Pitt State varsity looks to attract Indian students

Drawn by the “high skill levels and good economic activity” in and around Hyderabad, Kansas (US)-based Pittsburgh State University (PSU) has opened its first liaison office in India here, and plans to focus on attracting graduate students for its MBA and engineering courses.

Speaking to the media on Monday, PSU president Steven A Scott said the 107-year-old university is a predominantly teaching institution, and offers undergraduate and post-graduate courses in technology, business, arts, sciences and education. In engineering, it offers master’s degree in automobile, construction, mechanical, manufacturing and plastics branches, with the first rated in the top-5 in the United States. It has a student-faculty ratio of 18:1.

According to Scott, the university's MBA course has an international focus and requires a minimum GMAT score of 400. BSc and BCom graduates from India are eligible to apply for the course, which is accredited by AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

The PSU satellite office here would offer free assistance with application process, visa and pre-departure guidance. As a not-for-profit institution, it would look for right students with right interests rather than a targeted number, Scott said.

It plans to organise awareness programmes in schools in the city to attract more students to its undergraduate programmes.

Scott said the university has a long history of hosting international students, and has 80 Indian students currently in graduate programmes out of a total of 500 foreign students. The fee is around $21,000 (Rs 9.47 lakh) per academic year, and includes tuition, insurance, living expenses and books.

Admitted students can apply to get on-campus part-time jobs of 20 hours a week at a pay of $6-7 per hour. Student scholarships, amounting to an average of $1,500 (Rs 68,000) per semester, are merit-based, and would depend on their academic record including undergraduate marks, project work, GRE and TOEFL scores.