DEPRESSION (DEP - RES - YON )

DEPRESYON

Depresyon kısa ve öz olarak tanımlamak gerekirse kişinin kendisini endişeli, suçlu, değersiz hissetmesine neden olan, başkalarından uzaklaşmasına, uyku azalmasına-artmasına, iştah kaybına, cinsel istek kaybına ya da her zaman yaptığı faaliyetlere karşı ilgisiz olmasıyla belirginleşen bir duygu durum bozukluğudur. Ömür boyunca büyük bir çoğunluğumuz stres karşısında veya endişeli durumlarda depresif özellikler gösteririz fakat bunların hepsi depresyon tanısı gerektirmez. Depresyona sıklıkla kaygı bozukluğu, panik atak, alkol ve madde kullanımı, cinsel işlev bozukluğu eşlik eder.

Depresyonda olan kişiyi karşılıklı konuşmalardan da anlayabiliriz. Depresyonda olan kişi söylenenlere dikkat etmek için büyük çaba harcar. Onlar için karşılıkla konuşmak büyük bir yüktür. Konuşurken mümkün olduğunca kısa cevaplar verir, yavaş ve duraklayarak, aynı ses tonuyla monoton bir şekilde konuşurlar. Depresyonda olan kişilerin çoğu yalnız kalmayı tercih ederler. Bir problemle karşılaştıklarında onun çözüm yolunu hiç düşünmezler veya akıllarına hiç bir çözüm yolu gelmez. Kafaları kendilerine yönelik suçlamalarla doludur. Çoğu zaman tamamen keyifsiz, umutsuz, endişeli, kaygılı ve ümitsizdirler. Bu ruh hallerinin bedenlerine yansıdığını da görebiliriz.



DSM IV tanısına göre aşağıdaki belirtilerin en az beşinin hemen hemen her gün iki hafta süreyle olması gerekir. Bu durumda majör depresif dönem tanısı konabilir. Aşağıdaki belirtilerden en az beş tanesinin olması çökkün duygu duruma işaret edebilir

1.Hiçbir şeyden tad alamama hali(anhedonia),ilgi kaybı

2.Depresif duygu durumu

3.Uyku düzeninde değişiklikler, başlangıçta uykuya dalamama, gece uyanıp bir daha uyuyamama, sabah çok erken uyanma ya da bazı hastalarda günün çoğunu uyuyarak geçirme

4.İştah ve kilo değişiklikleri, kilo azalması veya artması

5.Halsizlik,enerji kaybı

6.Psikomotor aktivitede retardasyon veya ajitasyon yönünde değişme

7.Olumsuz benlik kavramı. Değersizlik ve suçluluk duyguları.

8.Karar verme,düşünme ve dikkati toplama güçlüğü

9.Tekrarlayan ölüm düşünceleri,intihar fikirleri veya girişimleridir.



Depresyonda Tedavi

Depresyonda olan kişiye ve onun yakınlarındakilere zaman çok uzun gelsede depresyon dönemlerinin çoğu birkaç haftada geçer. Çoğu depresyon bu dönemler sonunda kendiliğinden geçebilir ve bu çağımızda iş kayıbına neden olan hastalıklarda ön sıralarda bulunmasına karşı çok iyi bir durumdur. Fakat bu kadar yaygın olduğu, hem yaşayan, hemde yakınındakileri çok zedeleyici bir rahatsızlık olduğu için tedavi edilmemesi düşünülemez bile. Bununla birlikte depresyon nöbetleri tekrarlayıcıdır ve en önemliside depresyon hastaları intihar riski taşıdıkları için mutlaka tedavi edilmelidirler.

Depresyonun tedavisi iki şekildedir. Sadece psikoterapi ile tedavisi mümkündür bunun yanında psikoterapi ve ilaç kombinasyonu ile tedavi mümkündür.

STUDY MUSIC IN UK - CAREERS IN MUSIC

The UK has an illustrious musical heritage with exports such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who famous all over the world during the pop boom of the last 60 years. During the 20th century, the UK forged a virtual monopoly in European popular music with singers and bands making their mark globally, and even today the British music industry continues to produce songs that are heard on radios in cities all over the globe.

This means that any aspiring music student has no option but to opt for the UK with its cultural, historical and diverse musical history. UK degrees allow you to specialise from the very start in just one subject with seminars, lectures and practical sessions often led by former famous musicians.

Careers in Music

After graduating from a Music course at a UK university you will have a range of employment opportunities depending on your area of specialism. In the music industry itself, technicians, sound engineers and producers are always in demand and often work on a freelance basis. Skills acquired in musical production are also transferable to other media areas such as broadcasting and film-making.

Graduates in Music who specialise in performance may pursue their own careers as recording artists or find employment with orchestras or as session musicians. There are also employment opportunities in specialist fields such as ethnomusicology and psychotherapy.

Finally, Music graduates from a UK university can work in education where their skills are highly prized and contribute to the enjoyment of music by future generations. In any profession, an employer will value an UK university Music graduate’s technical expertise and production skills.

