、学生和校友的满意度，《华尔街日报》在研究公司Management Research Group和调查技术公司Critical Insights的帮助下，对48所学校的应届毕业生和两年前毕业的学生进行了调查。我们只研究那些毕业班不少于4个、每班学生不少于12个的学校。我们排除了学生没有工作经验的班级。有1,361名应届毕业生和735名往届毕业生作了回答。我们问学生各种各样的问题，从项目的灵活性到求职服务等各个方面。我们还问校友参加MBA速成培训在职场中的用处有多大，以及学位是否在衰退中给他们提供了保护等问题。

欧洲商学院位居前列

结果诞生了《华尔街日报》有史以来首个“MBA速成班排行榜”。排行榜包括9所欧洲学校、5所美国学校和1所拉美学校。目前你可能会注意到，我们没有包括一些较小、知名度不太高的学校，以及那些推出MBA速成班时间还不长的较大学校。不过随着MBA速成项目的发展壮大，毫无疑问会对更多的学校进行评估。

马德里的IE商学院在《华尔街日报》“MBA速成班排行榜”中位居榜首。进入前三甲的是3所在提供知名学位项目方面有着良好传统的欧洲学校。排名第一的是马德里的IE商学院(IE Business School)，学生和校友们称赞学校学生群体多样、社交机会多。排名第二的是瑞士的IMD，该校以专注领导力培养的11个月项目闻名。英国的克兰菲尔德管理学院(Cranfield School of Management)以其注重团队氛围排名第三。美国西北大学凯洛格商学院(Kellogg School of Management)和百森商学院(Babson College)的FW Olin 商业研究生院（F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business）分列第四和第五。

这些学校脱颍而出是因为它们提供了紧凑的课程，还加入了适量的国际学习机会。最好的学校还会与当地和全球的企业建立联系，让学生有机会开展社会实践项目。

在IE商学院，学生和校友说，项目的强度使他们持续投身课业，同时与同学保持密切的联系。他们说，他们从学校的附加项目中受益，比如“创业实验室（Venture Lab）”──这项竞赛为那些学生企业家提供奖励资金供他们创业。在IMD，学生们说，课程与真实工作有着同样的节奏──如果说每周工作100小时是标准的话。

行走全球

受访者攻读MBA速成班的一大动力是可以更快地重回职场，有82%的学生把这点作为最关键的一个因素。在选择学校的问题上，学生和校友表示，声誉和国际学习机会是他们考虑的最主要因素。有92%的人说声誉重要，43%的人认为声誉是最重要的；有74%的人说国际学习机会重要，有15%的人说这是最重要的。

实际上，几乎所有这些学校都为学生提供大量的国际学习机会。在IMD，学生们最近进行了12天的南非之行，与20家公司会面，帮助新的企业起步。欧洲工商管理学院（INSEAD）有80%的学生在学校的两个校区上学，一个在法国，另一个在新加坡。美国俄亥俄州的迈阿密大学（Miami University)要求学生在国外呆五周作短期实习生。IE等其他学校则提供国际讲座和交换学生项目，包括从拉美到中国的很多国家。

美国西北大学凯洛格商学院是排行榜上排名最靠前的美国商学院。据学生和校友说，这些上榜学校还让毕业生为高薪工作做好了准备，在全球商业环境中脱颍而出。大部分受访者说，招聘者和经理们把他们的MBA速成学位和两年制学位同等对待。

尺有所短

当然，这些项目并不是适合每个人。如果你希望在转行上获得巨大帮助，MBA速成项目可能就不适合你。

很多学生抱怨说，他们的求职服务部没有尽力帮助他们建立联系或为通向新的职业铺平道路。此外，有时候也没有足够的时间加入实习或是咨询项目，这就意味着没有办法在一个新公司建立联系。一些学生说，校友网络开发得不够好，不像两年制项目那样有强大的网络。

不过，对那些为提升当前职业生涯寻找助力的人、或提高进入新行业所需技能的人来说，MBA速成项目能在职位和薪水上有一定的提升。平均来看，受访校友表示，在攻读MBA之前的基本工资是年薪55,050美元。在毕业后的第一份工作，工资涨到95,000美元。两年后，这位校友的工资会超过110,000美元。

经济缓冲

此外，很多校友说，他们感觉MBA学位在经济低迷中保护了他们的职业生涯。6月份从凯洛格商学院一年制项目中毕业的罗斯(Justin Rose)说，我有朋友被裁了，他们的职位和我毕业前的职位相同。当他们面试新工作时，被告知公司只招MBA。

所有这一切都需要全力投入学习才行。虽然IMD以其每周学习6天、每周100小时而闻名，排行榜中的大部分项目也都课业繁重。有近三分之二的受访学生说，在上课之外，他们每周还要花15个小时以上做功课。

本文选自上海新东方学校惠瑾的博客，博客链接地址：http://blog.hjenglish.com/huijin

口译考试相关链接：

2009年9月13日中级口译考试真题汇总

2009年9月13日高级口译考试真题汇总

2009年3月15日高级口译考试真题汇总

2009年3月15日中级口译考试真题汇总

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