The University of Virginia is well known for its research hospital, engineering and law schools, but for those who are looking at getting their MBAs, the Darden School of Business often tops the list, and is regularly ranked as being among the Top 15 business schools in the U.S. and Top 30 in the world.
Located near UVA’s School of Law and the JAG School, just behind the Barracks Road Shopping Center, the tree-lined graduate business school campus is similar to UVA’s with a lawn bordered by brick and white-columned buildings interspersed with beautiful gardens and fountains.
The school was founded in 1955 and is named after Colgate Whitehead Darden, Jr., a former Democratic congressman, governor of Virginia, and UVA president.
Designed for students who seek to strengthen their leadership, business and communication skills, Darden’s two-year MBA program — recently ranked #1 in educational experience by Economic Times — combines core and elective courses in Charlottesville with opportunities to study abroad.
Darden offers MBA for Executives, Global MBA for Executives, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs, according to the website. Those who attend the courses come from all over the world and often stay in nearby apartments located at Ivy Gardens or Arlington Boulevard so they can easily commute to classes by walking.
Each morning, the Darden community gathers at 9:30 a.m. in PepsiCo Forum for First Coffee. This tradition of hot and freshly brewed coffee shared among students, faculty and staff invites interaction and celebration.
Study
The required curriculum in the First Year is designed to provide students with an integrated perspective on general management. Beginning in the final term of the First Year, the curriculum is made up entirely of electives to allow students to develop more depth in chosen areas of interest.
Darden offers Global Business Experiences (GBEs) electives — one- to two-week courses that enable students to explore international business issues firsthand in a country other than their own — there are ten countries available to choose from. In the Second Year, students can also spend time abroad in one of 18 exchange programs around the world.
Career
Darden is one of the few top MBA programs to integrate career strategy and planning into its curriculum. All students are also assigned both a functionally aligned career consultant and a Second Year student career coach whom they meet with regularly throughout the recruiting process. As alumni, Darden provides lifelong career assistance, free of charge.
MBA for Executives
The MBA for Executives program allows experienced professionals to earn the same degree as the Full-Time MBA students, without interrupting their careers. Each class is composed of experienced managers from a broad spectrum of industries and functions.
Students come to Darden once a month for sessions that take place Thursday through Saturday. Action-oriented classes include case discussions, simulations and individual and group presentations.
Throughout the course of 21 months, students participate in four one-week leadership residencies, which provide new perspectives on management challenges. One of the four takes place in a global business center outside of the United States (most recently this has been China).
To maintain the intense pace of interaction and to stay in touch with the Darden community between residencies, students use distance learning technology to interact with professors, hold virtual team meetings, work on team deliverables and submit exams. All online sessions are recorded.
Global MBA for Executives
Similar to the MBA for Executives program, the Global MBA for Executives program is designed for experienced managers who seek to advance their careers by earning an MBA while working full-time. The program focuses on preparing students to thrive in globally distributed firms, across markets, across cultures and in emerging regions.
During the two two-week residencies in the U.S., students divide their time between Darden and Washington, D.C., where students visit political and financial organizations and cultural sites.
Residencies in China, India, Brazil and Europe: The four two-week international residencies are spread evenly across the 21-month program. Each time students meet in person, attend classes, engage with local Darden alumni, visit influential firms, gain cultural knowledge and contacts, and learn to work across international borders.
To maintain the intense pace of interaction and to stay in touch with the Darden community between residencies, students use distance learning technology to interact with professors, hold virtual team meetings, work on team deliverables and submit exams. All online sessions are recorded.
Darden Executive Education
The inaugural Executive Education program was first offered in 1955, as both short courses and custom solutions, as well as consortia, corporate university design and development, and industry specific partnerships.
Short course focus areas include leadership, general management, strategy and decision-making, negotiation, growth and innovation, project management, sales and marketing, financial management and corporate aviation. Year-after-year these programs are ranked in the top five of the Financial Times annual survey.
Darden Ph.D. Program
Darden’s doctoral program allows students to obtain a Ph.D. degree in management, specializing in either ethics, entrepreneurship, or leadership and organizational behavior. The program prepares individuals for careers in research and teaching at major universities and corporations.
New Faculty
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business recently welcomed three new faculty ahead of the 2016-2017 term.
James Detert will be a professor of business administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area. His research focuses on workplace courage, ethical decision making and behavior; why people speak up or stay silent at work; and other leadership-related topics. Prior to joining Darden, he taught at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, where he served as faculty director for Cornell’s leadership program.
Mary Gentile will be a professor of practice in the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship area. She’s the creator and director of Giving Voice to Values, a curriculum for values-driven leadership that’s been taught at hundreds of business schools and organizations.
Her book, “Giving Voice To Values: How To Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right”, has been translated into multiple languages.
Gentile most recently taught at Babson College prior to Darden. She also serves as a senior advisor at the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program.
David Touve will be director of the W.L. Lyons Brown III i.Lab at UVA. He came to Darden and the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, where he served as director of the Galant Center for Entrepreneurship and helped launch the University’s minor in entrepreneurship.
Touve has founded or held advisory roles in a series of startups, and has been an advocate for the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the broader UVA community. His research interests focus on opportunity, disruption and the relationship between the two.
Homes
For homes near Darden, start here – Homes near Darden School of Business. Most people say the closer the better.