What are the entry requirements for Music?

There are no specific requirements for studying Music, but pursing the subject during school and gaining impressive results will help your application. For international students wishing to study Music at undergraduate level, an IELTS score of no less than 5.5 across all four categories - reading, writing, speaking and listening – with an overall 6.0 score generally required at most universities.

If you need to improve your IELTS score, why not join us in London and sign up to one of our courses? A range of IELTS study options are available to suit your needs.

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

London, England

ABRSM (the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an internationally recongised educational body and charity that provides examinations in music. ABRSM offers graded music exams as well as more advanced diploma qualifications. In addition, ABRSM provides a publishing house for music that produces syllabuses, sheet music and exam papers and runs professional development courses and seminars for teachers.

Bangor University

Bangor, Wales

Bangor University should not be confused with the University College of Bangor, which is a campus of the University of Maine at Augusta. There are currently five degrees offered for music students (undergraduates).

Birmingham City University

Birmingham, England

Birmingham City University undergraduate courses in music are: acting, jazz, and popular music practice. Post graduate courses in music are: professional voice practice, performance and pedagogy, specialist performance, professional performance, and general music.

Bristol University

Bristol, England

The BA Music program follows national Teaching Quality Assessment benchmark recommendations regarding content and structure, allowing you to develop knowledge and skills across a range of areas as you proceed through the programme.

Canterbury Christ Church University

Kent, England

Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) offers a full range of programs - from an Access to Music, through undergraduate degrees in Music, Music Technology, Music Production, Commercial Music and Performing Arts to the postgraduate degrees, Masters of Music and Ph.D in Music.

Cardiff University

Cardiff, Wales

The university is consistently recognised as providing the best university education in Wales. The school of music offers a broad range of music degrees including Ethnomusicology (for Post-Graduates) and Musicology (PhD Available).

City University London

London, England

City University London, usually just known in the UK as City University, is a British university based in Northampton Square, Islington, London. Past graduates have included concert soloists, jazz performers, music therapists, music industry executives and sound recording engineers, as well as teachers, music administrators, marketers and entrepreneurs.

Edinburgh Napier University

Edinburgh, Scotland

Unlike many other university music courses, Edinburgh Napiers' Bachelor of Music degree provides more of a conservatoire-based education, with as much emphasis on performance practice as on academic studies. Edinburgh has over 7 different degrees in music that are offered to students.

The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Liverpool, England

LIPA offers degree courses in Acting, Community Drama, Dance, Music Theatre and Entertainment Management, Music, Sound Technology, Theatre and Performance Design and Theatre and Performance Technology. We also run full-time one year Foundation Certificates in Performing Arts (Acting); Performing Arts (Dance); Performing Arts (Singing); and Popular Music and Sound Technology.

Manchester Midi School

Manchester, England

Our music production courses are designed for anyone wishing to learn and master sound engineering, music production, and remixing techniques in the UK: from an aspiring music producer learning remixing tricks and audio engineering on the Industry recognised Steinberg Cubase and Apple Diploma Courses, through to a DJ making beats for their set on the part-time DJ courses.

Newcastle University

Newcastle, England

Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 but since then has expanded its areas of study, and offers two degrees for music students.

Oxford Brookes University

Oxford, England

Oxford Brookes offers a choice of undergraduate degrees (Music BA (Hons) single or combined) and three Postgraduate / Graduate courses: MA in Music, MA in Composition and Sonic Art and MA in Contemporary Arts and Music. The Department also offers Post-Doctoral Research in a number of areas including Composition and Musicology, with particular strength in the fields of opera, popular music, film studies (get your film & television contacts list), sound art and electro-acoustic composition.

Queen's University Belfast

Belfast, Northern Ireland

The School of Music and Sonic Arts offers two undergraduate pathways: BMus and BSc Music Technology. Between 70 and 80 new students arrive at the School in September to commence their three year program of study.

Royal Academy of Music

London, England

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Royal Academy of Music offers training from infant level (Junior Academy), with the senior Academy awarding the LRAM diploma, BMus and higher degrees to Ph.D.

Royal College of Music

London, England

The Royal College of Music is a leading conservatoire located in the South Kensington district in Central London, England. Students that graduate from The Royal College of Music have an advanced understanding of the technical aspects of music.

Royal Northern College of Music

Manchester, England

Currently the college offers both undergraduate (BMus and a joint MusB/GRNCM course with the University of Manchester) postgraduate taught programmes (PGDip, MMus) in musical performance and composition. In association with the Manchester Metropolitan University the college now offers research degrees (MPhil, PhD) in musical performance, composition, musicology and music psychology.

The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama

Glasgow, Scotland

The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) is a conservatoire of music, drama, and dance in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The Academy today it is a leading cultural institution in the United Kingdom, and the busiest performing arts venue in Scotland. It provides music courses for undergraduate and post graduate students.

Royal School of Church Music

Salisbury, England

The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future, largely through publications, courses and an award scheme.

