The Huntsman Program
Follow a clear step-by-step framework to write essays that highlight your academic interests and fit with the university.
The Huntsman Program
1. Tell us about your background and interest in the target language you selected. (50-125 words)
Step 1: Pick a clean narrative arc
Use a simple arc that fits the word count:
- Origin: how you first connected to the language (family, community, travel, media, curiosity, a moment).
- Engagement: how you’ve pursued it (classes, self-study, conversation, work, reading, tutoring, cultural involvement).
- Direction: why you want to keep going (what you want to be able to do with it academically/professionally/culturally).
Step 2: Prove it with one specific detail
One detail signals authenticity fast:
- a situation where you used it (helping a customer, translating, hosting, tutoring, navigating)
- a specific kind of content you engage (news, novels, music analysis, podcasts, films)
- a particular challenge you’re working through (speaking confidence, dialects, writing)
Step 3:Make it forward-facing
End with what you want the language to unlock: research access, relationship-building, fieldwork, business negotiation, community work, policy engagement.
Step 4: Avoid
- “I love the culture” with no substance
- a list of classes and tests
- claiming fluency if you can’t back it up
The Huntsman Program supports the development of globally-minded scholars who become engaged citizens, creative innovators, and ethical leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the United States and around the world. What draws you to a dual degree in international studies and business, and how would you use what you learn to address a global issue where these two domains intersect? (400-600 words)
Step 1: Define the intersection in one sentence
Write an opening line that includes:
- the global issue
- why it sits at the intersection of international studies + business
- the kind of impact you want to pursue
Template: “I’m drawn to Huntsman because the global problem I care most about, ___, can’t be solved by policy or markets alone; it requires understanding ___ (institutions/culture/politics) and designing ___ (business models/incentives/supply chains/finance) that make better outcomes sustainable.”
Step 2: Pick one global issue with a clear “business + international” mechanism
Good issue categories (choose one you can make specific):
- supply chain labor rights and enforcement across borders
- energy transition and affordability in emerging markets
- global health access (distribution, trust, pricing, regulation)
- migration, remittances, and financial inclusion
- food security and trade shocks
- water scarcity and infrastructure financing
- misinformation incentives across platforms and political systems
- climate risk and insurance/finance in vulnerable regions
- critical minerals and geopolitical dependencies
Your issue needs:
- stakeholders (governments, firms, workers, consumers, NGOs)
- cross-border complexity (regulation, culture, geopolitics)
- incentives and tradeoffs (cost, compliance, access, growth, stability)
Step 3: Provide 2 credibility anchors from your experience
You need proof you’ve already started thinking/acting here.
Pick two:
- language/cultural immersion
- work experience (business, nonprofit, public sector)
- research or a school project
- community involvement tied to the issue
- leadership that required cross-perspective coordination
For each, don’t narrate your life. Extract the lesson:
“I learned that ___, which made me realize ___.”
Step 4: Explain why the dual degree is necessary, not just interesting
This is the core: show you understand why one degree alone is insufficient.
Business side examples (what you might need):
- incentives, pricing, finance, operations, scaling, measurement, strategy
- International studies side examples:
institutions, political economy, history, security, law, culture, diplomacy, ethics
Then connect them:
“I want to pair ___ with ___ so I can ___.”
Step 5: Describe how you’d use Huntsman specifically
Don’t praise. Describe actions and outputs:
- How you’ll use the language for academic work (research sources, fieldwork, interviews, negotiation).
- How you’ll use business training to design or evaluate solutions (a model, a venture, a finance mechanism, a supply chain intervention, a policy-business partnership).
- What kind of collaborative work you want (cross-sector teams, public-private partnerships, ethical decision-making).
Step 6: End with a realistic “use what you learn” plan
The best endings name:
- a plausible professional direction (cross-border consulting, development finance, global health operations, sustainable supply chain strategy, impact investing, trade/industrial policy work with private-sector partnerships)
- the kind of outcomes you want to drive (measurable, not heroic)
- the role you’ll play (translator, analyst, builder, negotiator)
Step 7: A clean 400–600 word structure
- 80–120 words: issue + why it requires both domains (thesis)
- 160–220 words: two experience anchors + what they taught you about the issue
- 140–200 words: why the dual degree is necessary (tools from each side, integrated)
- 80–140 words: how you’ll use what you learn (outputs + direction)
Step 8: Avoid
- generic “global citizen” language with no mechanics
- saving-the-world promises
- naming lots of programs without what you’d do
- treating business as “profit” and international studies as “culture” (too shallow)
If you keep it tight, the reader should finish thinking: “This person has a real global issue, understands the incentives and institutions involved, and wants Huntsman because the dual degree is the correct tool, not just a shiny credential.”
