Pamplin+ transforms undergraduate business curriculum into four-year experiential internship

From day one in the classroom to day one in the conference room, students in the Pamplin College of Business are prepared to lead.

Starting in fall 2026, the college will launch Pamplin+, a reimagined undergraduate curriculum focused on career readiness. The new experiential-learning program transforms undergraduate classroom learning into workplace preparation through foundational coursework, cohort projects, hands-on experiences, and the use of modern business tools, including emerging technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), to build skills employers want.

“Pamplin+ is our commitment to preparing the next generation of business leaders,” said Saonee Sarker, Richard E. Sorenson Dean of the Pamplin College of Business. “In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, AI literacy has become a fundamental pillar of career readiness. We are ensuring our graduates are not just prepared to adapt but empowered to lead with innovation and confidence.”

Pamplin+ is built on four pillars that prepare each student for long-term career success.

• AI for All - In their first year, students are required to take an AI literacy course that engages them in prompt engineering and threaded conversations, bias recognition and critical thinking evaluation, as well AI agent development and skills protocols for business applications.
• Experiences for All - Students will gain real-world experience through two mandatory transformative experiences, including at least one required internship, and a second required experience in leadership in student organizations, mentorship and teaching assistant roles, global experiences abroad, or undergraduate research projects or professional competitions.
• Projects for All - Students will progress through four cohort courses, working in cross-disciplinary teams to solve real-world business problems each year.
• Essentials for All - Students will build a strong foundation in essential business fundamentals, with exposure to entrepreneurship, the global marketplace, legal and ethical responsibility, and service and organizational resilience, in addition to completing discipline-focused degree requirements. 

Through Pamplin+, students will learn by doing, using the same software, platforms, and AI tools that power modern businesses. Courses will introduce hands-on work with tools used across disciplines, including simulation environments, data analysis platforms, project planning systems, and industry-specific applications. Outside the classroom, students will complete two mandatory co-curricular experiences, ensuring every student has access to transformative opportunities like internships and leadership opportunities.

“At Virginia Tech, we strive to offer the best experience for all students. Pamplin+ will provide many opportunities for work-integrated learning through study abroad, internships both locally and across the country, and much more. This groundbreaking curriculum is making opportunities available to students from all backgrounds and majors,” said Jill Sible, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs.

In addition to mandatory experiences outside the classroom, four new courses will bring students together from across the college’s seven business disciplines every year.

• Foundations of Business Problem-Solving with Venture Creation (BUS 1004) introduces business disciplines, problem-solving approaches, and entrepreneurial thinking.
• Intermediate Business Problem-Solving with Competition Simulation (BUS 2004) uses competitive business simulations to build data-driven decision-making and strategic thinking in a dynamic market environment.
• Advanced Business Problem-Solving with Client Service Projects (BUS 3004) connects students with small to midsized companies, including nonprofit and community partners, to create client-focused solutions.
• Capstone Business Problem-Solving with Corporate Client Projects (BUS 4004) challenges teams to work on projects with corporate partners, analyzing data, implementing solutions, and competing to provide high-quality results that integrate four years of Pamplin+ learning.

Pamplin+ transforms the traditional undergraduate business degree into a four-year professional experience that prepares the next generation of business leaders to thrive in an AI-enabled, rapidly changing business world.

Visit the Pamplin+ website to learn more about the curriculum and how organizations and alumni can support it.