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

Cardiff, Wales

The college provides education and training in the performing arts, and degrees are offered for undergraduate and post graduate students. Approximately two thirds of the enrolled (and enrolling) students are studying music related courses.

Trinity Laban

London, England

Trinity Laban is the UK's first conservatoire of Music and Dance. Trinity Laban's undergraduate programs include the BMus (Hons) Performance, the BMus (Indian Music Pathway), the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre: Performance and the Foundation Degree in Musical Theatre (FdA).

University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England

Being a large university Birmingham has departments covering a wide range of subjects. On 1 August 2008, the university's system was restructured into five 'colleges', which are composed of numerous 'schools'. Music degree programs are offered in the “Arts and Law” department.

University of Cambridge

Cambridge, England

The Music course at Cambridge combines intellectual stimulation and the progressive development of musical skills with tremendous opportunities for making music. Cambridge University offers music courses with essential techniques that are found and the foundation of all timeless musical pieces.

University of East Anglia

Norwich, England

The University of East Anglia offers a Bachelors in Music and a Bachelors in Music and Technology. Post graduate courses involve research focused on electroacoustic music and musicology.

University of Glasgow

Glasgow, England

Our research-led approach is one of the reasons why a degree from the University of Glasgow is so prized, but our students also benefit from opportunities to study abroad, improve their employability, take part in work placements and explore a wide range of social activities. As a result, we welcome scholars from 120 countries around the world. The 2011 International Student Barometer ranks us 1st in the UK for student satisfaction, and 90% of our final year undergraduates report satisfaction with their experiences. Our students graduate equipped with the skills they need to compete in a global workplace, and with friendships and networks that last a lifetime.

University of Huddersfield

Huddersfield, England

The University of Huddersfield sits just off the town centre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The University of Huddersfield has over 23,000 students currently. Huddersfield offers over 11 undergraduate degrees in the music field.

The University of Lancaster

Lancaster, England

Lancaster is a collegiate university, with its main functions divided between three central faculties and nine colleges. In general, the faculties perform research and provide centralised lectures to students, while the colleges are responsible for the domestic arrangements and welfare of undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and some University staff.

University of Leeds

Leeds, England

The University of Leeds (informally Leeds University, or simply Leeds) is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The BA Music course provides for a wide-ranging, intellectually and creatively stimulating exploration of music, progressing to a greater degree of specialisation in years two and three.

University of Liverpool

Liverpool, England

The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The school offers a large range of degrees, but currently only one of them being a music degree.

The University of Nottingham

Nottingham, England

The University of Nottingham is a public research university in the city of Nottingham, England, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Nottingham campus currently offers music degrees in Popular Music.

University of Salford

Manchester, England

The University of Salford is a university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. Undergradute music programs include: Popular Musicology, Popular Music & Recording, and General Music. Post graduate courses are also offered.

University of Southampton

Hampshire, England

The University of Southampton is a "red-brick" British public university located in the city of Southampton, England. The school currently offers 7 undergraduate programs for music oriented students, aswell as post-graduate programs.

University of Surrey

Guildford, England

The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. Music degree programs currently offered are as follows: Bachelors in Music and Bachelors in Music with an additional year of professional training.

University of Sussex

Falmer, England

The University of Sussex is an English campus university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. Sussex currently offers six music degree programs in the main campus for undergraduates.

DABBE 5

     

Yönetmenliğini Hasan Karacadağ'ın yaptığı Dabbe 5 İslami korkuyu içinizde hissetmenize neden oluyor aslında. Yani filmi beğendim. Etkilenmedim dersem de yalan olur. Çok fazla korku filmi izlememden mi kaynaklanıyor bilemiyorum ancak filmin senaryosunu az çok tahmin edebildim. Yani oyunculuklar maalesef kötüydü. Hollywood kadar başarılı bir oyunculuk elbetteki beklenemez ancak amatör oyuncuların rol yeteneğini bu denli iyi senaryoya sahip bir filmde sınanması hoş olmamış. Filme dair aslında tek olumsuz eleştirim bu yönde olacak. Filmde İslami öğelerin doğru kullanılmış olması da filme ayrı bir ahenk katmış. Büyünün nazarın bol bol kullanıldığı bir film olmasının yanı sıra ani efektleriyle, ürpertici sesleriyle de yerinizden oynamanıza, sıçramanıza neden oluyor.  Açıkçası ilk Dabbe filminden etkilendiğim kadar hiç birinden çok etkilenmedim. Sadece senaryolar geliştiriliyor. Hasan Karacadağ'ın hayali acaba  Halloween gibi bir seri film mi çekmek mi yoksa bir gün tadında bırakabilecek ve tüm Dabbe serilerinin son filminde bağdaşlaştırılarak son bulması mı olacak? İyi seyirler..

MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN USA

The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
For those looking for career and financial stability, heading off to medical school may be a good bet.

Employment for physicians and surgeons is projected to jump nearly 18 percent from 2012 to 2022, leading to 123,300 job openings, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Primary care physicians received median salaries of $220,942 in 2012, while physicians with specializations received total median salaries of $396,233.

