Based at the historic University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, founded by Thomas Jefferson, the business school counts current CEOs of DHL eCommerce, Politico, and Pulitzer among its alumni.
The Darden MBA is a comprehensive management program that integrates the university's broad focus on ethics, purpose, and responsible leadership. The learning experience is concentrated in the immersive case study method of teaching, and students can also gain international experience through Global Immersion Courses at the end of their first year.
MBA students can choose from eight concentrations across career tracks and theme tracks. Additionally, there is the Management Science specialization, which carries STEM designation, meaning graduates on an F-1 visa can remain in the US for up to three years instead of the usual one year.
Darden has also been praised for the quality of its student experience. The MBA program is more diverse than other top-ranked US schools, with 41% of the 2025 class hailing from 33 different countries. Additionally, 16% of the class are first-generation college students.
Charlottesville is a growing metropolitan region with solid links to startups and tech companies; the city ranks among the top 20 in the US for per capita VC investment.
If you’re thinking of heading to Darden for your MBA, you might be wondering where graduates end up. To help you find out, we've gathered all the info, including average salaries, top locations, and popular industries, based on the school’s most recent MBA employment report.
So, what can you expect to do with a Darden MBA?
Darden MBA popular industries
The Financial Times MBA ranking places the Darden school of business careers service among the 10 best in the world, beating many top US-based business schools.
In total, 90% of the 326 Darden MBA grads seeking full-time employment in 2024 accepted a job offer within three months of graduating. Most Darden MBAs (83%) accepted job offers before they’d even graduated.
The most popular industry for graduates was consulting. A significant 43% of Darden MBAs accepted jobs in this industry, followed by 27% who joined the financial sector. Making up the top five most popular industries for Darden MBAs were technology, healthcare, and retail.
While these are common areas for MBA graduates, other members of the cohort entered a variety of industries, including energy, transportation, real estate, government, media, and non-profit.
Charlottesville is a prime location for MBA graduates. The city has a growing economy, and some of the region’s most significant sectors are medical services, manufacturing, and life sciences.
Most popular Darden MBA industries
Companies hiring Darden MBA graduates
The majority of Darden MBAs (79%) secured their jobs through school-facilitated career activities, including converting their Darden-secured internship into a job offer (60%) and responding to job postings on the school’s careers system (8%).
A smaller number of students secured a job offer through their school network, including alumni or faculty referrals, or via a school-led job fair or conference. Darden MBA graduates join an extensive alumni network of 19,000 people in more than 90 countries and can access the larger University of Virginia for employment advice.
There are familiar names among the list of top Darden recruiters, including Amazon, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and JP Morgan Chase & Co.
A few Darden MBA graduates opted out of a full-time job search to start their own companies. Students with entrepreneurial ambitions can join the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club while studying and receive support from the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology.
Average Darden MBA salary
Although Darden was ranked as one of the least expensive top-ranked MBA programs in the US in our Cost of MBA Report 2024, applicants will nonetheless wonder about the potential return on their investment.
It’s good news, though, as Darden graduates command some of the highest salaries of all top-ranked MBA programs. The average median salary for Darden MBAs was $175,000 this year, rising to $205,000 when including the average signing bonus achieved by the class. This represents a four-year high median salary.
Graduates with the highest median base salary in 2024 ($215,000) categorized their industry as ‘other,’ but the second-highest base salary was reported in the consulting industry ($190,000), followed by financial services ($175,000).
Graduates reported the highest average salaries in the northeast region of the US ($170,600), which includes destinations like New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.
The second-highest average salaries were found in the West of the US, where graduates reported salaries averaging $166,391.
Darden MBA job destinations
As is the case for many US-based MBA programs, most Darden MBA graduates (96%) find employment in the US after their program. In 2024, a few graduates relocated to Asia, Europe, or Latin America after their MBA.
In North America, most Darden MBA graduates are hired in the Northeast. As mentioned, grads in this region also report the highest average base salaries.
However, Darden MBA graduates can be found throughout the United States, with students also ending up in the Midwest, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic.
Who is the Darden MBA for?
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business is an ideal choice for students who want the prestige and opportunities of a large public university combined with a commitment to practical, immersive learning.
Darden has a particularly strong careers office, which helps graduates secure internships and employment offers at some of the world’s biggest companies.
MBA students can also access a close-knit student community in Charlottesville, where there are plenty of career opportunities in innovative industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services.
