News Oxford Summer Program Celebrates 35 Years
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rom meeting Prince Charles to learning about global business, students of the Georgetown McDonough School of Business have benefited from Georgetown’s Oxford Summer Program. Since 1976, Georgetown sophomores and juniors have studied at the legendary Oxford University, the oldest English-speaking university in
the world, with a teaching history dating back to 1096. During the six-week program, students live on the campus of the historic Trinity College and participate in the Comparative Strategic Management Program, which compares business functions in Great Britain, Western Europe, and the United States. A main part of the curriculum involves
Students at the Trinity College gates (2010)
site visits to leading British firms, including Goldman Sachs, the Bank of England, and the MINI Cooper automobile plant, to experience global business and intercultural exchange firsthand. “Our students are living and learning in another country and experiencing the culture from within their educational system as well as outside it through everyday experiences,” says Jackie Hoell, director of the program. “They become more independent and are better able to manage their lives.” “I enjoyed experiencing English culture and becoming close with other Georgetown students who were, like me, passionate about finance and international business,” says senior Bonjean Koo (BSBA ’12). Students also interact with London’s Georgetown alumni. “Half of the site visits are sponsored by alumni working in London,” says Hoell. “In 2010, we had our first visit to Bain & Company’s office in London, which alumnus Michael Garstka (SFS ’84) hosted.”
Punting on the Churwell River (2009)
Alumni consistently report that the program was one of their college highlights. Gerald Chiariello (BSBA ’89), a New York attorney who spent the summer of 1988 in the Oxford Summer Program, fondly recalls, “There were interesting courses, excellent trips to various businesses, and a great sense of camaraderie among the group. We even got to meet Prince Charles one evening when he came to present an award at the famous Radcliffe Camera building in Oxford, and a few of us happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Punting on the Churwell River (1988)
MINI Cooper automobile plant (2010)
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