The Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota announces breakthrough changes in its undergraduate business curriculum, including a mandatory international experience for all incoming undergraduate students in fall of 2008 as part of their four-year degree.

"In the business world, the global economy is growing, and there is an influx of careers that cross borders. It is essential to develop global citizens and broaden their skills and knowledge about the world," said Dean Alison Davis-Blake.

The details of the requirement are still being worked out, said Anne D'Angelo King, assistant dean of International Programs. They may include credit and non-credit options, as well as short- and long-term study abroad programs and internships.

The Carlson School currently offers several study abroad options for students, including seven short-term global enrichment courses and 15 semester exchanges, as well as several other opportunities in collaboration with the University of Minnesota's Learning Abroad Center. New short-term global enrichment courses for undergraduates in the spring of 2008 include opportunities to study entrepreneurship in Shanghai and Beijing, China; and logistics and supply-chain management in Madrid and Zaragoza, Spain.

During the 2006-2007 school year, 219 undergraduate Carlson School students studied abroad, up 321 percent from 52 study abroad students in the 1997-1998 school year, according to Mary Maus-Kosir, assistant dean of the Undergraduate program. Carlson School staff will raise scholarship dollars so students can meet the requirement and graduate within four years.

In addition to the international requirement, the Carlson School added a public/nonprofit management major this fall, and will add a contemporary management course for freshmen and an immersion core set of classes in students' sophomore year, beginning next fall.

New students like Tommy DeMarco couldn't be more pleased with the curriculum enhancements. "When I started to think about business as a career choice, I knew I wanted to use my business education to help society," said DeMarco, a Carlson School freshman. "I also knew I wanted to study international business. Knowing that the Carlson School values international experience and is offering a non-profit major made this school the clear choice for me."

Most changes are planned in conjunction with the opening of the Carlson School's new Undergraduate facility, Herbert M. Hanson Jr. Hall in September of 2008.

"Our Undergraduate program is undergoing a great renovation on the inside and out," said Alison Davis-Blake, dean of the Carlson School of Management. "When Hanson Hall opens, we will have a very different undergraduate experience, both physically and intellectually. And we will be well on our way to becoming the premier undergraduate business program in the country."