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This fall, the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver will implement a new curriculum designed to provide graduate students with hands-on business experience in the real world. In a recent Denver Post article, Elrie LaBrent “Brent” Chrite, the school’s Dean, writes, “Instead of completing a series of traditional courses to complete a degree, Denver MBA students will compete in four challenges, including building a start-up, supporting an organization working for the social good, solving a corporate problem and traveling outside the U.S. to work across cultures.”
DU’s innovative program contains striking similarities with programs at Young Americans Center. As an organization devoted to providing real life experiences and hands-on programs to help youth learn financial education, Young Americans is thrilled to explore how DU’s program mirrors and validates our own curriculum.
MBA program participants begin their studies by creating and perfecting a business pitch. Young Americans offers two programs for youth that provide similar learning. YouthBiz StartUp participants, ranging in age from 12-18, create their business plans and pitches in a 10-week curriculum. Campers in the Be Your Own Boss summer camp take on this task as 11-year-olds, albeit simplified, in a week of intensive study. Besides learning about being an entrepreneur, youth gain confidence, practice teamwork, and think creatively.
Another component of DU’ 
s MBA curriculum provides students with international business experience. At Young Americans Center, International Towne enables 6th and 7th graders to work in a foreign country for a day. Students experience different business customs, practice currency exchange, and learn about how countries rely on each other for resources and trade.
Business students at DU also work in groups to solve a problem or to create more value for a real business. Young AmeriTowne participants do this every day when they visit Young Americans Center. They decide how to advertise their products and compete for customers and they learn how to budget their time and money.
Through its overhauled business school curriculum, DU hopes that graduates will be even more prepared for a successful career in business. Not only does Young Americans strive to prepare youth prepare for a successful career, but we also hope to prepare youth for a successful future.
About University of Denver
The University of Denver is a long-time partner of Young Americans Center. Established in 1864, just a few years after the city of Denver was founded, DU became one of the first universities in the nation to add an ethics curriculum to its College of Business. In 1994 the business school was named the Daniels College of Business honoring cable pioneer Bill Daniels, who also founded Young Americans. The University of Denver currently supports the Young AmeriTowne College at our Denver location and the Celebration of Young Entrepreneurs gala and business competition. With its emphasis on ethics, experiential education and social responsibility for over 150 years, DU’s partnership with Young Americans Center fits right along this mission!
