UVA Darden Announces Global Courses for 2019–20 Academic Year, Record Student Participation

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced 18 Darden Worldwide courses for the 2019–20 academic year, including new courses to Australia, India, South Africa and Kenya.

Each year at Darden, global academic opportunities are offered in more than two dozen countries around the world. When the Class of 2019 graduated in May, a record 85 percent of full-time MBA students had participated in at least one global academic program, up from 79 percent for the Class of 2018, and 40 percent of the class participated in more than one offering.

Thanks to the Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarship program, which covers the course fee for a global course for all full-time MBA students, First Year participation in a global course rose to 72 percent from 66 percent the previous year. A total of 425 students participated in Darden Worldwide course in the 2018–19 academic year.

“After a week in Shanghai, I realized that the growth of Tier 3 and 4 cities in China render the country’s markets far more complex, interesting, and ripe for business opportunity and innovation than I previously thought,” said Carissa Sanchez (Class of 2020), who participated in the “Exploring How China Influences the Conduct of Business Within China and Internationally” Darden Worldwide Course. “These discoveries motivate me to continue learning about China’s business world and finding ways to contribute to it.”

Darden Worldwide courses are categorized as either global immersion, global topic or kaizen courses. This year, 12 global immersion courses will allow students to explore a particular location through a variety of company visits, guest speakers and unique cultural opportunities. The five global topic courses will allow students to learn about a particular topic best enhanced by the global setting, such as studying leadership lessons from World War II in Normandy, France, or design thinking amid the art and architecture of Barcelona, Spain.

Darden will offer three new global immersion courses and one new global topic course this year:

• “Culture and International Business Expansion” in Australia, led by Professor Shane Dikolli
• “Addressing Tough Problems in Business and Society” in India, led by Professor Marc Modica
• “Economic Growth and Opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa: The Influence of Education, Health Care and Entrepreneurship” in Kenya, led by Dr. Paul Matherne, vice chair for clinical affairs and associate chief medical officer at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital
• “The Business of Conservation” in South Africa, led by Dean Scott Beardsley

Below, view highlights from Darden’s 2018–19 Darden Worldwide courses: