Overview
Applicants
2,248
Acceptance Rate
33%
Average Undergrad GPA
3.50
Years Work Experience
5
Average Age
27
Test Scores
GMAT (25th and 75th percentiles)
700 - 780
GPA
-
Deadlines
Early Application Deadline
September 3
Round 1
October 4
Round 2
January 6
Round 3
April 6
Other Admission Factors
Academic
GMAT Score
Undergraduate GPA
Letters of Recommendation
Essay / Personal Statement
Non-Academic
School Type And Accreditation
School Type
Public
AACSB-approved
Yes
Selectivity Rating
Program Types
Full-Time
Yes
Part-Time
No
Evening
No
Executive
Yes
Online
No
Faculty Information
Student/Faculty
6:1
Total Faculty
112
63
Full-time
37
Part-time
22
Female
3.6
Underrepresented Minorities
Students Say
The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business promises the “ultimate education experience,” to be achieved through an active learning approach involving case studies, simulations and experiential activities; team-based collaboration; and core classes that teach fundamental business tools and concepts. The Full-Time MBA is available only in the traditional two-year format, with numerous study abroad opportunities and an academic drive that focuses on skill development rather than networking, though this merely means that “students here are relaxed, but career-driven.” Everyone at Darden “cares deeply about the classroom learning,” and faculty “could be approached during your time at school and [also] after graduation.”
Darden professors are “exceptional,” and “all the hype around it is true.” They are “wizards” who “orchestrate case method classes like a true professional.” “It takes a special kind of teaching talent to facilitate a case method discussion,” agrees another student. They “initiate meetings with us and know us individually, share their networks with us,” and take feedback from students to adjust their instruction. Additionally, “new professors bring recent trends into the classroom” and motivate students. The administration is similarly adored for its capability, and students claim the school “runs like butter.” They ensure students “focus totally on our MBA,” and the school “is not afraid to try new initiatives and adapt quickly.”
Concentrations
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Investment Banking
JD/MBA - Dual Degree
Marketing
MD/MBA - Dual Degree
Supply Chain Management
Finance
Investment Banking
JD/MBA - Dual Degree
Marketing
MD/MBA - Dual Degree
Supply Chain Management
Specialized Masters
Analytics and Information Management
Business Administration
Data Analytics
Business Administration
Data Analytics
Center for Research
Entrepeneurship
Finance
International Business
Leadership/Management
Non-Profit Management/Public Administration
Finance
International Business
Leadership/Management
Non-Profit Management/Public Administration
Specialities of Faculty
Academic specialties of faculty
URL
Asset Management/Sales & Trading
Corporate Finance/ Investment Banking
Entrepreneurship
Strategy Consulting
Supply Chain Management
Corporate Innovation
Innovation for Sustainability
Global Business
Sustainability
Courses in Sustainability
Yes
Sustainability course is
Required
Description
In support of its mission to ?improve the world by developing and inspiring responsible leaders and by advancing knowledge? the Darden School was one of the first business schools to require Business Ethics as a first year course. Now the Darden MBA program incorporates ethics, social responsibility and sustainability throughout the curriculum. Through real-time case studies and experiential opportunities, students are encouraged to think deeply about the nature of business, responsibilities of management, and need for business to achieve profitability in an ethical, socially minded and environmentally responsible manner.
The Innovation for Sustainability concentration (available in the Second Year) prepares students to design and implement sustainability strategies such that their future organizations not only expand their positive impact on society, but also realize revenue growth, cost savings and/or brand enhancement.
For more information on Darden’s 17 elective courses that solely or partially focus on sustainability and ethical leadership/decision-making visit www.darden.virginia.edu/mba/academics/electives/sustainability/.
Research Opportunities in Sustainability
Yes
Description
During the academic year, students can participate in a variety of for-credit research projects. Previous student research and case study projects focused on sustainability and social impact issues include; Design Thinking Tech for Good; Economic Inequality: Causes and Consequences; Ethics of Disruption; Impact Investing; Integrating Philosophy, Business and Literature; Precision Farming; Prisoner Reentry Education Program; Solar ITC use by Municipalities; Women in the Technology Industry; Investing in Green Energy Markets.
Darden?s Sustainability Centers also provide research and educational opportunities for students. These include the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) and the Institute for Business in Society.
To learn more visit www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty-research/centers/sustainability/.
School's environmental commitment 1:
Carbon Neutral:
Darden will become carbon neutral by January 2019 and will be one of the only top-ranked business schools in the United States to realize this accomplishment. In 2016, Darden entered into an innovative solar power partnership with Dominion Virginia Power. The agreement positions the school to achieve its key sustainability targets, while further expanding Dominion?s renewable energy initiatives. Under the agreement, the University and Darden purchased the entire output of electricity produced at a new, 160-acre solar facility in King William County for the next 25 years. The Darden School will assume responsibility for about 25 percent of the electricity production, which will enable the school to achieve its long-term zero-carbon goal.
School's environmental commitment 2:
Regional Food System:
The hospitality organization has increased use of local food and beverage for use to the Darden Enterprise in the Cafe and in the Dining Room. Local service providers include Shenandoah Joe for coffee; Bubba?s Sweet Nectar for all honey that the enterprise uses; Produce is purchased from Standard Produce Co; Beef is purchased from Double H Farm; The Rock Barn for pork; Lumijuice for organic cold pressed juice; and an Herb garden on Darden grounds
School's environmental commitment 3:
Parking & Transportation:
Sustainable transportation efforts include the installation of 3 electric vehicle charging stations, introduction of the U-Bike system, and introduction of CAVPool parking. The U-Bike system is currently used on UVa Grounds, primarily in the undergraduate areas. Darden will house the first U-Bike system providing the service to the entire North Grounds precinct. CAVPool is a University wide car pool initiative that was most recently introduced to the Darden parking allotment.
