Does Participation in International Master Dual Degree Programs Improve Students’ Intercultural Competence?

Abstract

UPAEP University located in Puebla, Mexico and Oklahoma State University (OSU), in the United States have developed Master´s and Ph.D. Dual Degree programs; providing students from both institutions the opportunity to study two master’s degrees, in two years, in two different countries [1]. However, even with the opportunity to study in two countries, a couple of questions remain unanswered. One, are Master’s Dual Degree students improving their global marketability and engagement, and second, are the students becoming interculturally competent as result of their participation in this experience? This study sought to directly answer the second question by assessing students’ intercultural competence using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and indirectly answer the second question by analyzing the data collected. Results of the study place students’ Perceived Orientation (PO) in the Acceptance stage of the continuum (117.91 on a scale of 145). The students believe they have an Intercultural mindset and are able to “recognize and appreciate patterns of cultural difference and commonalities in one’s own and other cultures” [2. p. 4]. However, the study shows that on average, the students enrolled in the Master’s Dual Degree program at UPAEP University-OSU have a Monocultural mindset. They are situated in the Polarization Stage of the Intercultural Development Continuum (82.04 on a scale of 145) measured by the Developmental Orientation (DO). This study concluded that students enrolled in the Master Dual Degree Program do not have an Intercultural mindset. They are not Inter culturally Competent. They are in a judgmental orientation that views cultural differences in term of “us” and “them” [2. p. 4]. They have no further development in their intercultural competence because of their participation in the program.