Objectives
The Darden School offers an intellectually demanding doctoral program for a small, select group of high-potential applicants: men and women who already have a breadth of knowledge in the functional areas of business and who have a strong interest in teaching and research.
The program aims to be distinctive, not only by providing sound training in the theory and methodology of the student’s chosen field, but also by training students to perform applied research. Graduates of the program are expected to be able to conduct rigorous research that contributes to the solution of management problems in a creative and original fashion. The program provides exposure to a variety of pedagogies, particularly interactive approaches that allow students to take an active role in the learning process.
A doctoral student must specialize in a major field of study. The school has major fields in finance, marketing, operations management, and management. The management major field is composed of four subfields: strategic management, business ethics, general management, and entrepreneurship. Only a subset of these major fields admit students in any given year.
Admission
Acceptance of an applicant as a student in the doctoral program is based on the following criteria:
- An appraisal of the applicant’s ability and capacity to undertake and satisfactorily complete the requirements of the program. Ordinarily this appraisal will include an assessment of the applicant’s willingness to commit energy to the expeditious completion of a vigorous program of study in a manner consistent with the high intellectual standards and personal integrity expected of a candidate for a professional degree;
- The applicant’s ability to effectively manage the difficult challenges posed by independent study;
- The applicant’s ability to work cooperatively with others;
- And, ordinarily, the applicant’s having attained a master’s degree in business administration or its equivalent. Students without the Requisite M.B.A. should apply to Darden’s M.B.A./Ph.D. Program administered through the M.B.A. admissions office. A student without the requisite M.B.A. must successfully complete at least the first year of Darden’s M.B.A. program in order to be considered for the Doctoral Program.
Application forms may be requested from:
Director of the Doctoral Program
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
(434) 924-7247
(800) UVA-MBA-1
www.darden.virginia.edu/doctoral
Applicants are required to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test given by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, NJ. Those who have already taken this test should request the Educational Testing Service to forward their test results or should submit a true copy of the scores to the director of the doctoral program.
Foreign applicants must also take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examination in order to be considered for admission.
Applicants seeking further information regarding the program and admission may write to the director of the doctoral program.
Administration
The administration of the doctoral program has been assigned by the Darden School faculty to the Doctoral Operating Committee, a standing committee of the faculty. Each major field of doctoral study established by the faculty has a major field advisor who is a member of the doctoral committee. The general administration of the doctoral program is the responsibility of the director of the doctoral program.
Financial Assistance
A student’s entire financial requirements will not ordinarily be underwritten by the school. Nevertheless, the faculty hopes that no qualified applicant will be unable to enter the doctoral program because of lack of financial resources.
A student with outstanding potential and/or who demonstrates that outside sources are not available may apply for a fellowship for tuition, fees, and living costs. Generous fellowship awards may be received for the two years of full-time course work and for the one year of full-time dissertation research. Recipients must be in good academic standing to qualify for fellowship stipends. The director of the doctoral program will review the academic performance and the financial support needs of each student every 12 months. If a student’s financial support needs have changed, revisions in the fellowship stipend will be made. In addition, loans are available. Tuition waivers and part-time teaching and research assistantships are often available to those students needing and desiring them. During the summer, research assistantships are available.