Katherine B Walsh
Writer
Master of Global Management, Global Affairs
Featuring:
-Pavel Zhurov, senior, Bachelor of Global Management (International Business and Culture), 4+1 student. From Lipetsk, Russia.
-Rachel Benoit, sophomore, Bachelor of Global Management (International Business, Language and Culture) with a certificate in International Studies. From Hickory, North Carolina.
-Diego Lara, sophomore, Bachelor of Science in International Trade. From Houston Texas (the first of his family from Mexico City and Chihuahua, Mexico to study in the United States).
Thunderbird School of Global Management offers many programs, such as the Master of Global Management and Executive Master of Global Management. However, as a current BGM (Bachelor of Global Management) student myself, as well as a now a 4+1 MGM student, I’ve found that many students at the graduate level don’t know about the undergraduate degrees that are offered through Thunderbird. The undergraduate degrees have many similarities and differences with the MGM and other graduate degrees, and I hope that the interviews of my fellow students, Rachel Benoit, Diego Lara, and Pavel Zhurov, and my own insights help to give a new perspective about these programs.
Background: What are the undergraduate programs?
Since 2015, Arizona State University has offered a Bachelor in Global Management (BGM), and in 2016, it offered its first program Bachelor’s for International Trade (BSIT). Recently, Thunderbird was ranked #1 in the world in International Trade by QS, a highly regarded ranking of universities worldwide.
The Bachelor of Global Management program has two tracks: one in International Business and Culture, and another in International Business, Language and Culture, which includes language classes built into the program. BSIT and BGM students differ in that BSIT students take more quantitative courses, such as MAT 210: Brief Calculus and ECN306: International Economics, as well as additional courses related to international trade.
The programs are close-knit and set up in a similar cohort-style fashion as the MGM and other graduate programs. From my own personal experience and observation, many students take a good deal of their core TGM classes with the same people for four years, fostering strong friendships and communities.
What brought you to Thunderbird?
Rachel Benoit, a current sophomore in the Bachelor of Global Management (International Business Language, and Culture) program with states, “I’ve always been interested in traveling the world, seeing as many different cultures as I can, and just really getting to experience more of what life has to offer than what I had seen.” She saw Thunderbird as a way to bring together this interest with a degree that would have higher earning potential. “[When] I found Thunderbird, it just kind of clicked. It would open up the doors for that sort of international exploration, and actually provide me with a career to do it.”
Diego Lara had more of a personal connection to Thunderbird before attending, “My family has met Thunderbirds in their line of work in international business and between family friends. Thunderbird has always stood out to me coming from an international background. Its name is known in the international field of diplomacy and business. I decided to study at Thunderbird for the quality of the education I would receive from professors and professionals in the area along with its global network.”
No matter how students find Thunderbird, many of the school’s students share the passion for wanting to travel, work abroad, and learn more about different cultures and countries. In that aspect, the undergraduate program shares the same frame of “global mindset” that the master’s programs instill within its students.
What has been your favorite experience in the Thunderbird undergraduate program?
Though Thunderbird undergraduates are based at the West Valley Campus, they still participate in Downtown events, especially regional nights. “My favorite experience of the Thunderbird undergraduate program was getting together with all the students and attending regional night. It was an immersive experience that brought together MENA, Asian, and Latin American cultures from tables and food to interact with. It was a memorable experience to take the shuttle and join the master’s students in celebrating the diversity within our school,” says Diego. “My favorite part was attending different events with different diplomats, leaders, CEOS because Thunderbird [offers] those types of events here,” Pavel says.
One of the benefits of being a Thunderbird undergraduate is the diverse network that the school brings in professionally. Students are able to attend the graduate events that feature those types of leaders listed, and they also have the ability to attend general ASU events that feature leaders from a variety of fields.
What has been your favorite class?
The BGM and BSIT programs explore a variety of international topics, such as TGM101: Principles of Global Management, TGM204: Principles of Marketing for Global Organizations, TGM300: Principles of Finance for Global Organizations, and TGM468: States and Markets in a Global Economy, to name a few. Here are some of the students’ favorite classes:
Rachel said that her favorite class was States and Markets, which she was taking at the time. “I love it, because it’s what I want to do. It combines politics with everything else in life, essentially…Getting to learn more about, like, how we actually got to where we are, and the different perspectives that you can look at, and analyzing everything from those different perspectives.” Pavel also had positive thoughts about States and Markets, speaking highly of Professor Gamso, the professor with whom he had taken the class. Diego differed in that his favorite class was TGM430 (International Trade and Regional Economic Agreements), a required class for BSIT students. He noted that this class was “extremely helpful in understanding the ever-changing world of trade agreements and relationships between countries.”
What are some differences between the grad and undergrad programs?
For this question, I was only able to ask Pavel, as both Rachel and Diego are currently only sophomores. Pavel remarked, “During the master’s we are studying subjects more deeply. This semester I had finance/accounting, and the new class for me was communications and negotiations, so, if we are talking about finance and accounting, we covered some stuff we had during undergrad, but still, [went deeper] and explored more… The main thing I want to share is that we are covering these subjects and classes a lot [more deeply].”
Pavel and I are both students who entered the 4+1 MGM program in Fall 2023. I have had similar experiences; some of the content covered is familiar, but a lot of it does indeed go deeper.
What is your favorite part about the West Valley Campus?
Unlike the other in-person degrees, Thunderbird undergraduate programs are based at the West Valley Campus in Glendale, Arizona. Home to other programs from different colleges, such as the College of Health Solutions, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and W.P. Carey School of Business, Thunderbird students will experience two different worlds: that of the West Valley Campus, and that of Thunderbird. The small and quiet campus enables students to experience a close-knit community with a quieter environment. “West Valley Campus is a great campus for those who want to study, it’s very quiet. It’s kind of far from the Tempe campus, but still, we have shuttles, we can study here…It is a small campus…we have our clubs here on campus, so it is a small community, a very close-to-each-other community, and it is very quiet here compared to other campuses,” says Pavel. Rachel also talked about how small the campus was, and how people knew each other. “At least for me, that makes me so much more comfortable.” Coming from a small town, she talked about how the appeal of the West Valley Campus is in knowing people, knowing wherever things are, and being able to see people you know walking to class.
Anyone who is looking for a small, quiet, nature-centered place to study should definitely come visit West Valley. About a 30-minute commute from Downtown Headquarters, it’s a great place to wind down, and get some studying done.
What are your future goals?
Pavel’s goals involve supply chain and logistics, centering around the aviation field: “My future goals are to get, first of all, to get a good internship… and then to get a job…I’m really passionate about logistics, and how companies move their assets. I’m also passionate about aviation, so logistics or supply chain in aviation is goal number one, to work in those types of companies and manage all that stuff.”
Rachel’s goals are more public policy and global affairs based: “So, I haven’t specifically narrowed everything down yet. I know I want to work in public policy; my highest dream aspiration would be to eventually end up at the United Nations, but I know that is a very lofty goal. I just want to be able to do good in the world…”
And lastly, Diego’s goals are more technology-centered: “My future goal is to travel the world in my career and create change. I would like to take jobs outside of the United States, bridge what I know from my education and my home country of Mexico, and apply it to make a difference. I strive to seek technology and AI-driven solutions in key sectors worldwide such as renewable energy, healthcare, and possibly policy. I would like to work in a technology-driven company and build my experience and impact in the future.”
Throughout the undergraduate degrees, just like the master’s programs, students have a variety of career dreams and aspirations. Many of these tend to be interdisciplinary, combining both the knowledge taught in the programs and their own personal experience and passions.
Final Thoughts:
