These consulting projects, combined with the teamwork required to complete many other class projects, hone not only business practice skills but also critical skills in cross-cultural communication and negotiation. Research Facilities Popovich Hall, opened in summer 1999, is the most technologically advanced business school building in the U.S. and is home to all four Marshall M.B.A. programs. USC's Crocker Business Library houses more than 100,000 volumes and 1,400 periodicals, and the main University library houses an additional 2.4 million volumes, including 18,000 serial publications. Within the business school, the Keck Management Science Center and the Instructional Services Center have more than 280 IBM PC microcomputers and computer terminals in labs and libraries. Another 75 PCs are located in classrooms.
Most participants live off campus in apartments.
Participants average 33 years of age and nine years of work experience, with ages ranging from 26 to the mid-40s. Fourteen or more countries are represented in the program each year. Current participants come from Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Los Angeles is strategically located as an American gateway to the Pacific Basin. With a population of more than 7 million and manufacturing, trade, telecommunications, and financial activities to rival many countries in both diversity and volume, the city provides an excellent venue for managers who wish to expand their international horizons.