SBS Blog > A Masters programme to cross an ocean for by Faith Record

A Masters programme to cross an ocean for

By Faith Record - Posted on 6 September 2017

US student Faith Record discusses what drew her across the ocean from America to study in Scotland and what she got out of the Masters in International Management programme.

I grew up in America and when I was 19 I joined the air force for six years as a maintenance manager. I then joined Lockheed Martin for a couple of years while I was finishing up my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with the University of Phoenix. Since I am a veteran I qualified for the 9/11 bill, an education bill that is provided for veterans if they choose it and it pays for up to 36 months of University classes. Once I finished my UoP classes I really wanted a Masters degree in international management and since I still had 22 months left of my education benefits I decided to look around the States first. There were a couple of courses I liked, but they were two years and in places I really didn't want to live.

Since I have family in the UK and I’d always wanted to come here, the timing was right as my husband just got out of the Airforce also, so I decided to look in the UK.

At first, I really didn't care what city I was in so that didn't help me limit my options. I looked at Kingston in Surrey, Lancaster University, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and Strathclyde. What helped me choose Strathclyde was ultimately the courses that were provided. Many of the "International" programmes had one or two actual international classes, and they had modules that I just was not interested in.

Out of the many classes that Strathclyde offered it had the electives I was looking for, such as consulting in practice and consulting skills. The other thing that made Strathclyde stand out for me was the triple accreditation because as a prior business student I knew that meant it was the best of the best.

Unfortunately, during the International Entrepreneurship (IE) classes, I was only able to attend a couple of the classes because of my mother’s passing, but even while taking care of that I was still able to participate in the two classes. It was an extremely hard class because as an undergraduate I had six weeks to finish a business plan whereas for IE we had a month.

Three words sum up my Masters in International Management (MIM) experience: diverse, useful, and challenging.

I think out of all of the classes during the programme my favourite was the Global Business Environment because we had to plan ahead for ‘unlikelihoods’ but it also taught us that as a business manager we can be stagnant in the environment so we have to be knowledgeable to better understand the market. The elective in consulting I really liked because I was able to hone my consulting skills further and, as that is the career I am looking towards, it is immensely helpful

My consulting in practice class was extremely helpful and invigorating - we were able to bounce ideas off of each other, come up with a real life plan, and work in groups with some very different personalities. I interned for Ovtrium consulting; the CEO is great and he provided the opportunity to expand the horizons we have. It has also been a great way to use my knowledge from class.

I have attended a couple of the lectures and conferences held by Strathclyde and they really do help provide a stepping stone and network advantage. I was able to meet many people who were able to give me knowledge I otherwise wouldn't have had.

I think the MIM cohort is amazing, there are so many different cultures that we get to experience along with classes that make you really think more than I did as undergraduates.

The group work was very frustrating at times but this just taught me that group work is a challenge and to better ourselves we have to experience it. If someone had never worked in a group before going into a job then they wouldn't understand the value that team work has for an organisation and for personal development.

I have now embarked on my final project and it’s about women in consulting hence the wish for a diversity or ‘female in business’ class. I’m trying to pin point where the barriers may be for a female’s progression in the consulting field and how those barriers affect the progression of said females. I believe that these projects really do make a person better, we have to network and research and dig for the information we need. It teaches us to be proactive, how to better network and how to find the information we may need.