The goal of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a double degree course of study between Fundación ESADE, holder of ESADE Business School (hereafter referred to as ESADE) and the Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina (hereafter referred to as South Carolina). For purposes of the agreement, the institutions have agreed to refer to the course of study as a “double degree program”, which recognizes that two distinct degrees, one given by each institution, are components of the program. Each institution confers its own degree for work done to meet the graduation requirements for the specific degree of that institution.

This agreement shall facilitate opportunities for highly qualified students from both institutions to further enhance their business competence, cultural and social skills. Furthermore, it is meant as a unique chance for students to study from a truly international perspective and thus enhance their possibilities in the international labor market.

In this agreement “home institution” refers to the institution at which a student is initially accepted and “host institution” to the institution which has agreed to receive a double degree student. “ESADE student” applies to students who are initially accepted in ESADE’s Master of Science programs in management, “South Carolina student” to students initially accepted in the Master of International Business at the Moore School, and “Double degree student” corresponds to a student participating in the double degree program.

A maximum number of two (2) ESADE students and two (2) South Carolina students will be admitted to the double degree program in the beginning of the program, and annually thereafter. The total number of students may vary from year to year with the exact number to be determined by mutual agreement of the program directors of ESADE and South Carolina. The numbers needed to maintain an exchange balance may also be modified by mutual agreement. 

Each home institution will be responsible for selecting their participating students. Each home institution will nominate students to the host institution. The host institution shall make the final admission decision regarding those nominated to their degree program based upon the existing admission criteria of the host institution. 

Candidates for the two degrees will be evaluated on the strength of their application and supporting documents, including GMAT, GRE or other comparable academic admissions examinations. Students must meet the admission criteria of both institutions to complete the double degree course of study. 

ESADE students must meet the standard English Language requirements for overseas non-native speakers at the time of admission. Students that do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution, have not graduated from a program with English as the instructional language, or are not currently enrolled in a program with English as the instructional language, must submit a valid (two years old or less) test score demonstrating their command of the English language. The minimum score for the Test of English asa Foreign Language (TOEFL) is100 (Internet-based) or 600 paper-based; and 7.0for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS Intl. Academic CourseType 2 Exam), prior to beginning a program at South Carolina. A student whose native language is English or that has graduated from or is attending a degree program taught in English is waived from this requirement, as certified by a written confirmation from the ESADE Master of Science Office. ESADE students meeting the English Language qualification as noted above will be waived from the ENFS testing at South Carolina.

General Principles

Each academic institution will welcome the partner institution's students enrolling in the:

• MSc in Digital Business and MSc in International Management at ESADE, and
• Master of International Business (MIB) at South Carolina, with a view to awarding a degree to the students of the partner institution meeting the requirements set out in this agreement.

The intended length of study for the double degree program shall be two years. Double degree students will study at their home institution for the first academic year and then study at the host institution for their second academic year.

The program requirements for each degree have to be fulfilled. Each institution will be the sole judge of whether astudent has completed the requirement for the degree that it awards. Each institution will be the sole judge of whetheror not a student has met any progression requirements for its degree to this document. Each institution may change the requirements for their degree according to their own governance process and give notification the partner institution.If a student does not meet the requirements for the award of the host institution’s degree, the home institution reserves the right to award its own degree to the student.

At ESADE, the Associate Dean of the Master of Science Programmes approves applications for graduation upon completion of all MSc Programs in Management.

At South Carolina, the Dean of the Graduate School approves applications for graduation upon completion of all MIB degree requirements.

Recognition of course work and credit transfer

Recognition of coursework will be based on the transcripts of records provided by each partner institution. Students are required to sign a transcript release form as part of their participation in the program, allowing the Registrar to release their transcripts.

Students will be required to complete at ESADE sixty (60) ECTS and at Darla Moore thirty (30) credits – 1 credit equalto 2 ECTS-. Students enrolled at ESADE must successfully defend a thesis in order to earn the Master of ScienceDegree. One faculty member from ESADE will be designated as thesis coordinator. The thesis coordinator will coordinate the completion and defense of the thesis.

Each institution will determine if, and the amount of credit hours or ETCS that may be transferred towards its degree. Courses that have similar content taken at one institution may not be retaken at the partner institution.