FREE MBA from Sweden in English

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by warguns, Aug 31, 2006.

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  1. warguns

    warguns Member

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/pages/273c7bbb699ba91cc1256bf80044ef09!OpenDocument

    Hard to believe but a Swedish university, the Blekinge Institute of Technology, offers a distance MBA in ENGLISH that is tuition FREE.

    One trip to Sweden is required for the part-time program. Four for the full-time.

    Here's the general English url if the above link does not work:

    http://www.bth.se/eng

    Here's the general site for studying in English in Sweden

    http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/CommonPage____4942.aspx
     
  2. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    A free MBA? What's the catch? Travel to Sweden? How long do you have to stay? Would this school be considered accredited in the US?

    To say this seems odd is a bit of an understatement.
     
  3. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    Not really. There are some countries which do offer a universal college education, and it appears Sweden is one of them.

    However, there is a catch. If you're a part-time student, you have to travel to Sweden once, for a comprehensive exam. I'm not sure how long it takes, but a flight to Sweden from JFK Airport in New York is about $2,000, round trip.

    While there is no tuition, the student is required to pay "course fees". However, it is not made clear on the web site what those course fees are.

    Proceed with caution.
     
  4. warguns

    warguns Member

    free MBA in Sweden

    I did not see any reference to "course fees" on the website. Instead it says:

    "Costs

    Blekinge Institute of Technology is part of the Swedish university system. All academic education at Swedish universities, including this program, is today free of tuition fees. All costs related to the student’s personal expenses, such as course material, travel, Internet costs etc. have to be covered by the student."

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/$DefaultView/697A66B40C8B1128C1256EBC0033FE0B?OpenDocument

    As for the cost of traveling to Sweden for the final exams, using travelocity.com, I found round-trip fares of under $1200. Round trip flight PLUS 6 nights hotel for $1422

    I think the program is EXTREMELY unusual: 1. it is offered from Sweden in English, and 2. it is free, not only to Swedes, but anyone that is admitted.
     
  5. triggersoft

    triggersoft New Member

    Hi guys.

    Please read the FAQs carefully.

    It's not an MBA degree, it's a "Magister in something swedish...", which can be TRANSLATED into "Master of Business Administration".

    According to EU laws, you can only lead a title in the very form it was issued!

    I.e., if John Doe makes this Degree, he is NOT allowed to call himself:

    John Doe, MBA

    but only

    John Doe, Magister in ...

    The Magister is a regular degree in many European countries. It exists in Germany, Austria, some of the Scandinavian countries.

    In pretty much all of them, it has a Name like "Magister in Wirtschaftswissenschaften" (German, for this time), which can of course be TRANSLATED into "Master in Business Administration", but it is not actually an MBA, and you are by law not allowed to lead this abbreviation, but only the one in its original form (in this case it would be "Mag.", in Austria, for example).

    Long talk, short sense: I'm for sure it's a cool program up there at our Swedish friends, but in the end, you will certainly not be able to call yourself "MBA".

    Cheers,
    Trigger
     
  6. warguns

    warguns Member

    Fortunately, we in the US are not subject to EU law. I don't think there would be any objection to translating the name of the degree to MBA and using that title for the degree.
     
  7. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    Re: free MBA in Sweden


    OK, fine. How much are the "course materials"? Do you see what I'm getting at? For all you know, course materials cost $10,000.


    I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true..."
     
  8. CoachTurner

    CoachTurner Member

    Which is generally good to consider in many things but I'm reminded of the man who saw an ad for a VW for sale many years ago for only $10.

    It seems a man had left his wife and then called from his new abode with instructions that she should sell his car and send him the cash. So she sold the car, for $10.

    Sometimes it only seems too good for you -- it's a perfectly fine transaction for the other party. Later, you hear from others "why don't I ever find deals like that?" and the only answer is "because they seemed too good to be true and you didn't move on it fast enough..."
     
  9. CLSeibel

    CLSeibel Member

    Competition for admission to this program is quite high. Did anyone else happen to notice that less than 10% of applicants were accepted to this program last year?

