Erin Lee
MSc International Business, 2004
Country of origin: USA
Employer: KPMG, UK
Before coming to Lancaster to do my MSc, I had graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan, USA, with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business. The MSc in International Business at Lancaster seemed like the right place for me because I wanted to continue to study economics, but from more of an international perspective than I had during my undergraduate degree.
The course allows students to learn about a wide range of economic topics. You study concepts in theoretical and mathematical economics, and also look at how these concepts apply to real-life business situations. You have some choice as to what classes you take, allowing you to study the topics you find most interesting.
Students get a chance to develop many different skills through this course. There are several group projects, which help students practise working as a team. The dissertation and coursework improves research skills. Above all, the programme develops and improves your analytical skills through in-depth discussion and analysis of economic topics.
One of the things I found most educational and interesting was that my classmates were from all over the world. When we discussed issues pertaining to specific countries, there was almost always someone from that country to give their input. That made a huge difference and is not something you can get from a textbook.
The support network at Lancaster is excellent. As the course and class sizes are relatively small, we all knew each other and were able to help one another and study together when necessary. The professors at Lancaster were also very helpful both in terms of answering questions on class material, and in providing references for jobs after graduation.
I currently work for KPMG in Manchester in the Internal Audit Services department.
