From AI to Real Estate: UVA Darden Adds New Courses for 2026

From AI to Real Estate: UVA Darden Adds New Courses for 2026–27

Business is changing quickly, and the skills leaders need are changing with it.

Artificial intelligence is shifting how companies work and make decisions. Technology is reshaping industries like sports and entertainment. Leaders are also thinking differently about how businesses create value, how they serve their communities and how they manage their own careers.

A new group of courses at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business gives students the chance to dig into those topics and more.

From AI and real estate finance to nonprofit leadership and stakeholder capitalism, the new courses reflect the wide range of challenges Darden students may face throughout their careers.

Highlights of the new offerings include:

Taught by Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Executive-in-Residence Erika Keough (MBA ’23), this course looks at how artificial intelligence is changing the way organizations operate, compete and make decisions. Instead of focusing on building AI models, students will explore what it takes to use AI inside an organization and the technical, physical and human challenges leaders need to understand.

Taught by University Professor Edward Freeman, this course explores stakeholder capitalism and how businesses can create value for the people and groups connected to them. Students will look at stakeholder relationships, ethics, competing interests and the leadership skills needed to manage those relationships well.

This course examines how technology and evolving consumer habits are reshaping sports and entertainment. Students will explore industries including professional sports, live music, podcasting, film, e-sports and interactive entertainment, with a focus on how new technologies are changing traditional business models.

Taught by Professor Paul Freed, this course gives students the tools to evaluate real estate investments and understand how they are financed. Students interested in areas including investment banking, private equity, asset management, corporate finance and development will have the chance to build a stronger foundation in one of the world’s largest asset classes.

Taught by Professor Toni Irving, this course introduces students to nonprofit board governance and what it means to serve effectively on a nonprofit board. Students will learn about board responsibilities, legal and fiduciary duties, the differences between nonprofit and for-profit boards, and some of the challenges facing nonprofit leaders today. The course also includes educational and networking events.

Taught by Professor Jacqui Doyle and former Prudential Financial CEO John Strangfeld (MBA ’77), this course focuses on a different side of management: managing yourself. While MBA programs spend a lot of time teaching students how to lead teams and organizations, “Charting Your Course” gives students space to think about their own goals, choices and priorities—how those decisions can shape their careers and lives.

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 20,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lauren Foster Senior Director of Communications Darden School of Business University of Virginia FosterL@darden.virginia.edu