Admission
Office of Admissions
Darden Graduate School of Business
100 Darden Boulevard
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
(434) 924-7281
(800) UVA-MBA-1
darden@virginia.edu
www.darden.virginia.edu/admissions
Application
Candidates are encouraged to visit the Darden admissions website to obtain detailed information on admission criteria and requirements, apply on-line or request a view book. Candidates can also schedule class visits and register for upcoming recruitment events.
The Darden School seeks to admit people whose academic ability, leadership potential and experience and personal qualities indicate that they can contribute to, and benefit from, the program. All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, age, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
The application requires completion of essays, transcripts of all academic work, and two letters of recommendation. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency and should submit a score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Pearson Test of English (PTE), or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Offers of admission require an interview which is an integral part of the evaluation process. Candidates are encouraged to visit the school, attend a class, and meet with current students. Visits are scheduled between September and April when classes are in session.
Financial Assistance
The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration’s financial aid program assists students in meeting the cost of earning an MBA through a combination of school-based scholarships, and third-party loans, in addition to federal loans. No financial assistance will be offered in the form of employment, and students should not plan to work during the school year. Loans and scholarships are used to complement each other.
U.S. citizens or permanent residents seeking any type of financial aid through the University must file a statement of financial resources. The Office of Financial Aid requires that applicants use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The applicant must complete all student portions of this form.
The required FAFSA and University financial aid forms can be obtained via the Darden web site at www.darden.virginia.edu/web/MBA/Financial-Aid.
Financial aid decisions are made and admitted students notified of merit awards close to their offer of admission. In order to receive timely award notification, applicants who wish to be considered for loan assistance should apply by May 22.
Applicants will not be considered for financial assistance until they have been admitted to the Darden School and submitted other required documents. The admissions decision is made without regard to an applicant’s financial situation.
Scholarships
At some point throughout the two year program nearly 40 percent of all Darden students receive a merit scholarship from the school in amounts ranging from $3,000 to full tuition and stipend. The sources of scholarship are unrestricted funds of the school, gifts, and bequests of alumni and friends and special contributions from business concerns and persons interested in encouraging business education and supporting the Darden School.
Merit Scholarships
The following is a current list of named fellowships and scholarships offered by the Darden School. The availability, addition, or deletion of individual scholarships may vary. There are additional unrestricted scholarships available each year. First year merit scholarships, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance of a “B” average (3.0), are automatically carried over to the student’s second year at Darden, unless superseded by a higher valued scholarship.
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Academic Regulations
Students of the University are subject to two sets of regulations, those of the University as a whole and those of the respective schools. Listed below are rules that apply within the Darden School. Appropriate excerpts from the University regulations are set forth in the next section.
Performance in the School
In addition to (1) following the University standards of conduct, (2) abiding by the obligations of the Honor System, and (3) meeting the standards of the Darden School for scholastic achievement, a Darden School student is expected to (4) perform in a manner that is consistent with the academic good order and educational processes of both the individual courses and the Darden School in general. This latter requirement is important in a learning experience that encourages responsible competition and cooperation. Disruption of the learning experience can deprive others of the educational benefits for which they came to the Darden School.
The faculty has provided a process for the review of the conduct of a student whose behavior is disruptive of the administrative and academic good order or educational process of other students, of individual courses or the Darden School in general.
Proceedings brought before the Honor Committee or the Judiciary Committee of the University or the Academic Standards Committee of the Darden School and falling solely within their single or collective jurisdiction shall take precedence over action under this review procedure.
The procedure supplements but does not abrogate an instructor’s rights and responsibilities for maintaining an effective and orderly learning atmosphere in class.
The process, in brief, provides for the establishment of an ad hoc committee of inquiry, which may include a student member, to hear the issue and, on behalf of the faculty, impose the penalty, if any, that it considers appropriate, up to and including enforced withdrawal from the Darden School.
The committee’s decision may be appealed to the school’s faculty.
Attendance Policy
Darden students are expected to attend class in order to contribute as well as learn. Each course must have a written attendance policy that describes the consequences of missed classes. The course policy must be distributed to students before the end of the first week of classes. Whenever students miss class, they should, out of courtesy, inform their instructor as to the circumstances, in advance if possible.
