Virginia Darden

History

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819. Classes commenced in 1825 with sixty-eight students and eight faculty members. Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr., who served the Commonwealth and the nation as governor of Virginia, championed the effort to establish a graduate school, and his immense support led to the founding of the School in 1955. He conceived and pioneered the campaign to establish a graduate school of business administration to nurture the managerial talent required for the economic growth of the state. The School was given his name to honor his outstanding efforts towards creating a graduate business school.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Darden School improves the world by developing and inspiring responsible leaders and by advancing knowledge.

Core Strengths of the School

The core curriculum enables the students to gain an in-depth understanding of all the aspects of general management such as finance, marketing, accounting and leadership to build a holistic perspective on business and management. The School believes in experiential learning rather than traditional classroom-based lectures. Hence, the core curriculum is designed to accommodate a series of case studies, simulations and other experiential learning activities. The Case Method learning approach at Darden engages the students in interactive discussions and encourages them to identify the problems, define alternatives, take decisions and outline a course of action after thorough analysis. Students learn to respect others’ point of view, inspire their team members, leverage the expertise of each team member, prioritize their objectives and resolve the areas of uncertainty. Students explore the complexities of the real-world business situation through case studies, role playing and business simulations that develop them into agile decision-makers who are ready to lead organizations across the world. This active learning approach equips the students with knowledge and skills required to meet real-world challenges and take their organizations to higher levels of success.

Uniqueness in MBA Pedagogy

Darden gives immense emphasis to experiential learning and this philosophy is embodied in the numerous experiential learning opportunities provided by the School. The Consulting Darden Business Projects DBPs gives hands-on experience in areas such as developing a business plan, performing market analysis or creating a financial forecast. Students get involved in the Community Consultants of Darden, a student club that provides marketing, operational and strategic evaluation services to small businesses, thus putting their skills to test. Students are highly benefited by the numerous field experience activities that are a part of the core and elective courses at Darden. Students explore the audacious innovations and tools that are driving the business and market through the field study component. Student entrepreneurs at Darden can leverage upon the funding and facilities provided by i.Lab Incubator to develop their startups. A series of Entrepreneurship Competitions allow the students to present their business ideas to investors and business leaders, thus encouraging innovation and independent thinking among the students. The Batten Venture Internship Program BVIP is an excellent summer internship opportunity, where students get first-hand experience of the working of a venture capital firm or a small-scale business organization. The Darden Venturing Projects encourage the students to develop their business ideas and transform them into business proposals after doing a thorough feasibility analysis. The Technology Accelerator course allows the students to identify the current market needs and capitalize on the latest technologies to address these needs. Additionally, there are workshops such as the Venture Capital Bootcamp for students who dream to be entrepreneurs in the future.

In order to provide a global perspective to the Darden students, Darden School connects with eighty countries across the world. Students work in small teams to provide consulting services to an international company as a part of the Global Field Experiences GFEs. Here, they liaise with clients from a different culture and work across the boundaries to gain an understanding of the practical side of global business. Students can also participate in the faculty-led Global Business Experiences, where they get a chance to visit companies, government agencies and cultural sites of countries such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Israel, South Africa, and Sweden. Darden students get the unique opportunity to travel on-site for a week and work on Kaizen Projects, where they collaborate with the employees of Danaher (a global science and technology company) to resolve issues related to manufacturing, sales, marketing or R&D. Exchange Programs are another opportunity for the students to deepen their understanding of the global business environment by studying at one of the partner schools and immersing into a new culture. All such experiences provide insights into the ways of conducting business in an international setting.

CONCENTRATIONS OFFERED

LOCATION ADVANTAGES

The School is located in the city of Charlottesville of Virginia. The city is home to four breweries- South Street Brewery, Champion Brewing Company, Three Notch’d Brewing Company and C’ville-ian Brewing Company. Shenandoah National Park offers many hiking trails to adventurous visitors. The Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway offer scenic drives that merge with each other at the south entrance of Shenandoah. Paramount Theater is the ultimate destination for theatre and drama lovers, where several events including Broadway shows and concerts are held.

CAREER SUPPORT

The Career Development Center supports the Darden students throughout their careers by providing exceptional job search support and instilling career management skills that would help them advance in their careers. Students get access to tools such as CareerLeader, a self-assessment tool that maps the students’ interests with the potential post-MBA career paths. Students looking for a career transition can seek guidance from professional career advisors and indulge themselves in BVIP which would help them gain hands-on experience in a new job function or industry. The numerous events, workshops and classes organized by the Center throughout the year aids them in the job search process. Students can also get involved in the career discovery forums, where they can get to know the job opportunities available in various fields such as Consulting, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing, etc. through knowledgeable speakers and industry experts.