UVA Darden School of Business

Charlottesville, United States - Founded 1955

UVA Darden School of Business is the graduate business school of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. It opened in 1955. The Full-Time MBA runs 21 months, and the first-year core curriculum is taught by the case method. The Class of 2027 entered in August 2025 with 361 students: 30% international (28 countries), 35% women and 21% U.S. racial minority. Its GMAT Focus average was 671 and its classic GMAT average was 725. The Class of 2025 reported a median base salary of $175,000 and a median signing bonus of $30,000. The 2026-27 application has Early Action, Round 1, Round 2 and three Round 3 deadlines (March, April and May 2027) for the class entering in August 2027.

Class size

361

Avg GMAT

671

Median salary

$175,000

Class profile

Applications

Avg GPA

3.5

GMAT range

626-715

Intl students

30%

Women

35%

Avg work exp

5.7 yrs

Avg age

GRE accepted

Yes

Pre-MBA industries

Financial Services: 22%Technology: 14%Consulting: 13%Government: 11%Other: 11%Biotech/Healthcare/Pharma: 9%Consumer Packaged Goods: 6%Communication/Media/Entertainment: 5%Nonprofit: 4%Energy: 3%Manufacturing: 2%Real Estate: 2%

Employment

Median base salary

$175,000

Signing bonus

$30,000

Placement (3 mo)

89.3%

Offers at grad

79.5%

Changed industry

Changed function

Industry	% of class
Consulting	37.3%
Financial Services	26%
Technology	16.1%
Consumer Packaged Goods	3.8%
Healthcare	3.1%
Retail	3.1%
Manufacturing	2.7%
Energy	2.4%
Transportation and Logistics	2.4%

Programs

Type	Program	Duration	Format	Tuition	Class size
Full-time MBA	Full-Time MBA	21 months	Full-time, on-campus	$83,000-$88,240/year (2026-27 tuition and fees)	361
Early-career	Future Year Scholars Program	Enroll after 2 to 5 years of work	Admission in the final year of study; MBA in Charlottesville after two to five years of work	MBA tuition at enrollment; annual $500 deposits are credited to tuition	-
Executive MBA	Executive MBA	21 months	Hybrid: monthly weekend residencies plus distance learning	See program page	-

All full-time MBA programs compared All early-career MBA programs compared

Admissions

Round	Deadline	Decision by
Early Action	9 September 2026	28 October 2026
Round 1	7 October 2026	9 December 2026
Round 2	7 January 2027	17 March 2027
Round 3 (March)	1 March 2027	2 April 2027
Round 3 (April)	1 April 2027	5 May 2027
Round 3 (May)	1 May 2027	28 May 2027

Application fee

$250

Tuition

$83,000-$88,240/year (2026-27 tuition and fees)

Total cost

$118,196-$125,420/year (2026-27 cost of attendance)

Interview

Interviews are required before admission and last up to 45 minutes. Interviews are anonymous: the interviewer has not read your application or resume. Admissions Committee members or Second Year students conduct them, and both carry equal weight. Early Action applicants can book open interviews from August through the end of September, first come, first served; in all other rounds interviews are by invitation after the application is reviewed. Interviews take place on Grounds, by Zoom, or in select cases off Grounds.

English test

Required

Deferral

Deferral requests are reviewed case by case. Recent deferrals were granted for military service, health issues and Teach For America service.

FAQ

What GMAT score do I need for Darden?

Darden has no minimum score. The Class of 2027 averaged 671 on the GMAT Focus (middle 80% 626-715) and 725 on the classic GMAT (middle 80% 690-750). Darden also accepts the GRE, Executive Assessment, MCAT and LSAT, and reviews test waiver requests case by case.

Does Darden publish an acceptance rate?

No. Darden publishes class size, test scores, GPA and demographics for each entering class but not an acceptance rate.

What are the Darden 2026-27 deadlines?

Early Action 9 September 2026, Round 1 7 October 2026, Round 2 7 January 2027, and Round 3 on 1 March, 1 April and 1 May 2027. Each round admits students to the class matriculating in August 2027.

What do Darden graduates earn?

For the Class of 2025, the median base salary was $175,000 (mean $162,578) and the median signing bonus was $30,000. 89.3% of graduates seeking employment had accepted a job within three months of graduation.

Sources

1UVA Darden School of Business, Class profile
2UVA Darden School of Business, Admissions
3UVA Darden School of Business, Employment report (checked October 15, 2026)

Campus photo by tldagny, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.