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/$DefaultView/2C741E377CF79191C1256EBC0039E1C0?OpenDocument
     
  10. CLSeibel

    CLSeibel Member

    The link I provided didn't work. Click on FAQ's at the bottom of the program's main web page to access the information I cited above.
     
  11. TCord1964

    TCord1964 New Member

    Other countries which provide a tuition-free college education:

    Cuba
    Germany
    Bolivia
    British Virgin Islands (community college)
     
  12. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: free MBA in Sweden

    Well, the "International MA in Adult Education and Global Change" from Linkopings University is certainly real and certainly free. My wife tried it for a while, passed a couple of courses, but dropped out - social sciences are not really her cup of tea. The only caveat is that I don't know if they allow americans to register through them or are they required to go through the Canadian school (this is a joint program by 4 universities) wich calls the same program "MEd" and is reasonably priced but certainly not free. So I don't see what so improbable you see here.
     
  13. warguns

    warguns Member

    re: free Swedish MBA

    Yes it is competative.

    Q: What are the chances of being admitted? A: In 2005 we had over 800 applications to about 70 seats. We are trying to increase the number of seats for coming years.

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/pages/2c741e377cf79191c1256ebc0039e1c0!OpenDocument

    However, one does not know the criteria for the competion. It may be that they seek unusual work experiences, or a variety of students rather than pure intellectual firepower.

    It's not clear if there is a admissions application fee. Admission for Sept 07 begins in December 06.

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/$DefaultView/273C7BBB699BA91CC1256BF80044EF09?OpenDocument
     
  14. warguns

    warguns Member

    Re: Re: free MBA in Sweden

    "Course material" appears to be just the usual books, etc rather than anything extravagent.

    Q: How do I get the course material? A: Some is provided by us on the course web-site or through our InfoCenter. Course books and some other material you need to purchase on your own. Reading lists will be published before the summer break. All students are expected to have all the required course material when the course work starts.

    http://www.bth.se/mam/internetmba.nsf/pages/2c741e377cf79191c1256ebc0039e1c0!OpenDocument
     
  15. JLV

    JLV Active Member

    This is a great catch. I hope someone can take advantege of it
     
  16. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    A couple of things:

    1. the programs are not free - the tuition is paid by the Swedish government to the University - hence the schools interest in flogging these programs.

    2. Magister is the European equivalent accoss most of Europe (including the FSU) for a masters degree - you can certainly call it an MBA - and be prepared to explain that's its the European equivalent - nothing "legal/illegal" about it. Or put "MBA" followed by "MAG" in parenthesis.
     
  17. morganplus8

    morganplus8 New Member

    I feel compiled to ask them about the possibility of acceptance into their research PhD program after hearing about this. It has to be free as well!

    This is a very interesting catch,........... can someone provide links to Cuba, etc., .......... free programs for us?

    Thanks,
    MP
     
  18. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    This is the 2nd DL masters program from a Swdish University that I know of - the other being adult education. Anyone know of any others?
     
  19. triggersoft

    triggersoft New Member


    ;)

    That's just a matter of how society sees this, i.e. potential employers, universities, etc.

    I would never lead a title in a manner differently to its original - but, admittedly, maybe I'm simply too "German" in that way... (obeying to rules and stuff like that).

    It is pretty common for German (or Austrian) university graduates to put the phrase "equivalent to an American Master's in ..." degree in their ENGLISH language CV when describing to you guys what the German "Diplom", the Austrian "Magister" or the Swiss "Lizenziat" is - but the vast majority would ever directly translate it into "Master of..." or direct abbraviate it in an Anglo-American manner...

    Anyhow, I'm not saying this is not a cool progra, I'm just saying it's not really an MBA program - and you should be prepared that there could be questions coming up afterwards when you ONLY lead this degree as "MBA"...

    Nothing more.

    Cheers,
    T.
     
  20. rehan naseem

    rehan naseem New Member

    Admission infoo about MBA....

    Dear Sir/Madam,
    I have passed MBA (HRM) from National University of Modern Languages Lahore, Pakistan with CGPA 3.02 in year 2011.
    I am interested to take admission in MBA Finance program in your University. Please let me know if tution fee scholarship is available for the year 2012.

    Regards
    Rehan Naseem
     

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