SALEM, MA. -- There are two MBA candidates at Salem State College this semester whose "commute" is over 3,600 miles. Their home is in France, but they are pursuing graduate degrees at Salem State.

Eric Villedieu De Torcy and Jerome Casamatta normally attend graduate classes at Le Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier in France. But this semester they are studying business at Salem State as part of the Double Diploma Agreement between the two institutions. The agreement is the result of a "Memorandum of Understanding on International Programs" signed in 1996 by Salem State President Nancy Harrington and Dr. Didier Jourdan, president of the Montpellier Graduate School of Commerce.

The finalized Double Diploma Agreement, which was signed in Summer of 2001, allows Salem State students to experience college life at Le Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier in France, while allowing students from France to experience campus life at Salem State.

It also will result in graduate degrees from both educational institutions. "We've been negotiating and developing this program for six years," said Dr. Massoud Farahbakhsh, Executive Director of Center for International Business and Economic Studies and Professor of Business at SSC. "The students must meet the other institution's requirements in order to get both Diplomas."

"The intercultural exchange gives the students a better understanding of doing business in other countries and environments," continued Farahbakhsh. "It also teaches them how to deal with one another as human beings from different cultural backgrounds."

Salem State has not enrolled any of its students at Le Group de Co Montpellier yet. However, Farahbakhsh pointed out that the "Memorandum of Understanding" has resulted in a group of Salem State students and faculty studying and teaching at the French institution in Summer of 1999. Several faculty members also presented papers at different conferences that were sponsored by Sup de Co Montpellier in France as a result of the Agreement.