The FINANCIAL — Caucasus School of Business, Georgian American University and European School of Management are among the most popular and well-known institutes in Tbilisi. If you are interested in studying at one of these colleges, you may be concerned about the cost of study there, as this may have an impact on choosing the right one for you.
According to Tinatin Gugberidze, Public Relations Manager of Caucasus University, at all three schools within Caucasus University (Caucasus School of Business, Caucasus School of Technology, and Caucasus School of Media) there are around 1,171 students doing Bachelor level programs, and around 300 at Master level.
There are about 990 students doing Bachelor programs at Caucasus School of Business, and around 200 doing Master level programs.
“The number of students is increasing each year. We began with about 15 MBA students in the year 1998. The demand for programs in Business Administration is fast increasing due to the demand of the labour market,” Tinatin Gugberidze, PR Manager of CSB, told The FINANCIAL.
At Georgian American University, there are about 400 business students [BBA, MBA, PhD] and 400 law students [LLB, LLM, JD]. There are 747 students in total at Georgian American University, out of which 644 are doing Bachelor and 103- Master degrees.
“GAU is a true Western-style private university for business and law degrees in Tbilisi providing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees as well as certificate programs and general preparatory courses for business and law students,” Dr. Peter Chiaramonte, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Georgian American University, told The FINANCIAL.
According to Khatuna Bolkvadze, PR Manager of ESM, Free University of Tbilisi was established as a result of unifying two leading higher education schools – ESM Tbilisi and the Tbilisi Institute of Asia and Africa.
A total of 586 students attend Free University of Tbilisi, of them: 395 are enrolled in ESM Business School programs and 191 are enrolled in the programs of Asia and Africa Institute.
492 are Bachelor degree students: 315 at ESM Business School and 177 at Asia and Africa Institute. 82 are Master degree students, 80 at ESM Business School and 8 at Asia and Africa Institute and there are 6 doctorate students pursuing Ph.D. degrees at Asia and Africa Institute.
ESM Business School – a total of 395 students enrolled in the academic year 2007/2008 which is 24 students more than the total of 371 students enrolled in the academic year 2006/2007.
Asia and Africa Institute – a total of 191 students enrolled in the academic year 2007/2008 which is 10 students less than the total of 201 students enrolled in the academic year 2006/2007.
“The total student body in the academic year 2007/2008 is 586 which is 14 students more than the total of 572 students enrolled in the academic year 2006/2007,” Bolkvadze told The FINANCIAL.
The cost of the BBA program at Caucasus School of Business is GEL 6,900; Dual BBA program – GEL 14,900; MBA program – USD 400 (equivalent in GEL per subject), a total of USD 800 (equivalent in GEL); CSB-GGSB Dual MBA Program – EUR 11,200. Certificate programs cost USD 450 (equivalent in GEL per course).
“The prices are dependent on the inflation rate in the country. Therefore if the rate of inflation in Georgia increases, the fees will increase. And on the other hand if inflation remains stable, then so too will the fees,” said Gugberidze.
In the 2007/2008 academic year the fees at Free University of Georgia, have been set up as follows: Annual tuition fee for Bachelors program: GEL 6,000 at ESM Business School and GEL 4,000 at Asia and Africa Institute; Two years fee for a Masters’ program: EUR 5,500 for an ESM Business School MBA, EUR 4,200 for an ESM MBA in IT, and GEL 8,000 for Asia and Africa MA.
The annual tuition fee for the Doctorate program is GEL 1,500 at Asia and Africa Institute. ESM Business School does not have a PhD program.
According to Bolkvadze, in the academic year 2008/2009 the fees will increase as follows:
Annual tuition fee for Bachelors program: GEL 6,900 at ESM and GEL 4,900 at Asia and Africa Institute.
Two years fee for a Masters’ program: EUR 6,300 for an ESM Business School MBA, EUR 5,000 for an ESM MBA in IT; GEL 5,000 for Asia and Africa MA.
Annual tuition fee for the Doctorate program: GEL 1,800 at Asia and Africa Institute.
At Georgian American University, prices are as follows: Master of Business administration – GEL 4,000, LLM – GEL 5,000, LLB/BBA – GEL 3,750, and PHD – GEL 5,250.
According to Chiaramonte, for September 2008 the BBA/LLB will cost GEL 4,500.
According to Gugberidze, the most important achievement of Caucasus University’s Caucasus School of Business in 2007 is the fact that they joined the Network of International Business and Economics Schools (NIBES), and therefore have widened the net of their international partners.
“Nowadays our students can study via exchange programs in almost every continent. Our newest partners through NIBES are as follows: Universidad Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia,” said Gugberidze.
“Caucasus University launched a new Joint Georgian-European LL.B Program within its School of Law. CU is also launching the new school- Caucasus School of Technology,” she added.
“With our affiliates we hope to promote the exchange of students, faculty, and programs to enhance the overall experience of the education,” said Dr. Chiaramonte.
“Our current affiliates include American University’s Washington College of Law and the Kogod Business School in Washington DC; Monash University in Melbourne Australia; Kiev’s Humanitarian Institute; and ISCID in France,” he added.
According to Chiaramonte, they are currently negotiating partnership agreements with affiliate business and law schools in North America — Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and Brock University in St Catherine’s Ontario, Canada.
In Chiaramonte’s words, agreements are also being negotiated with Open University situated outside of London, focusing on its expertise in distance learning, and with the University of Kent.
According to Bolkvadze, the most important achievement for ESM in 2007 has been the establishment of Free University, as noted above.
“Another noteworthy fact is that Free University of Tbilisi freshmen students received the highest average score of 1779 at the unified national exams in 2007. This is the best result shown country-wide in the last year,” said Bolkvadze.
“The competitive advantage of Caucasus University and namely its Caucasus School of Business is that our students are highly demanded on the labour market,” said Gugberidze, PR Manager of CSB.
“We provide our students with a friendly environment within the university, and make them feel comfortable. Their diploma is recognized, due to our CEEMAN (Central and Eastern European Management Development Association) accreditation, in Western countries as well as in Georgia,” she added.
According to Chiaramonte, the primary purpose of GAU is to maintain educational programs in business and law and to develop in its students higher levels of skill in analysis, comprehension, presentation, research, intellectual curiosity, and creativity.
“Our mission at GAU is to provide an education of the highest academic and ethical standards that is valuable to the business, legal and governmental communities – those Georgian and international organizations that will hire our graduating students. We maintain close relationships with those organizations through our external advisory board, internship programs, and our career placement centre,” stated Chiaramonte.
“Not limiting our affiliations to the West, we are also looking at affiliates in China and India with agreements already in place with TAPMI in Manipal, as our students must also understand the global challenges and opportunities from these rapidly developing economies,” he added.
According to Bolkvadze, they plan to introduce several innovations to students in 2008 which at the same time would be significant advantages offered to Free University of Tbilisi students.
“The innovations we plan to introduce are: Full scholarship, for the best three students accepted in 2008; Student loans on the best terms offered by Free University of Tbilisi to its 11 best student accepted in 2008; A new University facility remodelled and equipped according to the world’s highest educational standards,” declared Bolkvadze.
“Also we are planning a revised curriculum that would provide Free University undergraduate students with a broader choice through access to elective subjects offered by both Business School and Asia and Africa Institute thus allowing for synergy between the disciplines taught at these schools,” she added.
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