What MBA Students Want (to Learn)

It’s been 70 years since the University of Virginia Darden School of Business MBA program launched in 1955, its classrooms filled with students who came of age during World War II partaking in a single residential format and preparing to thrive in a postwar economy.

Fast forward six generations, and today’s Darden MBA students have more options to earn a degree, choosing from among three formats. With 27 being the average age of Full-Time MBA students when they start the program, 28 for Part-Time MBAs and 35 for Executive MBAs, most are Millennials or in the first years of Gen Z. For them, the internet was a given, and their cohorts are shaped by rapid technological change, upheavals in communication and economic uncertainty.

Today’s MBA students across formats still choose Darden for its top-ranked faculty and educational experience. According to the School’s annual end-of-year survey for Full-Time MBA students, nearly 70% of the Class of 2025 identified the case method, faculty quality or the program’s academic rigor as what they liked best about the academic program. They also still prioritize fundamental business skills, but they also seek more: the confidence to aim for meaningful work, a sharper focus on the interpersonal nature of business and the tools to deploy technologies that didn’t even exist a few years ago.

Tough Conversations

One notable shift in interest for students isn’t technological, but interpersonal. “There’s definitely an interest in learning around having tougher conversations,” said Professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne, vice dean and senior associate dean for the Full-Time MBA program. Grushka-Cockayne recently swapped program leadership positions with Professor Melissa Thomas-Hunt, who is now senior associate dean of professional degree programs after leading the Full-Time MBA program previously. “They want to learn how to engage in dialogues that are more meaningful and deep, and learn how to approach those dialogues with open ears and willingness to learn a different perspective.”

Lively discussion in class has always been a hallmark of Darden and the case method, but some students want to push further into building trust, empathy and understanding in an increasingly polarized world.

One unique way to achieve this has been through the Darden Fight Club, a debate club shepherded by Professor Bobby Parmar, who teaches in the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship area at Darden and is the Associate Dean for Faculty Development. Full-Time MBA students approached Parmar with the idea three years ago, interested in deeper conversation and feedback than the case method could provide with a 60- to 70-student section. Around 12 students run the club every year, selecting students with different backgrounds and unique points of view to participate. Contrary to the tongue-in-cheek name of the club, the willingness to argue constructively and show care and compassion for classmates are considered table stakes to join.

The students decide the topics and style of debate, while Parmar advises and offers feedback to help students understand patterns and bigger-picture discussion skills. “I think they learn a lot about how to argue effectively, how to listen carefully,” said Parmar. “They come to see the difference between debate and dialogue. What does it take to win a debate versus what does it take to really understand someone else?”

The formation of this club reflects a growing portion of students who are dissatisfied with the tenor of conversation in society and want to do something different. “They really see this ability to disagree constructively as an important leadership skill,” said Parmar.

The Big Picture

For Lauren Pate, a member of the Executive MBA Class of 2026, the Darden experience is about the bigger picture.

“I wanted to broaden my horizons,” she said. Without many quant or business nitty-gritty type classes in her educational background at Notre Dame, Pate wanted to become more well-rounded in those practical skills as a step toward a more thoughtful approach to her career.

“Strategic thinking is what I came to learn,” she said. “I think a lot of decisions I’ve had to make have come from a place of not having options. At times in the workplace, I found myself doing the day-to-day tasks and not taking a step back and thinking about the bigger context. I think learning a more strategic approach will help make me a better leader.”

Tarah Scamardella (PTMBA ’25), a member of the first graduating cohort of Part-Time MBAs, confirmed strategic thinking was a key draw for her and her classmates. As her finance role increasingly included strategy decisions and collaboration with teams across the company, she felt like she would benefit from additional education to “connect the dots.”

“I was thinking, if I want to be a controller or CFO or COO one day, what’s going to help drive me to that level?” Scamardella said.

Pate noted a characteristic “scrappy” attitude among her class, which manifests in excitement about topics like entrepreneurship, defense tech and venture capital.

Grushka-Cockayne confirmed rising interest among students in all formats in venture capital and private equity. They have a lot of questions about those worlds, and she noted growing interest in acquiring companies and restructuring them. The momentum around entrepreneurship and venture capital may signal a shift away from climbing the traditional corporate ladder in favor of a more varied career.

Darden has augmented its offerings in the VC space in recent years. The Venture Capital Initiative was launched in 2021 and houses opportunities like internships at VC firms, and in 2024 the School launched its Private Equity Initiative with a variety of hands-on learning opportunities.

The More Things Change

Lili Powell is the  Julie Logan Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration .

Some foundational skills and student interests are evergreen, like how businesses communicate. While the tools of communication and marketing have been changing at light speed, the core principles endure. “In communication, we have so many topics of interest that range from premodern to post-post-modern times,” said Professor Lili Powell, academic head of the Communication area. “Students want and need to learn enduring topics that date back to Aristotle’s The Art of Rhetoric, including communication strategy and the use of ethos, pathos and logos.”

At the same time, understanding up-to-the-minute communication tools is a necessity. Powell noted that generative AI is becoming part of the toolkit, from analyzing presentations to drafting written and visual messages. “One of our newer electives, ‘Storytelling with Data,’ has taken off like a rocket with almost 60 percent of our residential MBAs wanting to take it as a First Year elective.”

Professor Luca Cian is the Killgallon Ohio Art Professor of Business Administration

Professor Luca Cian, Marketing academic area head, observed that many students arrive seeking specific technical skills but broaden their interests to a more holistic perspective in the course of their MBA. In marketing, he says, Darden students “have consistently shown keen interest in areas such as consumer behavior, brand management, digital marketing, pricing and marketing analytics.”

But lately, emerging topics are gaining more of a foothold. “Subjects like influencer marketing and artificial intelligence in marketing have gained prominence,” he said. “Students frequently inquire about practical applications of these technologies.” Cian said Darden’s case method approach, used in all formats, continues to effectively broaden perspectives. “Initially, many see marketing as primarily about promotion, but they leave understanding its critical role in product development, pricing strategy and overall business model design.”

AI is Everywhere

If there’s one topic dominating conversations across fields, it’s artificial intelligence.

“AI is sort of the trendy thing,” said Full-Time MBA student Mike Gaynor (Class of 2026). He believes AI is a transformative force that future business leaders must understand.

“Basically, there’s no aspect of society that’s going to remain untouched. So, number one is learning how to use AI most effectively and understand what it’s good for and what it’s not.” He’s particularly interested in how to apply it in data analytics and decision-making, an interest many of his classmates share.

Staying on top of a rapidly changing business environment and demand for AI expertise, Darden established the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business in fall 2024, and in the spring of 2025 announced a new MBA program concentration in AI, data analytics and decision sciences, with 25 courses from which to choose.

“I think the value of an MBA is: If you have a strong foundation, then it becomes a lot easier to build with whatever pieces are thrown your way,” said Gaynor. “AI is just one piece. Even if it’s not necessarily always clear, at least you’ve got a fighting chance.”