NASHVILLE (AP) — Vanderbilt University is partnering with business schools in Brazil, Mexico and Canada to offer a new international executive program focused on the Americas.

Officials say the program, which will begin in August at Vanderbilt's Owen School of Management, grew out of recognition that global companies are increasingly aligning their operations in the Americas.

The schools partnering with Vanderbilt are: the FIA Business School in Sao Paulo, Brazil; ITAM in Mexico City; and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

Students from all four schools will begin working together in cross-cultural study teams beginning in the second year of the program and travel to each campus for classwork, learning local business practices and attending cultural events.

No more than 15 students will be able to participate in the America's MBA program.