Business this autumn.

Those who start this year will be able to receive their Masters degree by the spring of 1998.

Programme director Dara Van Dijk told The Royal Gazette : "With international business being so important to Bermuda's economy, we wanted to provide a curriculum which would enable the student to examine and understand the complexities and processes involved in the international business community.'' She noted that the course work will provide exposure to the "historical, legal, political and economic factors that are key elements in a study of the subject''.

Mrs. Van Dijk also pointed out that all courses at the local Webster University site -- above The Marine Locker on Gorham Road in Pembroke -- were taught in a "flexible format of convenient evening hours''.

"We bring the instructors, textbooks, and registration paperwork to Bermuda so that the student does not have to travel off the Island to pursue a US Master's degree,'' she added.

Webster University, formerly located on the former US Naval Base in St.

David's, has been in Bermuda for 15 years.

It offers Master of Arts degrees in Management, Finance, and Human Resources Development. It no longer offers a Master of Business Administration degree which many Bermudians earned by attending classes at the base.