Mountbatten programmes are designed for recent university graduates with only a few years of professional experience. For details on specific areas of eligibility, please see the sections below. Please contact your admissions office with any questions or concerns you may have.

Education

A degree from a post-secondary academic institution outside the United States is required. Applications from current students are accepted provided the applicant is scheduled to graduate before beginning a Mountbatten programme. The Mountbatten Admissions team takes a holistic approach to each application, reviewing all aspects of a candidate's experience, education, references and personal achievements. Most applicants, however, have an undergraduate degree classified at 2.2 or above.

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Work Experience

Applicants must demonstrate a minimum of 12 months full-time professional (office/administrative) work experience to fulfill eligibility requirements.

• This work experience can be accumulated in several positions, and may have been acquired before, during, and/or after relevant academic studies.
• Work experience must be related to one of the areas we offer placements in: Finance, Event Management, HR, IT, Law, Marketing/Communications or Non-Profit.
• Voluntary/unpaid work can count towards the required 12 months.
• Retail, restaurant, bar/pub work cannot be counted.
• Work experience must be acquired outside of the US.

This is a non-negotiable requirement of the US State Department for the specific Trainee J-1 Visa offered to Mountbatten participants.

If you are unsure whether your experience meets these requirements, please contact your local admissions office providing information of your employment to date.

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Language Requirements

The Mountbatten Institute provides no English language training. Highly proficient verbal and written English language skills are required for both the classroom and the workplace. The ability to communicate clearly using professional English plays a significant role when interviewing for placement in London or New York. For candidates whose first language is not English, any of the following certificates or scores may be provided to serve as a guideline for proficiency to begin the application process:

1. IELTS (academic) 6.5 overall with not less than 5.5 in any section
2. TOEFL minimum 575 on paper-based and 90 on internet-based
3. Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
4. Cambridge Certificate Proficiency (CPE)
5. Test of English for Educational Purposes (TEEP)
6. GCSE English grade C or above
7. Pearson Test score of 58 for English Academic or Level 5 General
8. Higher Secondary exam with 55% or higher, in English (India)
9. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

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Nationality Requirements

New York programmes are open to all non-US citizens. Holders of dual nationality where one country is the US are not eligible to participate. While many Mountbatten candidates are UK or EU nationals, others will be from outside of Europe (e.g. Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia). If you are a non-UK or non-EU national, you should contact your local US embassy to find out more about immigration requirements and how J-1 visas are awarded and processed in your home country. You are also advised to contact the Admissions Team relevant to your location in London, New York, Bangkok or Sydney. Please note only the full MBA option, and not the PGC, is available to Canadian applicants at this time.

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Interviews

ALL applicants without exception must be interviewed in person. Australian and New Zealand based applicants are interviewed in Sydney, Australia (see How to Apply). Asian-based applicants will be interviewed in Bangkok, Bombay, Bangalore and New Delhi depending upon the number of qualified applicants. All others are interviewed in London. Exceptions to this practice are only made for applicants from Scotland and Ireland - if scheduling permits, and the numbers warrant, our recruiter will make ad hoc arrangements to interview these candidates only, in their home countries.

Applicants must make (and pay for) their own travel and accommodation arrangements for attending interviews. Thus applicants from outside Britain (or far from Sydney) should consider that there may be high costs involved in getting to the interview, with no guarantee of acceptance onto the Programme, and, if accepted, with no guarantee of placement in New York. (see Financial Information)

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Health Considerations

The internship year can be a stressful one, with multiple changes in your environment, and for some, a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. Applicants with any form of medical condition are advised to discuss the matter with our Admissions staff before applying. The Institute's medical insurance specifically excludes any pre-existing conditions and all mental and nervous disorders and applicants would need to cover the costs themselves. Treatment for such conditions can be extremely expensive, and, in our experience, generally uninsurable. The Institute is not able to offer any financial assistance in such cases and may ask you to demonstrate proof of ability to pay.

The Mountbatten Institute does accommodate people with physical disabilities where possible. However, Mountbatten's sponsoring companies are under no obligation to accept foreign applicants with medical conditions or disabilities, and we cannot accept you if you are not offered a placement. Furthermore, the Institute has limited resources for coping with special medical requirements as outlined above.

Mountbatten generally reserves the right to terminate the internship of, and repatriate, anyone who is unable to comply with the rigors, demands and all of the requirements of the programme: this would apply particularly to those who did not properly disclose a potentially disbarring medical or physical condition prior to joining the Programme, if that condition subsequently became an issue during the year.

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Prior J-1 Visa Restrictions

Some J-1 visa programmes (such as those that receive US Government agency funding) are subject to a 2 year home residency requirement. This means that if you have already participated on such a programme you may not subsequently participate in the Mountbatten Programme for a period of 2 years following the termination of your first J-1 programme.

Other J-1 visa programmes (including the Mountbatten Programme) are not subject to the 2 year residency requirement. If you happen to have participated on one of these programmes you would still be eligible to apply for Mountbatten.

Mountbatten cannot advise you on whether other programmes are subject to this restriction or not. If you have previously been to the USA on a J-1 visa programme, you should contact that programme yourself to ascertain your status before applying to Mountbatten. You can get an idea of your status by looking at your DS-2019. However you should not rely solely on that document because a clerical error in this regard would have no bearing on your actual eligibility.

An important part of Mountbatten's philosophy is that all participants leave the USA after their work placement to practice and develop what they have learned in the USA back in their home country. Mountbatten does not encourage transfers within the USA to other J-1 programmes or to any other type of US Visa.

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Marital Status - Other Relationships

Mountbatten stresses personal and independent development. Partners, siblings and best friends should not apply as a unit or with a view to living in the same building, or attending classes together. The Mountbatten Institute cannot provide living accommodation or bursaries for spouses or dependent children nor are they eligible for visas.

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