That said, aspiring doctors will have to fork over significant amounts of money before they start to practice medicine. Incoming students paid an average of $49,369 in tuition at private medical schools in 2013-2014, according to data provided to U.S. News by 47 private medical schools. The average in-state tuition at the 67 public schools that submitted the data, in contrast, was $30,824.

At the 10 private medical schools with the highest tuition and fees in 2013-2014, students paid an average of  $54,862 a year. Columbia topped the list, charging students $57,261 for tuition and fees.

Harvard University was the highest-ranked university for medical research on the list – earning the top spot in the U.S. News rankings. Harvard also beat out the other schools on the list in the rankings for primary care, placing No. 11. 

Below are the 10 most expensive private medical schools based on tuition and required fees. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report. Temple University, the only school on this list that reported both in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees, is listed below with its out-of-state tuition and fees. Its in-state​ tuition and fees were $44,454.

Medical school (name) (state)	Tuition and fees	U.S. News research rank	U.S. News primary care rank
Columbia University (NY)	$57,261	8	48
Tufts University (MA)	$56,784	49	60
Dartmouth College (Geisel) (NH)	$55,196	34	18
Case Western Reserve University(OH)	$54,976	23	40
University of Southern California(Keck)	$54,653	31	73
Northwestern University(Feinberg) (IL)	$54,528	18	22
Temple University (PA)	$54,268	54	RNP*
Washington University in St. Louis	$54,050	6	40
Harvard University (MA)	$53,581	1	11
Duke University (NC)	$53,323	8	40

*RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of all medical and osteopathic schools. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find information on tuition, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed 153 medical schools for our 2013 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The tuition data above are correct as of July 8, 2014. 

By Devon Haynie

MBA IN SINGAPORE

Year-on-year, Singapore is becoming a more and more important MBA destination.

While for the past two or three decades Asia dominated the manufacturing sector, it is now that the region is strengthening its overall business strategies, with local business dominating both local and international markets.

As a result of Asia’s heightened business needs, the role of locally based business schools, serving international needs from an Asian location, has never been more important.

International Business Schools

INSEAD, the self-styled ‘business school for the world’, boasts campuses in France and in Singapore, and its MBA program recently placed first in two regions in the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Its graduates can expect to earn the fifth-highest salaries out of all full time MBA graduates surveyed; more than nine in 10 will find employment within three months of finishing their studies; and all this is offered at a price of around 80% of the average tuition fees demanded by the other top business schools worldwide.

Traditionally speaking, Asia has always been a cheaper place to study than Europe, but question a prospective MBA student today about where the jobs are to be found after graduation and, now perhaps more than ever, they may argue that it is the Singapore campus that is closer to the vibrant job market than France.

Much like with the markets themselves, perception is crucial to the decision concerning which country to study in and, presently, popular opinion seems to be that the Asian tigers are where the jobs are. Several years of crises have seen the reputations of the US and EU somewhat shattered. Western economies certainly do remain perilous, and confidence in a recovery is still low.

An MBA in Singapore

Singapore, which combines long-term relations with the West, extremely high education standards and yet has close geographic and economic ties throughout Southeast and East Asia then, arrives in a great position to attract a wealth of graduates hoping to study an MBA in a region that is still enjoying economic growth.

“It could be argued that there is a correlation between GDP levels, general economic conditions and the demand and supply of MBA holders in Singapore,” says Robert Maguire, country managing director of Singapore at recruitment consultancy Antal International.

Since 2010, he says, there has been a sharp increase in the demand for MBA holders. “Companies [in Asia] are far more confident in the economy and, as there is substantial value placed on the skills that individuals develop [from their] MBA courses, there is an interest to explore the situation, resulting in increased hires.”

There have been some ups and downs that led to the perhaps preferable position Singapore currently finds itself in.

As the first wave of the US-led housing crisis hit, the number of international students applying to study an MBA in the city-state dropped, either through a personal lack of confidence in the potential jobs market or due to companies cutting spending on staff development.

“Initially there was a fall in [applications to study an MBA] as the impact of the crisis was felt,” says Scott Goddard, director of postgraduate programs at Nottingham University Business School.

“This was contrary to previous experience as demand has usually increased in times of economic difficulty. The fall was probably the result of companies reducing their support for staff development, as this is a fairly discretionary spend that can quite easily be reduced to assist cash flow.”

MBA Applications to Singapore Rise

Between 2010 and 2011 though, Goddard adds, applications once again rose dramatically.

“In the last year the demand has increased considerably, both from corporate sponsored and self-financing applicants. The number of students starting the Nottingham MBA in Singapore in 2011 is more than double that of 2010.”

When stood up against other Asian cities in the heart of China or India, one reason Singapore remains attractive to many international MBA students may well be the city’s impressive grasp of the English language.

