UVA Darden Introduces 10 New Courses

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business will debut 10 new courses in the 2023-24 academic year.

New courses will consider a variety of topics, including supply chain issues, the media industry and data-driven consumer insights, among other topics.

Specific courses include:

“Business and Transformation in the Southern Region of the US”

Taught by Professor Greg Fairchild. Through the course, students will have the opportunity to explore a different economic and social context within the United States than they may be familiar with and understand the ways that business plays a role in driving forward progress and change on many dimensions.

“Consumer Insights in a Data-Driven World”

Taught by Professor Zhihao Zhang. In this course, through real-world examples and case studies in marketing and beyond, students will learn how to build an analytical mindset for understanding consumers through data, going from the initial formulation of business questions that are answerable with data, through careful, critical collection and examination of data, to the translation from data-driven insights to effective decision-making.

“Disruptive Strategy: Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise”

Taught by Professor Rory McDonald. The course introduces a series of theoretical frameworks for navigating critical moments in enterprise growth and will prove valuable to students who anticipate managing, advising, or investing in any of a variety of organizations — from category-creating startups to industry-leading incumbents.

“Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition”

Taught by Professor Les Alexander. The course provides students with an introduction to the process of searching for a company, valuing a small business, structuring a deal, negotiating with a seller, completing due diligence, obtaining debt and equity financing, and closing the transaction to become the CEO of their own business.

“Healthcare Marketing”

Taught by Marc Ruggiano. In this course, students will explore marketing challenges and opportunities in several major areas of healthcare, examine similarities and differences between marketing in healthcare and in other sectors, and learn to apply traditional marketing strategy and tactics in novel ways that embrace the differences that exist between the marketing of health and care and in other sectors.

“Marketing and Society”

Taught by Professor Serena Hagerty. The course explores the influence of marketing on individuals and society more broadly, and students will discuss the role that managers and consumers can play in leveraging marketing resources to advance a good cause, create a socially desirable behavioral change, or to enhance their own well-being.

“Media & Entertainment Business”

Taught by Professor Anthony Palomba. The course is designed to help students increase their media literacy, deepen their knowledge about media and entertainment industries, gain critical analytical skills specific to analyzing media data, and design media and business strategies for media and entertainment emerging business models and dynamic customer bases.

“Strategic Sourcing”

Taught by Professor Dwaipayan Roy. This course explores how sourcing can help organizations to improve their performance on multiple dimensions and differentiate themselves from their competitors, ultimately leading to sustained competitive advantage.

“User Experience”

Taught by Professor Tatiana Batova. This course is designed to help future business leaders harness the power of user experience (UX) as a strategic factor in the success of digital products and technologies. It underscores the importance of centering research and development around user behaviors and needs, highlighting how UX drives crucial business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, product adoption, and brand loyalty — key factors in avoiding wasteful investment in underutilized solutions.

“Writing for Impact & Influence”

Taught by Steve Soltis.  In this course, students will be immersed in intimate, hands-on writing instruction focused on contemporary communication channels and tools most widely used in today’s workplace.