MBA - Area Focus Electives - Sustainability

Electives

Darden offers numerous elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making. Coursework includes tools essential for developing a successful sustainability strategy such as stakeholder engagement and systems thinking. A sample of Darden second year electives are provided below, with hyperlinks to descriptions. These courses also count toward the Innovation for Sustainability concentration.

• Business and Climate Change
• Business Ethics through Literature
• Business-Government Relations
• Global Economics of Water
• Impact Investing
• Thinking of a Master Plan: Non-Profit Management, Metrics & Impact Making in the Field
• Managing Sustainability from the Inside Out
• Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Policy
• Leadership, Diversity and Leveraging Differences
• Societal Issues in Business
• Strategic Corporate Governance
• Transforming Societies
• Understanding the Non-Profit Sector

Several Darden Global Learning Opportunities incorporate sustainability themes including:

• Brazil - Technology and Sustainability in Business
• Costa Rica - Sustainability and Ecotourism
• Sweden — Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability
• South Africa — Lessons from South Africa on Public-Private Sector Cooperation to Grow an Economy

Please note: courses are subject to change each year. Consult the course directory for the most up-to-date course offerings.

Net Impact at Darden

Net Impact is dedicated to using the power of business to positively impact social, environmental and economic concerns across the world.
 

Impact Investing Club

Darden's Impact Investing Club is a student-run venture fund that partners with and supports innovative for-profit enterprises focused on generating financial and social or environmental returns. 

Energy Club

The Darden Energy Club connects the Darden community with the resources, advice, and contacts to learn about the industry and successfully pursue their career in traditional or new energy sources. 

Business Ethics at Darden Club

The Business Ethics at Darden Club strives to promote awareness, encourage discussion, and prompt action at the intersection of business and ethics at Darden and beyond. 

Mobility Club

Food and Ag Club

Darden Nonprofit Internship Fund (DNIF)

DNIF is a student-funded program that helps First Year students defray summer living expenses while pursuing low-paying internships in the nonprofit and social sectors.
 

Community Consultants at Darden

This student organization performs pro-bono consulting engagements in the Charlottesville community.
 

Darden Capital Management

Darden students manage $8M of the School’s endowment through five funds. One of the funds, the Rotunda Fund, is explicitly guided by sustainability investment criteria.

View the full list of Darden student organizations.

In the following video, students and faculty discuss Darden's approach to teaching sustainability, as well as experiences in mission-driven MBA internships and career opportunities:

JULIA JAMES (MBA ’12)

Undergraduate education: Harvard University
Undergraduate major: Environmental Science and Public Policy
Company: Deloitte
Role: Senior Consultant, Commercial Strategy & Operations

“The case method style of learning and participating in the Net Impact case competition have been good preparation for working in consulting. In addition, my experiences in learning team and the classroom have made me more comfortable contributing in a team environment.”
 

PATTY FOGLESONG (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: University of Notre Dame (MS from UNC-Chapel Hill)
Undergraduate major: Geological Sciences (MS in Geological Sciences)
Company: National Park Service
Role: Business Management Specialist, Intermountain Region
Current location: Denver, CO

“Darden gave me the skills and the confidence to begin making a valuable contribution to my organization on day one. As the only MBA on my team, I have unique expertise to share. As the newest person on my team, I have much to learn about the culture and history of my organization. Darden taught me to ask good and relevant questions as well as to explain new concepts to facilitate learning and collaboration within my team.”
 

WILL TEICHMAN (MBA ’09)

Undergraduate education: Washington and Lee University
Undergraduate major: Economics and Politics, Certificate in Environmental Studies
Company: Kimco Realty Corporation
Role: Director of Sustainability
Current location: Charlotte, NC

“Darden gave me a broader understanding of the elements that make a business sustainable over the long-term. I discovered that sustainability isn't just about checking the boxes on a handful of environmental or social initiatives — it's about making decisions today that will ensure that the business will be around for its customers, employees, and shareholders for years to come. The Darden experience — rigorous case prep, spirited classroom discussions, a tight-knit student population, and world class faculty — gave me a bias toward action that I rely upon every day in my work.”