The 60 students who enroll in BYU Marriott’s Business Fundamentals in Europe study abroad don’t just get a taste of life in Paris, Rome, and London. Instead, they get to feast on these destinations as they spend three weeks in each city touring companies, visiting cultural sites, and completing required courses for all BYU Marriott majors and several minors.
The unique design of this nine-week experience, held during spring term, offers an up-close look at international business and helps students identify what piques their interest within the business school.
“Most of our business school study abroad programs are a ‘moving buffet,’ with students staying just a short time in each city, then moving on,” explains executive director of the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) Bruce Money. He pioneered the program’s structure—rotating cohorts of roughly 20 students through each city on a three-week cycle—to give students a “more immersive experience.”
Wyatt Parkinson, a 2022 participant from Lehi, Utah, found this pace ideal. “You can take a recovery day without missing out,” he says, “and you don’t lose the magic of each country.”
Brooklyn Lowe, a student from Kuna, Idaho, who participated in 2023, also loved taking a deeper dive into each city. “By the last week, you know all your favorites, like the pastry place we always went to during our class breaks,” she says. “Plus, you have enough time to enjoy the classes.”
While many study abroad courses are designed for students further along in their majors, the classes in this program—taught by BYU Marriott professors—prepare students for their majors. “This program really has impact because the vast majority of students are early in their college careers,” explains Jonathon Wood, the GBC’s managing director.
Parkinson experienced this benefit firsthand. He wasn’t sure which BYU Marriott program he wanted to apply to—until he arrived in Rome, started his first supply chain class, and fell in love with it. From that point on, “no matter what city or what country I was in, I could see the common factor: how supply chain can influence for good,” Parkinson says. “That solidified it for me. This is what I want to do.”
Lowe was similarly inspired by a business visit to Burnley Football Club. “I saw how the team and the business were using data, analytics, and other marketing tools to improve the community,” says Lowe, who applied to and was accepted into the marketing program while in Europe. “It all connected for me.”
By the end of their time abroad, students head home not only with a handful of passport stamps but also with fresh ideas for their future and a focused plan for how the business school can lead them there. “Seasoned BYU Marriott faculty teaching core classes overseas—it can put students on a pathway that leads to their future career,” Wood says. “It can change their whole trajectory.”
Written by Shannon Keeley
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This article was published in BYU Marriott's 2023 Annual Report, pages 10.