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Florida MBA Programs
International Attraction: Florida's MBA programs have worldwide appeal
MBA degree programs at Florida schools attract students from all over the world who like the diversity at the schools and opportunities to interact with local businesspeople.
UF
Gabriel Gomes
University of Florida
Food Animal Efficiencies
A veterinarian and member of a Brazilian farming family, Dr. Gabriel Gomes moved to the U.S. in 2012 to pursue a master’s degree in animal sciences at the University of Florida.
After receiving his degree, Gomes, 28, was offered a residency with UF’s Food Animal Reproduction and Medicine Services.
But Gomes wasn’t done with his academic training.
“After I finished my master’s, I knew from my farming background that there’s an important business aspect to working with food animals. And I wanted to learn more about helping producers of food animals to be more profitable.”
Gomes decided to enroll in a one-year, fast-track MBA program at UF’s Hough Graduate School of Business.
“I feel I have a good knowledge of animal health, but I also felt earning an MBA would be a good opportunity for me,” he says.
Gomes is concentrating his MBA classes in finance and expects to graduate this spring.
“I do have a very busy schedule, but one good aspect of the MBA program is the small classes,” he says. “In most of my classes we have between six and 10 students, so the whole process becomes very interactive with the class and professors.”
Gomes says after he concludes his residency with the university’s FARMS program in 2018, he’d love to join an international development agency, the U.N. or World Bank.
» University of Florida’s online MBA programs at the Hough Graduate School of Business ranked fifth in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s “2017 Best Online MBA Programs” rankings released in January.
» UF MBA’s Online Program, No. 4 among U. S. publics, scored 89 out of a possible 100 points. It marks the fifth consecutive year UF MBA finished in the top five in this ranking.
UNF
» The University of North Florida’s Coggin College of Business recently added two universities to its International Flagship Business program for graduate students who want to study abroad: UNQ in Buenos Aires and IPADE in Mexico City.
JU
Stephania Landaeta Gutierrez
Jacksonville University
Help for Venezuela
Venezuela native Stephania Landaeta Gutierrez, 22, recently received her bachelor’s degree from JU. Pursuing an MBA degree at the school seemed a logical extension of her undergraduate experience.
JU President Tim Cost appointed Landaeta to a one-year Presidential Fellowship that provides a stipend and waiver of a portion of her MBA tuition.
Now in the second semester of the MBA program, Landaeta puts in 40 hours a week on the president’s staff and attends MBA classes at night.
“As a presidential fellow, I work with all the academic departments at JU,” she says. “This past semester, I worked on programs to improve the on-campus experience of our international students. And we’re always meeting with senior leaders and young professionals in the community.”
When she completes her MBA, with a focus on accounting and finance, Landaeta says she wants to remain in the Jacksonville area and become a CPA. Eventually, she says, she plans to return to Venezuela and work in her family’s transportation business.
“In any way I can, I want to go back and help Venezuela be better and a more free country,” she adds.
