Top Professors, Top Education Experience, Top 5 MBA Program — What to Know About Darden in the Rankings

Fall doesn’t just mean back to school at university campuses around the country and world. It’s also a season of multiple school, program and specialty rankings each year.

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business participates in and provides data for major B-school rankings published by Forbes (biannual), The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Princeton Review, Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report. Darden is a mission-driven institution, and measures its progress through success against its mission to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders. However, rankings often serve as important indicators of key aspects of the state of the School.

This fall, new rankings have been delivered from four of the six, with some impressive outcomes for Darden. Read below for highlights from the latest rankings releases. 

Bloomberg Businessweek: Darden Climbs Into the Top 5

The Darden full-time MBA program was ranked No. 5 in the United States in the new 2019 Best Business Schools ranking released by Bloomberg Businessweek in November. The ranking also places Darden No. 1 in the U.S. among public universities.

In addition to the overall ranking, Darden showed strength in multiple subrankings. The School is ranked No. 2 in the category of Learning and No. 4 in the category of Networking.

In September, Bloomberg Businessweek also revealed survey score results from its 2018 ranking. Darden landed the No. 4 rating globally based on its high survey score on the question: “I would recommend my school to a friend because of the quality of its academic program.” The School rated No. 7 globally for “My school’s alumni network has helped me build my career.”

The Economist: Darden Named No. 1 Education Experience in US for Ninth Consecutive Year

In its annual global ranking of full-time MBA programs, The Economist named Darden the No. 1 education experience in the United States for the ninth year in a row. For the second year in a row, Darden’s faculty earned the No. 1 student rating globally.

In addition to the education experience accolade, Darden landed in the Top 10 in eight categories, with multiple No. 1 rankings. Highlights include:

No. 1 — Education Experience (U.S.); No. 2 globally
No. 1 — Student Rating of Faculty, for the third year in a row
No. 1 — Overseas Study, for the third year in a row
No. 1 — Number of Languages on Offer
No. 3 — Student Rating of Program, for the second year in a row
No. 4 — Personal Development and Education Experience
No. 6 — Student Rating of Culture and Classmates
No. 10 — Post-MBA Salary

The Princeton Review: No. 1 for Best Professors Three Years in a Row

The Princeton Review named Darden among the top MBA programs in a number of key categories, including the No. 1 ranking for best professors. Among all MBA programs, Darden was one of only four business schools to have at least 10 Top 10 rankings across the ranked categories.

According to the Best Business Schools 2020 rankings of about 250 business schools, Darden is ranked in the Top 10 in the following categories:

No. 1 — Best Professors, for the third year in a row
No. 2 — Best MBA for Consulting (Top 3 for the third year in a row)
No. 2 — Best MBA for Management (Top 3 for the third year in a row)
No. 4 — Best Campus Environment
No. 6 — Best Career Prospects
No. 6 — Best Graduate Entrepreneurship Program
No. 7 — Best Classroom Experience
No. 7 — Most Competitive Students
No. 8 — Best MBA for Finance
No. 9 — Greatest Resources for Women

The entrepreneurship ranking was released jointly by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine. Darden’s No. 6 position is up one spot from a year ago and seven places since 2015. Funding for ventures started by Darden alumni has increased dramatically in recent years.