USC Marshall Partners With Indian B-School For Supply Chain Master’s

In a nod to India’s growing economic influence and its own aspirations for a larger global footprint — and a timely move given current events — the University of Southern California’s Marshall Business School is partnering with India’s SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) to open a student pipeline between the schools.

Marshall and SPJIMR recently signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the Indian school’s students to take classes, earn credit, and graduate from Marshall’s Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management program. (Marshall was ranked No. 18 in Poets&Quants most recent top 100 business schools.)

“Marshall has long been a leader in global business education,” says Marshall dean Geoff Garrett in a release about the MOU. “This partnership opens up new possibilities for the school in India – the largest and arguably most dynamic emerging market in the world.

“International collaborations involving degrees always require heavy lifting. This creative partnership offers the best of both worlds – a unique Indian pathway to a Marshall degree.”

INDIA’S SURGING DEMAND FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION

Demand for management education is soaring in India. There are more than 5,000 business schools in the country, with a couple thousand more if you count unapproved schools, according to this P&Q article by BiJu Paul Abraham and Partha Ray of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta. 

Partnerships such as the one with Marshall aren’t entirely unique. They offer Indian students a path to America’s top-notch business schools, often allowing them to work here after graduation. For example, Purdue’s Krannert School of Management partners with the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur on its MS of Global Supply Chain Management degree. A STEM Opt extension allows Indian students to work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.

For American business schools, the partnerships help build pipelines to a population of international students that are important to a school’s bottom line. In its first-ever global report on diversity, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) found that India was second only to China for the total number of graduate management degrees in people ages 20-34, and it had the third-highest number of students taking the GMAT. India offers a wealth of potential students which is why such partnerships make good business sense.

CONNECTING ‘TWO GREAT PORT CITIES – L.A. AND MUMBAI’

In July, Marshall launched the Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute with a $20 million naming gift from Kendrick, an ‘86 alumni and the founder and CEO of Xebec. Among other initiatives, the gift seeks to expand academic programs including its master’s in Global Supply Chain Management, ranked No. 1 in online business programs by U.S. News and World Report. 

Its agreement with SPJIMR meets the spirit of Kendrick’s gift, says Anthony Bailey, vice president for strategic global initiatives at USC. It also advances the larger global strategy of the University of Southern California

“Two great port cities—Los Angeles and Mumbai—global supply chain and logistics: this is the moment. And all of this is coming together along with the recent naming gift. We could not be more excited about this partnership,” he says. 

“India is key to the future of USC’s global strategy, and this program is the international student 2.0 model. It’s a vanguard moment.”

Dr. Varun Nagaraj, dean of SPJIMR, believes that the memorandum will open the door for more partnerships between the two schools.

“I am sure this Golden State program will be popular with our students,” he says. “We are looking forward to future collaborations beyond this as well. There are all kinds of possible two-way interactions that will benefit all of our students.”

A LONG JOURNEY TO COLLABORATION

Nick Vyas, executive director for the Kendrick Institute and professor of data sciences and operations, says that Marshall’s partnership with SPJIMR has been building over many years. 

This particular agreement broadens collaboration between the two cross-continental business schools including creating certificate opportunities, expanding business delegations, and creating more occasions for collaborative research.

“This journey started about nine years ago, and this particular element about six years ago,” Vyas says. “I am thrilled we’re here moving forward on this initiative. It is establishing the beginning of many good things to come. And we can use this as a prototype for collaboration going forward.”

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