Thanks to Singapore’s mixture of cultures, English is the lingua franca and MBA students are unlikely to find themselves hindered by a lack of Chinese, or indeed any other language. It is also one of the most developed cities in the world and, while some complain that this translates as a little boring, it at least means streets are clean, safe and air conditioning is never too far away.

The city is nevertheless small, and local employees are under constant pressure to improve their own CVs by obtaining more qualifications even while at work in full time positions. This positive pressure on schools could force the level of education to continue to evolve and offer ever better degrees - or face pulling out of the market, Goddard explains.

“High quality education is very important in Singapore...[but] the size of the market is limited,” he says. “The institutions with the highest reputation are likely to prosper, especially those with international accreditation such as EQUIS, AACSB, AMBA, and good positions in international rankings. Some institutions may well pull out of the Singapore market.”

Positions at schools may be becoming more competitive then, but there have also been some changes in the demands made by Singaporean employers, when looking for MBA graduates.

MBA Work Experience

Maguire notes that, in Singapore since the global financial crisis, “companies are now looking at the number of years’ experience an individual has, as a qualifier for good management skills, soft skills and emotional intelligence.”

These skills, he adds, were previously uncommon in the MBA holders who, despite having “impressive technical skills”, had only one or two years’ experience in a management or work environment.

Despite changing standards however, there are certainly jobs to be had in Singapore.

Almost three in four (73%) companies in Singapore hired senior level employees throughout 2010, one Antal study showed. “More companies are looking to expand internationally then ever before,” explains Maguire. “[This] requires employees who are open to international business cultures, styles and are strategic.”

This marks a significant increase in hires from the year previous, and very much aligns with Maguire’s theory that strong GDP attracts both business confidence and the confidence of highly skilled talent, which will typically choose to study in the world’s economic hotspots.

However, with such confidence in Asia’s economy worldwide, and with Singapore a small state that is highly sought after for its education, competition for both spaces in Singapore’s MBA schools and for the jobs available following graduation will of course be tough. And of course, as well as international applicants there will be local applicants fighting for spaces too.

It is unlikely, Maguire says, that local residents will look abroad to study their MBAs when the level of education, economic growth and low costs still remain in Singapore although regional career opportunities that require relocation within Asia are described as popular.

Australia’s top MBA programs

ROSE-ANNE MANNS

TOP 10 MBA PROGRAMS

• Melbourne Business School
• University of Queensland Business School
• Monash University Department of Management
• QUT Graduate School of Business, Queensland University of Technology
• Australian School of Business: AGSM
• Victoria Graduate School of Business, Victoria University
• University of Western Australia Business School
• Bond Business School, Bond University
• University of South Australia International Graduate School of Business
• University of Adelaide Business School

It’s the kind of experience that can help cement months of classroom study. Ten MBA students from the University of Queensland Business School and 10 from Philadelphia’s Wharton School team up as consultants to work on market entry strategies for Brisbane-based sports wear company Lorna Jane and OneSteel subsidiary Australian Tube Mills. Over seven months in 2010 and 2011, they collaborated and had devil’s advocates challenge their thinking, then they spent intense days working to finalise the pitch on campus in Philadelphia, meeting fellow students from around the world.

Pat Howard, chief operations officer with Cromwell Property Group, who participated in the consulting practicum, says it was a massive amount of work but invaluable experience. “You have to go from academic pieces to genuinely making it commercial and getting an outcome … It’s absolutely broadened my network at the same stage, a fantastic way to finish off the MBA.”

This is an example of the type of program Australian business schools have been developing to juice up the value of their master’s of business administration offerings. And as our 2011Financial Review BOSS MBA survey and rankings show, practical business experience and global reach are increasingly what count with students.

The biennial BOSS ranking of Australian MBA programs shows a rise in the proportion of schools offering students the chance to study or work overseas since the last survey, in 2009. Three-quarters of schools now provide this, and the remarks from graduates indicate they love it.

For Melbourne Business School, programs such as these helped it retain top billing.. Improvements at other schools also led to plenty of reshuffling.

Two northern universities have lifted their national rankings. The University of Queensland’s Business School jumped five places, coming in second. The school scored highly with alumni, is well-accredited and maintains high entry requirements for students and tough qualifications for teaching staff. It also generates a strong output of research papers per staff member, second only to Melbourne Business School.

Another good all-rounder, the Queensland University of Technology’s Graduate School of Business, rose from 10th in 2009 to fourth. QUT was the only school with three internationally recognised accreditations: EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. Monash University dropped just one spot to third.

In at fifth spot was the Australian School of Business: AGSM. Its MBA has dropped one spot since 2009. This is largely due to a dip in satisfaction scores among alumni (55 per cent of the ranking formula). However, this year – the first time we’ve invited schools with executive MBA programs – Australian School of Business: AGSM’s EMBA ranked first.

The biggest drop was experienced by MGSM – long considered one of Australia’s top MBA providers. It slid from number three in 2009 to 12th this year. This was partially due to negative feedback from alumni after internal changes. It also lost its EQUIS accreditation after staff numbers fell briefly last year. The top five schools in 2011 have at least two international accreditations.

