A good Premaster’s course should include the following study areas:
Academic mathematics. The course ranges from a review of fundamental mathematics principles and goes on to cover the specific kinds of maths skills students need for master’s studies in business and the sciences.
Academic writing. The course covers all the basic kinds of academic writing, from reports about information and statistics to essays and research papers, that are in regular use in international universities.
Presentation skills. The course teaches students how to make formal presentations of their own research using the most up-to-date methods and classroom equipment. It is not a theory course but one that leads students through all the things they need to learn to make a live presentation of actual, individual research.
Study skills. A hands-on approach to new, more streamlined ways of studying that allow you to learn the most with the greatest efficiency in an academic climate in which there is always time pressure.
Business English. This is not to be confused with course geared toward using English in a business setting. It explores the fundamental areas of modern business and gives students both the concepts and vocabulary to allow them to move easily into a foreign business climate and know what is being discussed.
Finance. The course reviews the fundamentals of finance and then moves into the latest theories and practices in this rapidly evolving field.
Marketing. The course looks at all the ways the ever-more complex field of marketing is conducted in the Western business world. It, too, is based on a practical experience of making a marketing plan for a product or service.
Organisational behaviour. The course looks at the way a variety of types of organisations (although mostly businesses) functions – and how some don’t. Through the extensive use of actual case studies, it teaches patters and practices geared toward the effective running of organisations.
Study abroad. This course closely examines the practicalities of living, studying, learning and interacting with others in new cultural settings. Again, its focus is on practical knowledge that can make your transition to your new academic setting smooth and trauma-free. Remember that also an online MBA program will confront you with a different cultural setting.