Overview

Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University is the world’s premier institution for global leadership, management, and business education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but we are much more than a school. Thunderbird is also a global network of leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs across the private and public sectors who advance the School’s vision of inclusive and sustainable prosperity worldwide. Now a part of Arizona State University, Thunderbird brings the world’s No. 1 ranked Master’s in Management to the nation’s No. 1 “Most Innovative School” (U.S. News & World Report).

The Thunderbird Mystique

The mystique of the Thunderbird School of Global Management student and alumni network revolves around a deep-seated sense of global camaraderie and professional excellence that transcends traditional educational bonds. Graduates of Thunderbird are renowned for their international business acumen, cultural intelligence, and a shared ethos of fostering global prosperity and understanding. This network is not just a professional fraternity but a vibrant, supportive community characterized by lifelong friendships, collaborative ventures, and a commitment to making a positive impact worldwide.

The mystique lies in its ability to connect students and alumni across diverse industries and geographies, creating a unique and influential global tribe dedicated to driving change and innovation on an international scale.

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Our Vision

Thunderbird School of Global Management advances inclusive, sustainable prosperity, and peace worldwide.

Why Thunderbird?

Learn why Thunderbird is the vanguard or global leadership and management education.

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Image of an alumni standing in front of the Thunderbird School of Global Management's Thunderbird logo at the Pub in the new Global Headquarters.

Our Worldwide Community

Thunderbird’s worldwide community of graduates is uniquely equipped to make a difference in this era of rapid change and disruption. The School leverages the resources and talent of our alumni to guide, advocate and support the achievement of our collective mission.


Thunderbird offers our alumni the opportunity to future-proof their skills through lifelong learning opportunities and by connecting them with each other in a global network of experts. 

Our Regional Centers of Excellence

With a rapidly expanding network of satellite Centers of Excellence in all regions, Thunderbird delivers cutting-edge and fit-for-purpose programs across the globe. Our network of Centers of Excellence from Los Angeles to Tokyo, provides a truly global presence that sets Thunderbird apart by facilitating academic offerings in major commercial centers around the world, connecting and engaging our worldwide alumni network, and supporting international recruiting.

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Dubai COE
Vintage image of pilot in a propeller plane on Thunderbird School of Global Management's old headquarters.

The Evolution of Thunderbird

Thunderbird 1.0: Founded in 1946 on the grounds of a deactivated airbase (Thunderbird Field No. 1), Thunderbird was the first graduate management school focused on global business.


Thunderbird 2.0: The 1960s proved to be a time of global expansion for the institution. Thunderbird enjoyed steady growth and with that came a sense of identity in the world of international business education.


Thunderbird 3.0: By the 1980s, Thunderbird had risen to become a major player in the corporate and academic arenas, ranking No. 1 in the world for international management.


Thunderbird. 4.0: In 2014, Thunderbird joined Arizona State University, bringing the world’s No.1 ranked Master of Global Management program under the umbrella of the university ranked the No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. With a new global headquarters on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus and Centers of Excellence around the world, Thunderbird is now strategically focused on delivering the world’s finest leadership and management education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Our History

Thunderbird has trained global leaders and managers for over 75 years. Originally known as the American Institute for Foreign Trade, Thunderbird was chartered on April 8, 1946, at a World War II airbase in Glendale, Arizona called Thunderbird Field, where pilots from around the world came for training during wartime. General Barton Kyle Yount obtained the airfield with the express purpose of developing a school for professionals focused exclusively on international trade and global affairs. The guiding principle established at Thunderbird’s founding is best summarized in a phrase coined by original faculty member Dr. William Lytle Schurz, “Borders frequented by trade seldom need soldiers.”

Thunderbird became the world’s first-ever higher education institution to focus exclusively on international leadership by concentrating its curriculum on global management and business skills, international political economy and regional business environments, languages and cross-cultural communications. The School has often been called a “mini-United Nations” because of its diverse and inclusive global student body. Thunderbird is now known worldwide for its vast and engaged alumni network of more than 50,000 graduates in nearly 150 nations around the globe. Thunderbird has more than 170 alumni chapters that meet regularly in 70 countries.

In 2014, Thunderbird became a unit of the Arizona State University enterprise, combining Thunderbird’s multi-decade heritage of developing global leaders with ASU’s expansive resources. The School relocated to ASU’s vibrant Downtown Phoenix (Arizona, USA) campus in 2018. The move brought the world’s No. 1 ranked Master’s in Management (WSJ/THE) under the umbrella of the nation’s No. 1 ranked school for innovation (U.S. News & World Report). Thunderbird is repeatedly the No. 1 school in the world for international trade by QS International Trade Rankings (2023, 2024), and ranking ahead of Harvard, Penn (Wharton) and IMD.

Ushering in the Thunderbird 4.0 era, is the newly opened F. Francis & Dionne Najafi Thunderbird Global Headquarters building, spanning 110,000 square feet over five floors on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. The building is designed to bring the world’s leading technology directly to the hands of Thunderbird students and faculty. The facility enables students to connect with the world and experience what they seek to learn and study in real-time.

Thunderbird’s global footprint has also grown over the years as well, with operations now in Geneva, Dubai, Tokyo, Seoul, Nairobi, Jakarta, and nearly 15 others, Thunderbird’s Center of Excellence regional offices ensure that the School is now the world’s first truly “global multinational business school,” committed to training the next generation of global leaders.

As the world continues innovating, and technology changes the way we live and work, Thunderbird is developing nimble, ethical, global leaders who can seize the opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution to create sustainable prosperity worldwide.

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