Increasingly, MBA programs perceived as most in touch with the real world lead the rankings. Students repeatedly expressed a desire to be taught by “pracademics” – teachers who have spent more time working in business than in academia. “We need to learn how to face real problems and make decisions; a theorist is not going to work,” one student argued.

At Melbourne Business School alumni praised faculty. “Teaching staff are well connected with industry and government and willing to offer advice. There are abundant opportunities to network with alumni, which enriches reputation,” one alumnus wrote.

The most effusive comments in this year’s survey related to action-oriented learning. Students revelled in being thrown in the deep end. “Just get us to run a company for a year under the tutelage of the school!” one alumnus suggested. “Experiential tours are fantastic,” said a Deakin University graduate. “What a great way to learn. Better than pure, cold algebra any day.”

SATISFACTION

The biggest crowd-pleaser among our 19 participants, as judged by our alumni survey, was the University of South Australia’s International Graduate School of Business, followed by Bond University’s Business School. At the same time, MGSM and Australian School of Business: AGSM suffered on the customer satisfaction score, after scuttled merger plans and internal restructuring, respectively.

BENEFITS OF DOING AN MBA

After all the hard slog of study, there is a pay-off. Almost half of all respondents said they moved to a new job with higher pay as a result of completing their studies – a particularly welcome result considering some of this cohort graduated during the financial crisis (2008 to 2010).

The main reasons people gave for going into their course were to expand their career options and obtain higher remuneration. And it seems most came out the other end satisfied they had accomplished those aims. The main benefits alumni cited afterwards were expanded career options, greater self-confidence in their work and capacity for doing their jobs more effectively. Some were more blunt about their motivation for doing an MBA. “It was a vanity project,” one graduate said. And then there were the unexpected benefits, such as the woman who said her MBA “helped me mount a successful discrimination claim against my employer following return from maternity leave demotion”.

Some respondents expressed concern that their expectations hadn’t been met with regards to content on corporate governance and ethical decision-making. At the time our surveyed cohort was graduating, business schools were scrambling to review their curricula following criticism in the wake of the GFC. And even those programs that made an early start integrating responsible management principles were still settling in, as one Griffith graduate attests: “Disappointed that I enrolled at Griffith because of its espoused ESG [environment, social, governance] values and because there was to have been a sustainable enterprises specialisation. This is now in place, but did not come online in time for me to take it. Furthermore, while the corporate level of the faculty is committed to ESG, the teaching staff were definitely not, most paying only lip service and some overtly denigrating it.”

GOOD VALUE

Price isn’t the main indicator of perceived value for money, survey results show. The two most expensive schools placed at either ends of the list for best value for money. MBS, which charged $64,000 in tuition fees in 2011, was among the top five in this category. But the Australian School of Business: AGSM, which charges an almost identical fee, placed at the bottom. Griffith Business School alumni were convinced their mid-range, $37,020 price tag represented top value for money. The most inexpensive MBA in our survey was the $19,140 distance program by Chifley Business School, which placed third in our value for money table.

COMPLAINTS

We hear the same line a lot: MBA means Marriage Breakdown Ahead (or even more brutal assignments). One third of respondents nominated their loss of work-life balance as the main negative aspect of their study. The next biggest gripe was the cost, followed by language barriers with classmates. While exposure to international students may be highly valued, it depends on the calibre of peer group. One University of Adelaide graduate said: “The huge burden carrying students whose first language was not English detracted from the learning experience. Although diversity is an admirable concept, it is hard to say it enhances a learning experience if the culture is one where speaking up or expressing an opinion is not natural for a student.”

Business schools actively chase the international student dollar, even harder now that the Aussie dollar is so strong. In some schools – such as University of Southern Queensland, Bond, Australian School of Business: AGSM and La Trobe – international students make up more than half the cohort. One respondent warned: “In high education’s race to the bottom, full-fee-paying international students are watering down the quality of the student body. Networking and peer learning is one of the most important aspects of any MBA … Money talks and therefore MBA balks.” However, Australian School of Business: AGSM, where international students make up 63 per cent of the MBA cohort (and 2 per cent of the EMBA group), got fewer such comments because its entry requirements are more rigorous: its incoming students in 2011 had, on average, seven years of experience; and foreign students’ average English literacy score was 8, higher than the minimum of 6.5.

ECONOMIC VOLATILITY

More than 90 per cent of respondents said their MBA had prepared them well to manage in a range of economic conditions, including the GFC. Perhaps this was because the cohort surveyed were living through it at the time they were studying. This was an increase from our 2009 result, where a smaller proportion, 85 per cent, felt their course had prepared them for the downturn. Even among the 10 per cent this time around who said their studies hadn’t prepared them, many didn’t blame their schools.

WHAT EMPLOYERS WANT

The assumption that employers don’t give a toss about an MBA certificate is an oft-expressed sentiment among survey respondents, but is it true? Researchers at RMIT set out to discover what MBAs are worth to employers. Their preliminary research found that unless the MBA is a certain type and has international accreditation, businesses aren’t impressed.