Grading System
The school recognizes the following grade categories: Distinguished Performance (DP); High Performance (HP); Standard Performance (SP); Low Performance (LP); Unsatisfactory Performance (UP); Fail/No Credit (F). Only grades of UP and F have academic standards consequences.
Credit/No Credit Grades Darden students may not take courses on CR/NC basis.
Auditing Courses MBA students and students enrolled in other schools of the University may audit elective courses with the permission of the instructor.
Withdrawals
The dean’s office may ask a student at any time to withdraw from a particular course or from the school because of unsatisfactory academic work or for other adequate reasons.
Course Descriptions
Note:
The most current course descriptions are available online at http://www.darden.virginia.edu/.
9000-Level Courses
The Darden School offers, on a selected basis, courses approved by the faculty that are pertinent to the students enrolled in its doctoral program. Courses differ each term, depending on the doctoral students in residence and their fields of concentration. Doctoral students, and other students for whom these offerings might be appropriate, should contact the director of the doctoral program for current course descriptions at +1-434-924-7417.
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M.B.A. Academic Program
The Darden School’s two-year program leading to a degree of Master of Business Administration prepares men and women of high promise to be leaders in the world of practical affairs. Darden M.B.A.s are taught to be action -oriented, take an enterprise perspective, and lead with integrity, vision, judgment, determination, and social responsibility. The Darden curriculum is an integrated program that provides an understanding of the fundamental areas of business while it develops the capacity to analyze managerial problems and present intelligent and resourceful solutions to these problems. The M.B.A. program compresses years of experience through the study of several hundred real business situations or cases involving a breadth and depth of analysis impossible to gain in years of on-the-job training. The educational approach employed by the Darden School places significant responsibility for self-development on the individual student. Students are admitted not only for what they can learn, but also what they can teach their classmates in a discussion oriented setting. The curriculum is carefully planned and coordinated by the faculty, but the daily discussion revolves around student preparation and participation. This shared faculty and student responsibility for the classroom learning makes the Darden classroom experience highly dynamic and stimulating. The Darden curriculum also emphasizes the ethical nature of leadership through required course work and broad integrated discussions of the role of the corporation and its leaders in business and society in general. The school’s concern with ethical values continues the tradition of the University of Virginia evident in the Honor System.
The Student Body
The Darden School matriculates approximately 320 highly qualified individuals yearly. New students come from around the world and virtually every profession. These students are then organized into learning teams of five to six students and sections of 65 students. Each learning team and each section are designed to have a diversity of functional skills, demographics, and international background. Darden students quickly learn that one of the most important assets of their education is the network of relationships built among classmates from all over the world. The first year sections are shuffled at the beginning of the second semester in January to provide maximum opportunity to meet, learn from, and form long-term relationships with a wide range of classmates.
The Case Method
The Darden School uses business problem oriented cases in the vast majority of classes. In case method, students learn in four steps: individual case reading, preparation and analysis; learning team discussion; section discussion; and post-class reflection and integration. Each case presents students with a real business situation and related decisions to make. Most cases require the student to decide and present extemporaneously what they would do in that situation. Students are expected to define the issues they identify in the case, use sound analytical techniques in applying their knowledge to the available data, evaluate the alternatives, make a reasonable decision, and recommend measures to implement their plan. This process simulates the function of modern managers in a wide variety of different industries, products, processes, and styles of management. Classroom time is spent largely in discussion, focusing on the definition, analysis, and a wide range of feasible approaches to a problem. To attain academic and personal growth in this environment, the student is required to participate in case discussions. Students’ grades are based in large part on the quality of their in-class contributions. Classes in the second year vary in size, but case discussion is still the chief learning experience.
While the case-method philosophy dominates the program, other methodologies (role-playing, simulations, field trips, guest lecturers, and exercises of various sorts) are used to augment students’ understanding of modern business practice. The Darden educational experience is a careful blending of theory and current practice designed to equip students to act confidently in a complex world.
