Bright Lights, Big City

International business & management majors head to NYC

February 5, 2008

Shumei Chen '09 is one of four IB&M majors studying at Baruch College this spring on the new Dickinson in New York program.

The new Dickinson in New York program debuted this spring with four international business & management (IB&M) majors headed to Baruch College in the heart of Manhattan. Students will enroll in classes at the Zicklin School of Business, the largest collegiate school of business in the nation, where they will have the opportunity to study international finance and business, organizational behavior and marketing in the world's commerce capital and intern with leading New York companies and organizations.

"This alliance offers an extraordinary blend of international business and finance and the liberal arts, enabling our students to apply their broad learning to global industry and finance, all within easy reach of the world's commerce capital and its most crucial, largest stock exchange," says President William G. Durden '71.

Shumei Chen '09 is one of the four students attending this spring. She wants to study international financial systems and aspects of China's economy.

"This is a great opportunity to gain work experience in New York City," says Chen. "As an international student, it is really exciting to experience rural and urban American life at Dickinson and Baruch."

The other students attending the Dickinson in New York program this semester are Benjamin Rafetto '09, Jason Fine '09 and Berkay Oncel '09.

Dickinson in New York, however, will offer something specific for IB&M majors that they won't find anywhere else. Proximity to the financial district and Zicklin and Baruch offerings—which include the Newman Library and the Wasserman Trading Floor, one of the most advanced educational trading floors—will give IB&M students a practical, in-depth business experience.

Students on the selective Dickinson in New York program must be IB&M majors in good standing. The junior-status students will take two courses and complete either an internship or an independent study supervised by a Dickinson faculty member. Students will have access to a broader range of classes in IB&M through the new program and they will benefit from the many resources available through Zicklin's internship office. As the program develops, Dickinson will utilize its New York-area alumni, who will provide students with internships, mentoring and networking opportunities in their respective fields.

"The combination of global business and finance and the liberal arts gives Dickinson students an edge in the marketplace. Courses and internships expose them to the best theory and practice that currently exist; the liberal arts and global residency prepare them for what is yet to be," said Durden.

IB&M majors also can participate in one of Dickinson's 40 study-abroad programs, as students are encouraged to spend one or two semesters in either an overseas or off-campus program that incorporates class work and business-based field experience. Dickinson in New York is a spring-only program, so IB&M students still have the ability to study in their countries of interest during the fall semester.

Baruch College's 15,500 students, who speak 110 languages and come from 160 countries, repeatedly have been named the most ethnically diverse student body in the United States. The Zicklin School of Business, which offers programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, is named in appreciation of Baruch alumnus and former Dickinson College trustee Lawrence Zicklin.