Braithwaite Steiner Pretty recruiter Tony Grierson says clients still take note of the big brands. Harvard is impressive on the CV, as are MBS, MGSM and AGSM, although he notes the latter lost momentum over its muddled rebranding exercise with the Australian School of Business.

The RMIT research, led by Michael Segon, also examined what qualities employers expect of managers they recruit, and how that lined up with the qualities MBA graduates possess. “Practising managers see critical interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, change management and ethics/CSR capabilities as major developmental needs in current managers,” Segon says. “Practising managers see these same critical capabilities as lacking in MBA programs. Traditional courses such as finance, economics, marketing received low scores, yet dominate MBAs.”

These findings are reflected in the global 2011 Corporate Recruiters Survey, which also showed that the most important skill employers want in MBA graduates is communications. An international survey of 1500 people in 900 companies in 51 countries, conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council, found that the top five criteria sought were, in priority order: strong communications skills, initiative, professionalism, motivation and integrity. With this in mind, BOSS asked schools to identify new subjects they had introduced that focus on interpersonal communications skills.

REPUTATION RULES

The top ranked school in our list was also the No. 1 institution nominated when we asked which Australian school respondents would attend if money and location were not issues. Perhaps more surprising was that 2.2 per cent of people named Sydney University, even though it didn’t participate in our survey because it has only just launched its MBA.

Sydney Uni’s Global Executive MBA began at the start of 2010, and is pitched at the premium market. The $84,240 fee covers tuition and materials. Another $21,000 is recommended for flights, hotels, meals and local transport, as the program includes stints in Bangalore, Silicon Valley, London and Languedoc, France.

Women not flocking to MBAs

CATHERINE FOX

There are few local MBA programs that can boast anywhere near a 50/50 split between women and men. In some cases, the number of women enrolled has gone down since 2009.

Women make up 30 per cent of full-time MBA students at MBS and 40 per cent of part-timers. The school recognises boosting numbers as a challenge. And Prior adds that the renewed focus on gender equity in business, with corporate targets driving up demand, makes this a perfect time for women to study an MBA.

Chris Styles, Australian School of Business deputy dean and Australian School of Business: AGSM director, says an alumni forum last year on why more women aren’t in MBA programs raised three main concerns: cost, lack of role models and worries about workforce re-entry.

Some schools are having more success changing the gender mix. Just over half (52 per cent) of the MBA student intake at Swinburne University of Technology is female, says Julian Lippi, director MBA at Swinburne’s Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship.

The school has introduced more class flexibility, broadened its catchment of students, including those without undergraduate degrees, and encouraged word-of-mouth recommendations.

Global mindset

ROSE-ANNE MANNS

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Traditional cross-cultural training prepares individuals for working in a particular country. But MGSM’s new Global Mindset course is different because it aims to prepare students for work anywhere in the world, says subject co-ordinator and senior lecturer in management Steven Segal. “It’s a set of learning skills you can take with you to a strange or uncomfortable situation. You can pick up on where you don’t fit in.”

The subject was offered for the first time earlier this year to 65 students at MGSM’s Hong Kong campus.

They were first asked to undertake a mindset inventory of sorts. With the help of an internet-based tool, they determined their tendencies to be either individualistic or interdependent; egalitarian or status-seeking, etc.

The objective was for the students to self-assess the gaps between their own style and the style of the country they might be assigned to.

The students then undertook a series of role-plays to close those gaps – for instance, helping an Australian with a strong independent mindset who is sent to China, where interdependence is valued.

It’s a tool that works both ways, as reserved Asian students are pushed out of potential initial awkwardness when dealing with the open nature of interaction in Australia.

The subject is an elective for MBA students, but Segal says it enjoys strong support from MGSM dean Robert Widing, who brought the subject with him from his previous job as senior vice-president of the Thunderbird School of Global Management in the United States.

Audacious Leadership

ROSE-ANNE MANNS

Deakin Graduate School of Business

There’s not much pointy-headed theory spouted in Deakin University’s sailboat adventure for aspiring leaders. It’s all hands on deck – literally. Students on the Audacious Leadership course head out to sea for eight days of four hours on, eight hours off, working the 24-metre boat with pro sailors.

“The ship is a metaphor for any type of system where people work together,” senior lecturer John McWilliams says. “It only works through collaboration, timing, safety and taking responsibility for cleanliness and meals.”

At the end of each four-hour shift, teams debrief in the saloon, probing what they learned about themselves and teamwork.

“The aim is to have an adventure,” McWilliams says. “To take people beyond what they consider their normal capabilities. It’s a Napoleonic idea – that audacity in commanders. One of the qualities of leadership is doing things they wouldn’t normally think of doing.”

And what of those prone to seasickness? Not to worry. They have the option of organising their own adventure – work at an orphanage, canoe the coast of Australia, climb Mt Everest. The optimum is to work with your cohort, McWilliams says, but the important objective is to have an adventure that teaches leadership qualities.

