World Bachelor in Business offers USC students an international education


The World Bachelor in Business program is neither for the timid nor the tame. The WBB, as it is known on campus, takes a select cohort of students to three different universities around the world to gain a global approach to their business education during their time as undergraduate students. The inaugural WBB class graduated in 2017.

The program was launched in 2013 by the USC Marshall School of Business in conjunction with two other universities after fine-tuning the program for over two years.

Students in WBB study at USC during their first year before venturing to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for their sophomore year. Once completed, students attend Bocconi University in Milan for their junior year. For the students’ senior years, they get to choose where they want to return to — either USC, HKUST, or remain at Bocconi.

Aseem Afsah recently completed his WBB experience, completing his final year at USC. He graduated summa cum laude from the University.

“Looking back on myself during this time, I feel like I was kind of like a starry-eyed baby just seeing the whole world for the first time,” Afsah said.

Now in 2017, the program has seen its first round of WBB students graduate, collecting not one, but three diplomas from each of the three universities.

Though her undergraduate education has now come to a close, senior Angela Zhou said the commencement ceremony was not as nostalgic and emotional as it might have been for other students.

“Every single year, for the past four years, has felt like almost a mini-graduation where we had to leave USC to go to Hong Kong and leave Hong Kong to go to Italy,” Zhou said.

For Zhou, the non-stop movement from country to country is what sets the WBB program — and its students — apart from the average undergraduate experience.

The obstacles that come with receiving a cross-continental education foster a global mindset within the WBB students, challenging them to go out of their comfort zones. From security checks at the airport to applying for visas and setting up a foreign bank account, the cross-border challenges that WBB students face create a experience  that dissents from the typical college experience, according to Ashley Nguyen, a rising sophomore in the WBB program.

“Americans in general don’t think about applying to out-of-country universities,” Nguyen said. “Through this program, I will be able to learn how to adapt to different situations better and maneuver my way through my career.”

Afsah said that the program has challenged his worldview.

“We have grown this ability to see in many different ways and to consider many different perspectives,” Afsah said. “Spending two or three years abroad and consistently having your worldviews challenged make us a lot more adaptable and open-minded.”

Over the past four years the program has grown and adapted to the challenges that the students face. For Zhou, she hopes that this program continues to inspire college students to gain a study abroad education.

“Universities should champion more unconventional programs such as [the WBB] … to allow students to get an in-depth view of other cultures, campuses and academic settings that allow for a more intellectual and dynamic conversation within the student body,” Zhou said.

After studying on three different continents, the World Bachelor in Business students are exposed to an international education that prepares them for success in a globalized society.