eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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Double degree programs as part of institutions’ internationalization strategies have become more and more popular due to students demand for more comprehensive international study options. Even though some authors have put effort on researching double degree programs ability to support institutions internationalization strategies, a clear analysis of motivators and their influence on the evaluation of double degree programs has been lacking from the literature. The aim of this study is to evaluate the value of double degree programs to students, employers and faculty members as the key stakeholders. In addition to this, the study is guided by two other focus areas; first the source of double degree programs’ expected value is studied. As a second objective, proposition of a practical model to guide the university to increase the value of entire program is framed.

At the time this research project was started, the Aalto University, School of Business was facing various challenges in establishing its double degree programs. In order to study double degree programs’ value-added within the Aalto University’s context, the research is conducted as a single case study. The data collection focused on employing mixed research methods. Internet-mediated questionnaires were used as the main research instrument to gather information from the three key stakeholder groups. However, quantitative data was supported by qualitative interviews, which were designed to increase the depth and quality of the research.

The findings of this research do support various theoretical considerations, but due to the novelty value of the research, this thesis also explains how double degree programs are understood as a part of universities’ educational offerings, but it also studies the program’s position in the Finnish context. Findings show that double degree programs cannot be created or managed in isolation from their surroundings. At the moment, the greatest challenge universities have is the unawareness of the program and its characteristics among all stakeholders. Students are expecting the program to have positive impact on their employment, but at the same time they are distracted by other international study options. Employers, on the other hand, value program’s impact on students capacity-building and their ability to effectively operate in the business environment, but the value is clearly decreased by the mixed perceptions among recruiters. Despite the obvious influence on increased diversity among students and improved cooperation with foreign partner universities, faculty members do not feel that their personal objectives and goals would be in-line with benefits perceived from double degree program. In order to effectively manage positive and negative consequences of double degree programs, this research suggest that all educational institutions need a detailed action and communication plan; on the contrary to other double degree researches, a very case sensitive action plan is introduced in the end of this study.