The goal of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a dual (double) degree course of study between Vlerick Business School (hereafter referred to as Vlerick) 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 opportunity 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. “Vlerick” student applies to students who are initially accepted in a Vlerick masters programme, “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.

Admissions

A maximum number of five (5) Vlerick 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 Vlerick and South Carolina. The numbers needed to maintain an exchange balance may also be modified by mutual agreement.

In terms of submitting official student numbers to ranking and/or accreditation bodies (e.g. FT Ranking, QS Ranking), each home institution will count the double degree students only once. More specifically in the academic year they are graduating from the respective home institution. 

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.

Vlerick 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. 

A Vlerick 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.

General Principles

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

• Masters in Financial Management, Masters in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Masters in General Management: Business Analytics & Artificial Intelligence, Masters in Marketing and Digital Transformation, Masters in General Management, Masters in International Management and Strategy at Vlerick, 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 thisagreement.

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 Vlerick, the Director of Masters programmes 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 course work 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 Vlerick 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.