Academic Regulations
Standards for the M.B.A. Degree
The Darden School requires a minimum performance standard for its MBA graduates. In addition, the school has performance standards for the first year program, each semester of the MBA program and each course. In administering these standards, the school uses six grades, defined by the faculty as follows: Distinguished Performance (DP); High Performance (HP); Standard Performance (SP); Low Performance (LP); Unsatisfactory Performance (UP); Fail/No Credit (F).. The grade categories HP, SP, and LP are relative performance indicators, and, as such, they depend on how other students in the class perform. The DP, UP, and F grades are based on absolute performance standards in every course; therefore, faculty are not required to award DP, UP, or F grades. The UP grade is assigned to a student who has demonstrated an unsatisfactory level of understanding in a course. The F grade is assigned to a student who has demonstrated little or no understanding of the course content or the application thereof. In addition, occasions arise that necessitate assigning a grade that falls outside the standard range. The symbol IN (incomplete), assigned in such cases implies that, for reasons known to the individual faculty member, an enrolled student has not completed the work of the course at the end of a specified academic period. An important element of student performance is classroom participation. Depending on the appraisal criteria of the instructor and course, classroom participation frequently accounts for up to 50 percent of a student’s grade. This proportion reflects the central role and importance of active engagement by the student in the learning process. While assessments about classroom participation are incorporated into grades received by students at the end of each term, the first year program expects each student to be aware of, and responsible for, her or his participation on an ongoing basis.
Statement of Standards for a Darden MBA Degree
The Darden School requires minimum performance standards for its students to graduate with an MBA degree. There are minimum performance standards that students must meet upon completion of half of the credit hours required to graduate and at graduation. If a student does not meet these minimum performance standards, an automatic dismissal from Darden results and the student must petition for readmission. All performance standards are determined by the faculty and are based on Academic Standard Committee (ASC) points.
The Darden School has a minimum performance standard when half of the total credit hours required to graduate from the programs have been completed (i.e. mid-degree requirement). If a student does not meet the mid-degree requirement of her respective MBA program, automatic dismissal from Darden results, and the student must petition the ASC for readmission. The Darden School also requires a minimum performance standard for its students to graduate with an MBA degree (i.e. the graduation requirement). If a student does not meet the graduation requirement of The Darden School, automatic dismissal from Darden results, and the student must petition the faculty for readmission.
Performance standards for the mid-degree and graduation requirements are enforced on the basis of Academic Standards Committee (ASC) points. Students receive ASC points when they earn a UP or F as a grade of record in a course. ASC points are computed by multiplying the credit hours of the course by the weight assigned to the grade. A UP has a weight of 1 while an F has a weight of 2. For example, ASC points by course credit hours are as follows:
|
0.5 credit hours |
1.5 credit hours |
3.0 credit hours |
| Unsatisfactory Performance |
0.5 ASC points |
1.5 ASC points |
3.0 ASC points |
| Fail |
1.0 ASC points |
3.0 ASC points |
6.0 ASC points |
The minimum performance standards are determined by multiplying the ASC percentage approved by the faculty and the credit hours applicable to the ASC requirement (mid-term and graduation) rounded to the nearest 0.5 credit hours.
Mid-degree: The minimum performance standard to continue pursuit of a Darden MBA degree is not met when ASC points are 30% or more of the cumulative credit hours completed. E.g. If the cumulative number of credit-hours completed is 30 then students with 9 or more ASC points (30 * 30%) will be automatically dismissed from Darden.
Graduation: The minimum performance standard to graduate is not met when the ASC points are 25% or more of the total credit hours required for graduation e.g. If the total number of credit-hours required for graduation is 60 then students with 15 or more ASC points (60 * 25%) will be automatically dismissed from Darden.
| ASC Requirement |
ASC percentage |
Credit hours |
Example |
| Mid-degree |
30% |
Mid-degree credit hours |
30% * 30 mid-point credit hours =9 |
| Graduation |
25% |
Total credit hours |
25% * 60 total credit hours=15 or more ASC points |
There are two designations for every course as determined by the respective MBA programs: required and core. Being deemed a “required” course by an MBA program determines whether a make-up assignment is required for receiving an F grade of record. Being deemed a “core” course determines the distribution used to determine grades.
