Darden Expands Executive MBA Programs to D.C.

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced Wednesday that the school’s renowned MBA for Executives (EMBA) and Global MBA for Executives (GEMBA) will soon be available at a new location in the Washington, D.C. area.

Beginning in August, executives who wish to pursue Darden’s MBA degree while working or pursuing other interests full-time can do so at a new state-of-the-art facility in Rosslyn, just across the Potomac River from the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. The Darden program’s unique, flexible and global executive formats continue UVA’s tradition of developing responsible leaders.  

“Washington is a global gateway, where business and government intersect,” Scott Beardsley, dean of the Darden School, said. “For 60 years, the Darden School has developed business, government and military leaders through its MBA and executive education programs. The capital region was an obvious choice for our new location, since Virginia has always had close ties to the nation’s capital. The new location’s proximity to Union Station and the D.C.-area airports, and the once-a-month residencies from Friday to Sunday, make the program easily accessible to executives commuting in from most U.S. metropolitan areas or international gateway cities.”

The Darden executive MBA – like the residential MBA format – is designed and delivered every step of the way by Darden’s top-ranked faculty, and awards the MBA degree from the University of Virginia. The Washington executive MBA experience will mirror the experience delivered in Charlottesville. The program’s convenient format is ideal for international students who wish to move to the United States and pursue diverse interests like entrepreneurship or nonprofit work while studying.

A Washington-area location is the first in a series of enhancements coming in 2016 that will enable executives to further customize and globalize their executive MBA education. Business leaders accepted into the program will be given the choice of two base learning locations (the Washington area or Charlottesville) and two program formats (EMBA or the intensive global executive option, GEMBA).

EMBA students may choose one or more global residencies in either Brazil, China, Europe or India; GEMBA students will have residencies all four locations. In addition to job treks to hotspots such as New York, Hong Kong, London and Silicon Valley, California, students will further shape and increase their global exposure by choosing from additional globally delivered electives and global consulting projects. Darden offers opportunities in dozens of countries around the world, including Cuba, Uganda, France, South Africa, Japan and Mexico, among others. Students can also design their own global project in partnership with the faculty.

“The school’s mission is to improve the world by developing responsible leaders, who are also global and entrepreneurial,” Beardsley said. “The District’s concentrations in entrepreneurship and innovation, its international influence and its tradition of leadership naturally align with the Darden School’s strengths. The program prepares leaders for high performance through weekend residencies, global residencies and distance learning, of which Darden is a pioneer.”

Regardless of their base learning location, all students will spend time in Charlottesville and in Washington.

“We innovate relentlessly, and wherever we go, we bring our dynamic educational experience, which is cited as the world’s best,” said Sankaran “Venkat” Venkataraman, Darden’s senior associate dean for faculty and research. “Over 21 months, our executive students will experience an unparalleled depth of learning and preparation. Darden’s unique approach, based on the case method and experiential learning, is active, collaborative and student-centered.

“Over the past decade, we have learned a great deal about how executives learn – what works and where and why – and what they need and want,” he added. “Our goal here is to bring forth the best of Darden’s EMBA and GEMBA, to build on our natural ties to the Washington, D.C. area, and to shape the next generation of leaders.”

The Darden MBA is ranked No. 2 in the world by The Economist and No. 1 globally in general management by Financial Times. For information about Darden’s MBA formats, click here.

(The Rosslyn site is subject to approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.)