School of Business Launches Undergraduate Dual Degree Program

School of Business Launches Undergraduate Dual Degree Program

Dual Degrees program in School of Business

The University of San Diego School of Business has launched new undergraduate dual degree programs with Dublin City University in Dublin, Ireland, and ICADE at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain, both of which begin fall 2016.

The dual-degree programs allow students to complete half of their courses at USD and the other half at the partner university. Once they have completed all of the degree requirements to graduate (generally in the normal time it would take to complete an undergraduate business degree) students can graduate with a business degree from USD and the partner university.

“I am excited about the opportunity to partner with these two universities,” says Stephen Conroy, associate dean for undergraduate programs. “Dublin City University provides students with a valuable international, cross-cultural experience in a growing, vibrant city with close proximity to the United Kingdom and continental Europe. Comillas Pontifical University is an outstanding Catholic university located in Madrid and has been a long-term partner with USD.”

These programs were initiated in spring 2016 as part of USD’s membership in the International Partnership of Business Schools (IPBS). A signature component of the IPBS dual-degree programs is that students must complete an internship in each country. This provides an opportunity for students to apply their business knowledge in real companies while gaining valuable international cultural experience.

“Our long-standing relationship with Comillas Pontifical University made them an obvious choice for us to partner with in this exciting endeavor,” says Denise Dimon, associate provost for international affairs. “The internship experience in both countries makes both these programs an even more valuable opportunity for our students.”

IPBS is a consortium of 12 leading business schools in Europe, the United States and Latin America. In addition to Dublin, Madrid and San Diego, the partner schools are located in Lancaster (United Kingdom), Reims/Rouen (France), Reutlingen (Germany), Piacenza (Italy), Puebla (Mexico), and Sao Paulo (Brazil) as well as Boston, Mass., and Raleigh, N.C., in the United States.

The IPBS partners offer undergraduate programs that grant double degrees, require study in two countries and promote language and cultural fluency along with business aptitude. The program helps develop a lifelong cross-cultural international community of business and management students, alumni, professors, researchers and staff.

“The dual degree opportunities in the School of Business are a great resource for truly building international acumen,” says Renda Quinn, director of USD’s Parent Relations. “It is a program that I imagine many parents would find attractive for their students. Students will have a unique life-changing experience that will ultimately be value-added post-graduation, gaining an international sophistication that is appealing to employers.”

“USD’s business students are both extremely entrepreneurial and focused on acquiring international business skills that will uniquely differentiate them in the 21st century marketplace,” says Jaime Alonso Gómez, dean of the USD School of Business. “Our new dual degree program will provide unprecedented opportunities to do this. We’re excited to offer such value-added experiences for our students.”

Based on the initial feasibility of these programs, the School of Business has initiated discussions with representatives from John Cabot University, an American liberal arts university in Rome, Italy, to offer another dual degree option.

— Amy Schmitz