Colonel Kent D Thomas, Assistant Vice President, International Programmes, Missouri State University, US
- Q1: How is Missouri State University different from other state universities? Ans: MSU endeavors to make international students feel at home. A very nominal academic fee structure, lesser than that of other state universities, and lower cost of living, makes it easier for international students to pursue their dreams.
- Q2: How does it fulfill the academic requirements of an Indian student? Ans: Indian students have always been known to be more interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) courses. So to cater to their academic needs, MSU offers various programmes in STEM subjects. Other than the STEM course, the students are also interested in the other most sought after courses provided by Missouri State University, US. For this, MSU offers various other programmes, which are continuously in demand by the industry. The most sought after is the MBA programme, offered at our Business School. We also have a unique course which a very few other universities offer - Master of Science in Administrative Studies.
- Q3: What is the number of international students in your university and how many of these are Indians? What are the popular courses among international students? Ans: Out of the total strength of 23000 students, 1700 students are international. 53 of these international students are Indians. Of the 23000 students, two third are graduate and one third of them are undergraduate. Talking about the most popular amongst international students, Business (BBA & MBA), Master of Health Administration and Master of Natural and Applied Science stand at the top. Product management is another field gaining popularity amongst students these days. Cyber security, at master’s level, and software development at undergraduate level, are also two rapidly growing fields.
- Q4: Do you feel Indian students are more interested in STEM subjects? Are employees in STEM fields paid better? Ans: Contradicting the fact that Indian students are more interested in pursuing STEM courses, we, at MSU, have 53 Indian students in 26 different disciplines. This probably shows that there has been a change in the thought process of Indian students. However, I definitely feel that people pursuing courses in STEM fields mostly earn more than those pursing courses in non-STEM fields.
- Q5: What are the common problems that the Indian students face upon arrival? How do you help them cope? Ans: The most common problems faced by the Indian students are- Cultural difference and nostalgia of the home town. To beat this, we make sure to provide the Indian students a comfortable, interactive and safe environment. From airport pick up to finding them friends, we try our best to make the Indian students feel at ease when they arrive. We also introduce the Indian students to the Indian college community and make sure they participate in various activities organized by the community. At MSU, we also encourage the ‘Adoption Policy’ in which families based in Springfield adopt international students, thereby giving them a family to be with, so that they do not feel isolated. As Indian students are known to be highly attached to their families, this policy enables them to have a family away from home.
- Q6: What are the undergraduate and graduate admission requirements at your university? Ans: The eligibility criteria for undergraduate admission at MSU are an average score of 65 to 70% in class 10th, 11th and 12th. Students scoring less than this score must appear for SAT. Also, a student with an IELTS score of 5.5 or TOEFL score of 61 is eligible to be admitted to MSU. For graduate admissions, an accumulated undergraduate score of 3.0 on a scale of 4 is required. Students with an IELTS score of 6.0 or a TOEFL score of 79 can also apply. Further, a GRE score of 290 and a GMAT score of 500 is essential for those seeking admission in the related fields.There are some special courses where we take only top ranked students. Therefore, the students must score more to have an edge.
- Q7: What are the funding programmes that MSU offers to its Indian students and what is the eligibility for these financial aids? Ans: At the undergraduate level, we offer SAT scholarships that cuts the tuition fee at MSU to almost half. The eligibility for SAT scholarship is a score of 1090 or more on critical reading and mathematics. It can be noted that after the application of the scholarship, our fee becomes at par with the fee at Indian universities like Amity or SRM by just being 3 lakh annually. At the graduate level, we have the Missouri Outreach Graduate Opportunity (MOGO) scholarship for which a student must have a cumulative undergraduate score of 3.25 or higher on a scale of 4. It has a value of three-fourths of the Indian graduate student fees for 9 credit hours (5 credits hours in the summer). Graduate assistantships are also available in many areas to assist students with expenses and to enhance learning while studying for advanced degrees at Missouri State University. Graduate assistantships are offered in both academic and administrative areas and involve teaching, research, and/or administrative responsibilities.
- Q8: How does MSU ensure that the students get good work opportunities after the completion of their respective courses? Ans: At MSU, we have various placement centres that guide students on the various work opportunities they can opt from. In addition to this, we also prepare our students for job interviews giving them lessons on the etiquettes of job interviews. For the College of Business, we have a separate group of counselors. It is because of the effort of these counselors that 83% of our students got placed the previous year. Source: http://indiaeducationdiary.in/