If a student receives an F as a grade of record in a required course, the student must satisfactorily complete a written makeup assignment. Students must receive a grade of Low Performance or better on the written makeup assignment to receive the credit hours for the required course; however, the grade of F will remain on the transcript. Students who do not receive a grade of Low Performance or better will be dismissed from the program and they must petition the faculty for readmission. Written makeup assignments will be given only for required courses. ASC will formally notify the student of the need for a makeup assignment. All required courses must stand ready to administer a makeup assignment to any student receiving an F. The form of the written make-up assignment and the completion date are at the discretion of the MBA programs in conjunction with the course head. The assignment should cover material representative of the entire course for which the credit hours are attributable. This makeup requirement will be administered by the course head of the relevant course, who must inform the Academic Standards Committee and the Registrar of the outcome through a written correspondence. If the course head advises the Academic Standards Committee that the make-up activity has been completed satisfactorily, the original F grade remains on the transcript, but the notation “Credit by Additional Work” is added to the transcript.
Non-required courses are defined as any course that is not defined as a required course by the MBA programs. No makeup assignment is required for a student earning an F grade in a non-required course. First Year Electives in the Full-Time Program are exception to the F course grade requirement for non-required courses. Students are required to earn 4.5 credits of First Year Electives. Students who earn an F grade in a First Year Elective course will be required to make up these credits in their second year by taking
- the First-Year Program electives offered in the Second-Year Program,
- the First-Year Program electives offered in the First-Year Program during their second year.
Faculty permission is required for students to retake the First Year Elective in which they received an F; however, the grade of F will remain on the transcript, but the notation “Credit by Additional Work” is added to the transcript.
The Readmission Procedure
Students, who are dismissed from the MBA Program because they do not meet the mid-degree requirement, may petition the Academic Standards Committee for readmission. Students, who are dismissed from the MBA Program because they do not meet the graduation requirement as stated in Section II-E-2 (i.e. an accumulation of ASC points equal to 25% of the total credit hours needed to earn an MBA degree), may only petition the faculty for readmission. Readmission will depend on the presence of extenuating circumstances and the ability of the student to complete the remainder of the program satisfactorily. Students who, based on grades received before the end of the program, have failed to meet the graduation standards of the Darden School may submit a petition for the consideration of the faculty at the time the grades are available or at the end of the program. Students who, based on grades received before the mid-degree evaluation, have failed to meet the mid-degree standards of the Darden School may submit a petition to the Academic Standards Committee for consideration at the time the grades are available or at the mid-degree evaluation of the program.
The Grade of Incomplete (IN)
The IN grade should be assigned and administered consistently with the following IN grade policy statement:
IN Grade Policy Statement
From time to time, occasions arise that necessitate assigning a student a grade that falls outside the standard range. An IN implies that, for reasons known to the individual faculty member, the student enrolled has not completed his or her work at the end of the specified academic period.
The IN grade can only be assigned by the instructor teaching the course, only after the student has informed the instructor of the problem area, and only after the instructor has specifically reviewed with the student the provisions under which the IN grade is granted.
In assigning an IN grade, a faculty member assumes the responsibility of determining the requirements to be met to replace the IN with a standard grade. In accepting an IN grade, the student must assume the responsibility for clearing the IN grade, normally, on or before the end of the semester immediately following the semester in which the IN assignment was made or, in unusual circumstances, by a time approved by the Academic Standards Committee. (Example: An IN grade assigned in June would normally have to be cleared by the end of the summer term in order for the student to begin classes in the fall. An IN grade assigned in the fall term would normally have to be cleared before the end of the spring term.)
An IN grade can only be cleared by a standard letter grade or a W (withdrawn), not by a second IN. An IN grade that is not cleared by the student within the prescribed period will automatically become an F grade.
Students who receive one or more IN grades will come under Academic Standards Committee jurisdiction and will remain under the Academic Standards Committee until the IN grade becomes a letter grade. At that point, normal rules regarding Academic Standards Committee jurisdiction will apply.
The Academic Standards Committee will take no direct (formal notification) action on an IN grade unless the student’s grades apart from the IN grade(s) warrant Academic Standards Committee action. In essence, the student who receives one or more IN grades will be monitored by the Academic Standards Committee until the IN grade(s) is removed.
No student can enter the second year or receive an MBA with an IN grade.
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