Every Full-Time MBA to Get Scholarship for Darden Worldwide Courses

Every full-time MBA student in Virginia University’s Darden School of Business will soon be able to get a scholarship to attend the Darden Worldwide course at no incremental cost.

This will be made possible with the unveiling of the new Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarship program on March 12, 2018. A $15 million gift from the Batten Foundation has unlocked a matching gift from UVA’s Bicentennial Scholars Fund.

This $30 million endowment will ultimately provide every student in Darden’s full-time MBA program a scholarship, according to University of Virginia’s blog UVA today.

Darden Worldwide courses are one- to two-week courses led by the school faculty outside the United States in January, March and May. Each course provides the opportunity to visit a different country and experience its business practices and cultures first-hand.

These include classes with practitioner presentations as well as onsite visits to companies, governmental agencies and cultural sites. Several Darden Worldwide courses include hands-on consulting with local businesses.

Recently, the courses have been held in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. Darden alumni are sometimes invited to join in these excursions.

“Thanks to the Batten Foundation gift and matching funds from the UVA Bicentennial Scholars Fund, Darden will have the support to fulfil its aspiration for 100% of full-time MBA students to complete a significant global learning experience outside Charlottesville during their time at the School,”

“We are incredibly grateful to the Batten Foundation for enabling this game-changing opportunity,” Darden Dean Scott Beardsley said.

“This gift will have a major impact on Darden. It makes the school more affordable and global, and gives students the opportunity to explore the world in which they will be tomorrow’s leaders,” he added.

In recent years, Darden has significantly increased its offering of Darden Worldwide courses – faculty-led courses of typically seven to 10 days. Over the past two years, student participation in courses outside the U.S. has more than doubled.

This spring, students will have the option to choose from 14 courses on five continents, including courses exploring business in uncertain economic environments in Argentina, artificial intelligence and robotics in Germany, and government’s influence on business in China, among others.

During the courses, students visit local companies, educators and officials, gaining hands-on experiences in new business environments and cultures guided by a Darden faculty member.

“Thanks to the Batten Foundation gift and matching funds from the UVA Bicentennial Scholars Fund, Darden will have the support to fulfil its aspiration for 100% of full-time MBA students to complete a significant global learning experience outside Charlottesville during their time at the School,” Beardsley said.

The Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarships will have an immediate impact on the MBA Class of 2020, which will arrive in August. For these incoming students, the gift, combined with other philanthropy and Darden investment, will allow the School to award a scholarship to every student in the class that will cover fees for a Darden Worldwide course if it is not already funded.

When the Batten Foundation gift is fully funded in 2020, the scholarships will cover course fees and most travel costs for every Darden full-time MBA student to participate in a global experience.

The $15 million gift from the Batten Foundation, a Virginia-based private foundation, was matched 100% by the University’s Bicentennial Scholars Fund, a new giving initiative created through UVA’s Strategic Investment Fund. UVA’s Board of Visitors established the Bicentennial Scholars Fund to play a crucial role in making education accessible and affordable for students from all backgrounds, regardless of their financial situations.

The Foundation gift is equal to the largest match to date from the fund. UVA’s Board of Visitors allocated a total of $100 million toward the fund to match major gifts supporting student scholarships.

The gift is also the largest to the Darden School since the Batten family established the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation through a $60 million gift in 1999.

“With this inspired gift, thousands of Darden students will be able to personally experience and better understand the world. The Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarships will ensure that our students are prepared to serve as distinctive leaders defined by global sophistication, entrepreneurial orientation and action-based responsibility, in the workplace and beyond,” Beardsley said.