Career Overview
Average Starting Salary
$127,767
Accepted employment by 3 months after graduation
92%
Finding Jobs & Internships
Source Of Full-Time Job Acceptances
80%
School Facilitiated
20%
Graduate Facilitated
Graduates Employed by Area of Practice
32%
Consulting
26%
Finance/Accounting
21%
General Management
15%
Marketing
3%
Operations/Logistics
2%
Information Technology
1%
Other
Graduates Employed by Region
31%
Northeast
19%
Mid-Atlantic
19%
West
12%
South
8%
Midwest
7%
International
5%
Southwest
Students Say
“Rigorous classes followed by rigorous recruiting, followed by rigorous study groups” sums up two years at Darden. The program’s legendarily hard coursework prepares students to take on any discipline in summer internships, as well as the capability to take on any project: “See what information you have, what information you need, and solve your way through the problem, one step at a time,” says a student. As one student describes it: “We don't interview prep each other to beat out a fellow classmate for a job offer, we do it to impress the company enough that they’ll want to hire both of us.”
Career recruiting is “hard on most students,” but second year students are very helpful in “encouraging first years and helping them prepare for interviews and review resumes.” There is a focus on consulting and general management in the curriculum at Darden, and as a result the school sees “strong consulting placement.” Unlike other business schools, Darden “accepts a lot of students from non-traditional backgrounds and really ups their earning potential.”
Job Function
| Job Function | % of Grads Seeking Employment Who Accept Jobs w/in 3 Months |
Median Salary | Mean Salary | Low Base Salary | High Base Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 32% | $147,000 | $139,091 | $58,000 | $170,000 |
| Finance / Accounting | 26% | $125,000 | $125,293 | $90,000 | $200,000 |
| General Management | 21% | $120,000 | $118,001 | $70,000 | $135,000 |
| Marketing / Sales | 15% | $120,000 | $118,999 | $39,465 | $145,000 |
| Operations / Logistics | 3% | $130,000 | $129,611 | $120,000 | $152,500 |
| Information Technology | 2% | $120,000 | $122,400 | $108,000 | $140,000 |
| Other | 1% | $160,000 | $158,333 | $135,000 | $180,000 |
| Human Resources | 1% |
Industries
| Industries | % of Grads Seeking Employment Who Accept Jobs w/in 3 Months |
Median Salary | Mean Salary | Low Base Salary | High Base Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 32% | $147,000 | $140,189 | $58,000 | $170,000 |
| Financial Services | 26% | $125,000 | $126,477 | $80,000 | $200,000 |
| Technology | 18% | $122,500 | $122,615 | $39,465 | $150,000 |
| Manufacturing | 4% | $115,000 | $113,099 | $93,000 | $120,000 |
| Consumer Products | 3% | $106,000 | $106,111 | $100,000 | $110,000 |
| Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology / Healthcare | 3% | $120,000 | $119,688 | $107,500 | $130,000 |
| Real Estate | 2% | $100,000 | $105,000 | $90,000 | $130,000 |
| Petroleum / Energy | 2% | $118,000 | $116,800 | $105,000 | $123,000 |
| Other | 1% | ||||
| Government | 0% | ||||
| Media / Entertainment | 0% | ||||
| Non-profit | 0% |
Prominent Alumni
Mr. Elie Maalouf
Chief Executive Officer, InterContinental Hotels Group, The Americas
Ms. Vanessa Wittman
CFO, Dropbox
Mr. Michael E. O'Neill
Chairman, Citigroup, Inc.
Ms. Carolyn Miles
President and Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children
Mr. John R. Strangfeld
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Financial, Inc.
Dates
Financial Aid Statistics
Tuition Full-Time (per year)
Tuition (In-State)
$67,500
Tuition (Out-State)
$70,500
Fees (In-State)
$2,830
Fees (Out-State)
$2,830
Expenses per Academic Year
Estimated Room And Board On-Campus
$17,776
Estimated Room And Board Off-Campus
$17,776
Academic Expenses
$2,000
Student Body Profile
Total Full-Time Enrollment
661
Part Time
0%
Foreign Countries Represented
48
Demographics
12.00%
Underrepresented Minorities
32.00%
International
38% female
62% male
Campus Life
Students Say
Darden is relatively small and first year students spend the majority of their time in class with the same cohort of around sixty-five people. Since first year students do roughly twelve cases a week during their core, “many week days are spent rigorously dissecting a case individually and with your learning teams.” Outside of class, engagement in university activities is “super high among students,” and there is a “healthy balance between driven students and collaborative culture.” There is “heavy social pressure around showing up to class prepared and ready to participate, to work hard, to prepare cases, to help other students,” but “a congeniality at all times that’s really fantastic.” This “curious” and ambitious group readily “turn a class project into a real-life business venture, take leadership roles, share their expertise, put time into helping others study.”
The “small, friendly, town-like atmosphere makes you feel at home really fast,” and Charlottesville itself is “a great town to live; the campus is “beautiful” and has a “residential feel.” “Everyone lives within walking distance of campus so it is very easy to engage,” which is easily done as there are “many academic, social and recreational activities during off-school hours.” UVA generally is very big on student leadership and this holds true at Darden, where “a very large portion of student life is run by students.”
More Information
% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%
Campus-wide Internet Network
Yes
Internet Access for All Students
Yes
Admissions Office Contact
Contact
Dawna Clarke
Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid
Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid
Address
P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States
Phone
434-924-1817
Fax
434-243-5033
Email
darden@virginia.edu
