UVA Darden Rises to No. 2 Public School in US News MBA Ranking

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business rose in U.S. News and World Report’s 2021 Best Business Schools ranking of MBA programs for the second consecutive year, climbing to No. 11 overall and from No. 3 to No. 2 among programs at public universities.

Darden excelled in salary and career success metrics. With 96.3 percent of the full-time MBA Class of 2019 graduates employed within three months of graduation, Darden’s most recent graduates ranked No. 5 overall for the percentage securing jobs. U.S. News said the class also ranked No. 5 for highest average starting salary and bonus, rising more than $4,500 from the previous year to $165,292.

Darden’s full-time MBA wasn’t the only program to climb in the rankings. The School’s Executive MBA program rose one spot to No. 13 overall.

U.S. News named Darden the No. 6 MBA for management and the No. 18 MBA for entrepreneurship.

The U.S. News Best Business Schools 2020 list represents the final major MBA rankings release of the 2019–20 academic year. Additional ranking highlights for Darden this year include:

• No. 1 — MBA Program, among public universities; No. 5 overall (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• No. 1 — Best Education Experience in the United States (The Economist, 2011–19)
• No. 1 — Student Rating of Faculty (The Economist, 2017–19)
• No. 1 — Best Professors (The Princeton Review, 2017–19)
• No. 1 — Overseas Study (The Economist, 2017–19)
• No. 2 — Learning (Bloomberg Businessweek)
• No. 2 — General Management (Financial Times); ranked No. 1 or 2 eight consecutive years
• No. 2 — Best MBA for Consulting (The Princeton Review)
• No. 2 — Best MBA for Management (The Princeton Review)