A Values-Based Approach to Business

Georgetown McDonough’s values-based approach to business is more than a mindset. It’s who we are at our core.

As the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university founded in the United States, Georgetown University is distinctive for its longtime commitment to the values of the Jesuit tradition. At the McDonough School of Business, we live these values through inspiring our faculty and staff to educate the whole person, and for our students and community to care for one another and serve the common good.

We seek out ways to embed social action projects and cases into our curriculum, provide experiential learning opportunities that impact others, and leverage our expertise in business education and research to bring about positive change in our community. As a result, we are prepared to both do well and do good on a global scale. 

The Benefits of a Jesuit Education

At Georgetown McDonough, we prepare students with the knowledge, skills, network, and confidence to inspire our community to make a difference to themselves and others. 

Social Impact Consulting Projects (SCIP)

First Year Seminar

Each year, all undergraduate students enrolled in the First Year Seminar participate in a Social Impact Consulting Project, where they provide solutions to real business challenges facing local nonprofit partners.

white gravenor courtyard

The Ethics Project

Taught to undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA students, The Ethics Project within the Ethical Leadership course provides student groups $1,000 each to do good in the world. 

Evacuees board an Ark Salus charter flight at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 22, 2021. Photo: Ark Salus.

Social Impact Projects

Working in small teams, M.A. in International Business and Policy students collaborate with public, private, and nonprofit organizations to develop recommendations for tackling international business issues for their Social Impact Projects. They draw upon their classwork to make a positive impact in the world.  

Wellness of Mind, Body, and Spirit

Outside of the classroom, Georgetown McDonough fosters a culture that focuses on the wellness of mind, body, and spirit, and encourages students to apply the university’s Jesuit character to their personal passions.

students in the HOME program

H.O.M.E. Program

The comprehensive, four-year H.O.M.E. (Horizon, Odyssey, Meridian, Empyrean) program, is designed for undergraduate business students to gather in communities away from the Hilltop to engage in thoughtful dialogue and explore individually and as a community their own journey toward self-actualization and the pursuit of purpose.

Rafik B. Hariri building

Operation: Cura Personalis

Operation: Cura Personalis provides a pathway for the McDonough community to come together to experience webinars, events, and other opportunities to engage in health, happiness, and overall wellness. 

Photo of Greg Wallig (center) with Global Fund for Children's President and CEO John Hecklinger and Co-Chair Swatee Deepak (photo credit: Global Fund for Children)

Embracing Jesuit Values

The Spirit of Georgetown influences the fabric of the educational landscape, community life, and service-oriented approach at Georgetown McDonough and across the university. The McDonough community displays its Jesuit values through everyday interactions, classroom projects, extracurriculars, global experiences, research innovations, service opportunities, and beyond.

Taking Initiative

McDonough’s numerous faculty-led centers and initiatives drive positive change in the business community and in society at large. Each is charged with enhancing the student experience, elevating their issues through impactful research, and convening experts to advance critical issues of importance.

2 students and professor talking outside Hariri

Baratta Center for Global Business

The Baratta Center hosts working groups of global executives, policymakers, and Georgetown faculty and students to find solutions to real-world issues facing the global business community today.

Steers Center students

Steers Center for Global Real Estate

The Steers Center explores the intersection of real estate finance and the built environment, including issues of affordable housing, climate risk, and sustainable building practices.

Jesuit Entrepreneurship Alliance

Georgetown Entrepreneurship

Georgetown entrepreneurs use passion, knowledge, and creativity to tackle the world’s most challenging issues. With a focus on the common good, Georgetown Entrepreneurship also takes an active role in the world, through the Jesuit Entrepreneurship Alliance.

Addressing Society’s Most Complex Challenges

At McDonough, we believe that the solutions to the world’s most complex issues reside at the intersection of business and other fields. We have identified three such areas, called our “fields of the future,” which enable us to partner across industries to drive meaningful change. 

a robot touches a human hand

AI, Analytics, and the Future of Work

To address how technology is changing how we work in a way that looks after those most disrupted by these changes, the AI, Analytics, and Future of Work Initiative produces research, supports student learning, and convenes thought leaders around relevant issues.

Healthcare business graph and data of Medical business growth and gold stethoscope of doctor on laptop, investment, financial and banking, Medical business report on global network.

The Business of Health

The Business of Health Initiative prepares business leaders and medical professionals to tackle critical issues in the healthcare industry through multidisciplinary research and ongoing engagement with industry practitioners to inspire forward-thinking solutions to the national healthcare system.

a light bulb glowing on pile of soil

The Business of Sustainability

The Business of Sustainability Initiative explores the business case for sustainability to create long-term value for organizations by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental, and social developments.

Creating a Better World

It’s not enough to just teach our students about business. Our students, faculty, and staff seek to apply what we teach and learn to benefit the greater community. 

Pilot Small Business Corps cohort

Small Business Corps

Business for Impact has partnered with Bank of America, PNC Bank, and Boston Consulting Group, along with dedicated alumni, to create the Small Business Corps, which empowers and supports small businesses in urban and rural under-resourced communities in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia through tailored, student-led consulting services.

pivot grads

The Pivot Program

The Georgetown Pivot Program is a professional development program for previously incarcerated career-oriented individuals. A partnership with Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative and the DC Department of Employment Services, the program also works closely with employer partners and the business community to advance hiring practices that are more inclusive of people with past convictions.

Healy Hall with Georgetown Reach

Georgetown Reach

Georgetown Reach works with rising 8th-grade students and their families to ensure they have access to the information and resources necessary to prepare them for success in the college search. By providing underrepresented students and families guidance and exposure to the college search, the program seeks to increase diversity at top-tier colleges and universities and create opportunities for participants.

Swan Family Ignatian Endowed Professorship

“I view Jesuit values like ‘people for others’ as fundamental to how business works, how it grows, and the good that business does,” Father Quentin Dupont says. “The Swan family has given me a dream job. It’s a very humbling honor and an overwhelming privilege. “l have this deep desire that must be from God to try to bring Jesuit values into the world of business education. It’s an ambitious mission.”

Jesuit Values in the News

MS-ESM students gather at a happy hour event.

Admissions

First Impressions and Future Aspirations: MS-ESM Students Reflect on Their First Few Months at Georgetown

Weronika Witkowska (MS-ESM’25) and Livia Sun (MS-ESM’25) share why they chose to pursue the M.S. in Environment and Sustainability Management (MS-ESM) program, their favorite experiences from…

October 31, 2024

Baratta Center partners to host GCC 2035 Conference in Qatar

Events

Baratta Center Explores the Future of Regionalization, Global and Regional Industries, Trade, and Investment at GCC 2035 Conference

The world stands at a pivotal juncture, facing both economic promise and geopolitical complexity. While challenges persist — such as post-COVID inflation, geopolitical tensions, climate inaction,…

October 31, 2024

Anil Khurana and Ricardo Ernst speak with David Rubenstein at the annual Baratta Center conference

Business and Global Affairs, Events

Baratta Center Discusses Global Competition and Collaboration During Annual Conference

The Baratta Center for Global Business hosted its second annual Future of Global Business Conference at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business to gather thought leaders, industry…

October 31, 2024