The University of South Florida (USF), located in the heart of Tampa Bay, U.S., is a high-impact, global, research university. It currently has a student population of over 42,000, including more than 800 from India.
During their recent visit to India, Ralph C. Wilcox, provost and executive vice-president, and Moez Limayem, dean of Muma College of Business (USF’s business school), talked about the newly-launched APJ Kalam Fellowship for Indian students and what makes the U.S. such a lucrative education destination for Indians.
How strong is the Indian student population at the university?
Limayem: Currently we have 206 students from India at the Muma College of Business studying in our graduate programmes, representing the single largest group of international students in the college. Most of these students are pursuing an MS in MIS, our science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree, because of the strong business analytics component of that programme. We also have students from India in our MBA programme.
Analytics and business intelligence is the core strength of USF and we have some of the best courses in this discipline. USF has a dedicated student success specialist with many years of experience in higher education who works only with our MS in MIS students to get them ready for placement. International students today are very well connected with students at universities all over the world due to social media, blogs and their own channels as well. Many of our recent admits have chosen to come to USF over other top schools in the U.S. This is a strong sign that they are seeing tremendous value in the education and professional prospects of a USF graduate degree.
You have recently announced the APJ Kalam Fellowship. How can Indian students benefit from it?
Wilcox: Successful applicants will have the benefit of working at one of the top research extensive universities in the U.S. USF is currently ranked 32nd amongst all public universities in the United States (Times Higher Education World Survey, 2015-16). The Kalam Fellowship is designed for exemplary Indian students who have graduated from an Indian university with an outstanding academic record and who wish to pursue study and research in one of the 11 key STEM areas: Applied Anthropology, Applied Physics, Business PhD programmes, Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science and Engineering, Engineering, Criminology, Integrative Biology Marine Science and Psychology.
The fellowship will waive all master’s/doctoral tuition fee for up to four years. Additionally, successful candidates will receive a stipend of $18,000 over the nine months of the fall and spring semesters ($2,000 per month) for up to four years. The provost’s office will pay a nine-month stipend for the first year with the department/college contributing a teaching/research assistantship for up to an additional three years.
What are the benefits of studying at USF?
Wilcox: USF is among America’s top 2.3 per cent of colleges and universities and is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a doctoral-granting university with very high quality research. USF was recently ranked 25th among public universities by the National Science Foundation for total research expenditures. At USF, students select from more than 240 world-class accredited degree programmes across 13 colleges ranging from business to medicine, engineering to education, and the sciences to the arts and the humanities.
USF is located in Tampa Bay — a safe, welcoming and affordable region on the west coast of Florida, and was recently ranked the 15th top destination for students in the U.S. It awards a large number of competitive scholarships. In addition, international students can work on campus to help cover the cost of their education and living expenses.
Upon graduation, USF students can use their education and work experience to enrol in Optional Practical Training (OPT), which prepares them for exciting job placement opportunities.
What internship opportunities can Indian students explore?
Wilcox: Indian students enrolled in a STEM programme, such as Muma College’s MS in MIS, can have three months of paid internship under CPT prior to graduation, and at least one year of internship after graduation on OPT.
Tampa Bay area has many IT, financial services, healthcare and consulting companies that hire international students as interns. USF Muma College also has a unique practice centre programme, where companies sponsor projects. Students work in pairs on these company sponsored practice centre projects under the supervision of Muma College faculty members. Many companies have used practice centre projects as a means to recruit fulltime employees.