Audacious Leadership is a core unit for students studying for a master’s of contemporary leadership, and an elective for MBA students. It was offered for the first time earlier this year. The second offering, this semester, is booked out, with a waiting list for places on the sea voyage.

The samurai game

ROSE-ANNE MANNS

Bond School of Business

Bond University students will wrap up their studies this year with a two-day workshop that will transport them back to 16th-century Japan. To be run for the first time in December, Bond will require all its MBA students to participate in the Samurai Game. It will start with instructions on the finer points of samurai philosophy: notions of nobility, falling on their swords, thinking beyond themselves.

“It’s a double-edged sword – if you’ll forgive the pun,” says subject co-ordinator and assistant professor of management Jane Murray. “It’s not just about your own survival; it’s about the team.”

During the game, students are divided into teams that wage a series of battles. Challenges range from physical tasks (such as who can endure a yoga pose the longest) to intellectual pursuits (such as a poetry competition).

Participants take on the personas of different characters. “There’s a god character whose role is to be capricious, unfair – like life sometimes,” Murray says. “Rules change. As in a real-life organisational situation, sometimes you have to adapt or die.”

The team left standing wins. But for all participants – even those who “die” during the cut and thrust of battle – the outcomes are about teamwork, decision-making and self-reflection. The stated aims of the new project reflect traditional samurai qualities, such as “remain positive and calm under pressure; manifest bold, dignified and decisive action in the face of uncertainty; evoke respectful and honourable behaviour from self and others”. All – presumably – with minimal bloodshed.

Executive MBAs ranked

This year, for the first time, Financial Review BOSS began asking business schools to decide whether they wanted their standard MBA or executive MBA programs assessed. While 11 universities in Australia offer executive MBAs, only three generated enough alumni responses to be ranked – the proportion of standard MBA students nationwide is much greater. The EMBA at Australian School of Business: AGSM was the stand-out. It had the highest proportion of teachers with PhDs and current business experience. It also had the most rigorous entry requirements for students: they have six years of management experience on average, and international students have a high average English literacy score. In 2011, 254 students enrolled, compared with 46 in the regular MBA course. The school’s EMBA alumni highly rated its reputation, alumni network, availability in other capitals and capstone final year.

UTS Business School’s EMBA alumni rated the relationships built through a smaller cohort as a strength. At RMIT, a number of alumni said they appreciated the practicality of the course.

The line between an executive MBA and a part-time MBA sometimes gets blurry. Essentially, the target student group is one of the main differences. Students enrolled in executive MBA courses are typically those who have been in the workforce for a few years.

They are an older cohort, with more experience, and there are fewer international students. Classes are smaller, with less face-to-face teaching and more time devoted to syndicate work.

How we did it

BEVERLEY UTHER

Financial Review BOSS conducts its rankings of Australian MBA programs every two years. Research for the 2011 rankings was conducted by Financial Review Business Intelligence, based on data collected from April to August 2011. Results are based on two components. An alumni survey, worth 55 per cent, is based on satisfaction, improvement and value for money. A school score accounts for the remaining 45 per cent. In keeping with other international rankings, criteria includes accreditations, entry requirements and faculty qualifications, with an emphasis on academic degrees, current business experience of faculty, and research.

In contrast to some global MBA rankings, BOSS does not award points for salary increases, due to the high variability in pay nationally.

More than 1600 alumni who completed their MBA or Executive MBA degrees in 2008, 2009 and 2010 completed the survey. EMBAs were included for the first time in 2011 (see tables, page 36).

Just over half of all respondents were in their 30s when they completed their MBA. Twenty-one schools participated; 19 made it into our rankings. An overview of all the participants can be found atwww.afrboss.com.au.

Giving Voice to Values

ROSE-ANNE MANNS

University of Western Australia Business School

Moral muteness is a condition that afflicts many people confronted with an ethical dilemma, University of Western Australia Business School assistant professor Mark Edwards says. “The major ethical issue in organisations is not that people are unaware of problems, it’s that they don’t know what to do.”

The compulsory Giving Voice to Values course for MBA students is designed to push students beyond the ‘what’ of right and wrong, into the ‘how’ of resolving issues.

“Our approach to ethics is about implemention,” Edwards says. “In the past, the usual approach was to raise awareness of issues – rules and codes. It essentially looked at a decision-making approach, whereas from the first moment of the first class [our students] have made a decision to act – what do you do from there? It’s about the how of business ethics. It’s very different in that sense.”

Example: an accountant starts work with a charity, and is disturbed to discover the organisation has not been accounting properly for the value of donations received. Students workshop the conversations the accountant must have with a variety of audiences – the CEO, staff, colleagues. The role-play focuses on the sort of obstacles to acting that often come into play: “Don’t be a troublemaker”, “We’re not here to do ethics; we’re here to do business”. Edwards says imagination in overcoming the dilemma is encouraged. Instead of taking a ‘thou shalt not’ line, the emphasis is on innovating to come up with possible solutions that improve the business, not limit it.