The program is designed as a double or dual degree program, which allows students to pursue degrees at both institutions. Each institution confers its own degree for work done to meet the graduation standards of the program of that institution. The program will give selected students from both institutions the opportunity to acquire the Master of International Business (MIB) from USC and the Master of Science in Financial Markets & Sustainable Investments, Responsible Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Data Science for Marketing, Business Strategy & Consulting, Food & Agribusiness Management, Sustainable Luxury, Cultural & Arts Management, and the Master in Management at Audencia.

Admissions 

A maximum number of five (5) Audencia students and five (5) 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 Audencia 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.

Audencia students must meet the standard English Language requirements for overseas non-native speakers at the time of admission. Applicants to South Carolina are required to achieve a TOEFL score of at least iBT 100 or 600 paper-based. The South Carolina MIB admissions committee will also consider alternative language proficiency testing including the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), PTE Academic Test.  An applicant must score at least a 7.0 on the IELTS, 800 on the TOEIC, at least a 64 on the PTE. 

An Audencia student whose native language is not English, but has graduated from or is attending a degree program from a U.S. institution or a program where the instructional language is English, and is certified by a written confirmation from the applicant’s home university International Office, may be waived from the language requirement. Students meeting the English Language qualification as noted above may also be waived from the ENFS testing at South Carolina.

Degree Requirements

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

• Master of Science in Financial Markets and Sustainable Investments, Responsible Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Data Science for Marketing, Business Strategy & Consulting, Food & Agribusiness Management, Sustainable Luxury, Cultural & Arts Management, and the Master in Management at Audencia, 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 must be fulfilled.  Each institution will be the sole judge of whether a student has completed the requirement for the degree that it awards. Each institution may change the requirements for their degree according to their own governance process and give notification to the partner institution. If a student does not meet the requirements of the host institution’s degree, the home institution reserves the right to award its own degree to the student.

At Audencia, the [Title] of Masters programs approves applications for graduation upon completion of the Masters Programmes. 

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

Recognition of Coursework and Credit Transfer

Recognition of coursework will be based on the transcripts of records provided by each partner institution.  By participating in the double degree program, students allow the Registrar to release their transcripts.

Double degree students will be required to complete at Audencia [sixty (60) ECTS] and at South Carolina thirty (30) credit hours (1 credit hour equal to 2 ECTS).  Each institution will determine if, and the amount of, credit hours or ETCS that may be transferred towards its degree.