The First-Year MBA Experience at UVA Darden

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Trivia Tuesday: The First-Year Experience at UVA/Darden
Posted by Clear Admit on September 7, 2010, at 3:00 am



Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the policies and practices that differentiate the leading business schools. This week’s focus is the structure of Darden’s first-year class and the way it impacts the first-year experience at the school.

Darden’s entering class is divided into five sections of 60-65 students each. As at other business schools that break their classes into smaller groups, Darden’s sections are designed to represent the professional and demographic diversity of the full first-year class. Each section takes all of its core curriculum courses together and therefore shares a common set of faculty. Given the relatively small size of the sections and the intensely participatory nature of Darden’s case-based learning style, the school has taken the unusual step of reassigning sections at the conclusion of the first semester. This allows students to benefit from the ideas and perspectives of a new group of classmates during second semester case discussions. Section loyalty runs deep at Darden, despite the mid-year reshuffling of the class. Inter-section athletic events and other competitions take place each year, with students’ first semester sections holding their allegiance. In addition, alumni returning to campus often identify themselves by their section affiliation.

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Darden first-years are further divided into 50-60 Learning Teams of five to six students apiece. As with the sections, learning team assignments are made with an eye to the diversity of students’ professional, academic and geographic backgrounds. However, Darden’s Learning Teams differ from those at most schools in that they are made up of students drawn from different sections of the class. Because class participation counts for such a large percentage of the grade in each course, case-based schools such as Darden and Harvard ensure that Learning Team members are not in the same class sections. This arrangement allows students to share their insights freely without having to compete against teammates in the classroom.

Unlike the first-year sections, Darden’s Learning Teams work together throughout the first year. Students are expected to use the teams as a resource for sharing and testing ideas, but above all, the teams are seen as an exercise in learning to lead a diverse group toward a shared goal. The school expects students to be committed to their Learning Teams and these teams play a central role in the lives of first-years.

To support the work of the Learning Teams, Darden reserves a study room for each team from 7-10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday evenings. This practice is unique to Darden among its peer programs; few business schools have enough study rooms to provide their learning teams with dedicated meeting space throughout the week.