UVA Darden Earns 11 Top 10 Rankings in The Princeton Review, Including No. 1 for Best Professors

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has been recognized among the nation’s leading MBA programs in The Princeton Review’s Best Business Schools 2027 rankings, earning Top 10 placements in 11 categories — the highest total in the School’s history and the third consecutive year Darden has appeared in 10 or more ranked categories.

The results are led by Darden’s No. 1 ranking for Best Professors for the third consecutive year. The School also placed No. 2 for Most Family Friendly, No. 3 for Best MBA for Consulting, No. 4 for Best Administered and No. 4 for Best Campus Environment.

“These rankings are especially meaningful because they reflect what our students experience every day,” said Interim Dean Mike Lenox. “Being recognized once again for the best professors in the country is an extraordinary honor, but the breadth of these results tells an even fuller story — of exceptional teaching, a demanding and deeply supportive community, and people across Darden committed to helping students thrive. They are a testament to the strength of the School and the momentum carrying Darden into its next chapter.”

Darden also remained in the Top 5 for Best Classroom Experience (No. 5) for the sixth consecutive year and moved into the Top 5 for Most Competitive Students (No. 5, up from No. 6). Together, those rankings reflect strong student feedback on the academic experience.

Overall, seven of Darden’s 11 Top 10 placements were in the Top 5, tying the Stanford Graduate School of Business for the most Top 5 finishes among schools ranked by The Princeton Review this year.

The School also continued to perform well across career-focused categories. Darden ranked No. 6 for Best MBA for Management, No. 6 for Best MBA for Finance, No. 6 for Best Career Prospects and entered the Best MBA for Operations category for the first time at No. 10.

Unlike many other rankings, The Princeton Review does not produce an absolute ranking of MBA programs. Instead, the publication selects top programs and evaluates them across 18 categories it considers most relevant to prospective MBA candidates. The Top 10 schools in each category are then reported for the published ranking. Some of these individual rankings are based on school-reported data, others on student survey data and others on a combination of both.

Darden’s 2027 Princeton Review Rankings

No. 1 – Best Professors (third consecutive year)

No. 2 – Most Family Friendly (second consecutive year)

No. 3 – Best MBA for Consulting (second consecutive year)

No. 4 – Best Administered

No. 4 – Best Campus Environment

No. 5 – Best Classroom Experience

No. 5 – Most Competitive Students

No. 6 – Best MBA for Management

No. 6 – Best MBA for Finance

No. 6 – Best Career Prospects

No. 10 – Best MBA for Operations

Because the rankings emphasize student perspectives across multiple dimensions of the MBA experience, Darden’s performance reflects strengths in teaching, the classroom environment, community and career preparation.

Earlier this year, the Financial Times released its influential 2026 global ranking of Full-Time MBA programs. Darden was ranked the No. 9 MBA program in the U.S., a new high (excluding 2021 during the global pandemic, when many schools did not participate), and No. 19 globally (up from No. 20 last year). Darden ranked No. 2 among U.S. public business schools, up from No. 3 last year (our third consecutive year in the top three).