Charlottesville, US · 21 months · class of 361
UVA Darden MBA: cost, salary and payback
A two-year program in Charlottesville that tops our consulting ranking and placed 89.3% of job seekers within three months.
Paid back after graduation in
4.1 years
Total cost $395,900 · 10-year NPV $257,290
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $178,680 |
| Living budget | $59,720 |
| Salary given up, 21 months | $157,500 |
| Total cost | $395,900 |
| Salary after: median base salary | $175,000 |
| Signing bonus × share receiving it | $26,070 |
| 10-year net present value | $257,290 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | 66% |
US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Raises of 5% a year with the MBA and 3% without, discounted at 5%, before tax. How this is calculated.
Fees and budget read on October 13, 2026 · employment: Class of 2025 (MBA CSEA standard) · Built by Radif Partners · Method
- Tuition and fees
- $178,680
- Total cost, salary given up included
- $395,900
- median base salary
- $175,000
- Payback, reference person
- 4.1 years
The Darden MBA at the University of Virginia costs $238,400 for two years of tuition, fees and the school's living budget for an international student, counting the second year at the first-year figures the school publishes; Virginia residents and other American students pay less tuition. For a person earning $90,000 today, the 21 months away add $157,500, and since Darden publishes no internship pay, nothing is subtracted: the total is $395,900. The class of 2025 reported a median base salary of $175,000, 86.9% received a signing bonus at a median of $30,000, and 89.3% of job seekers had accepted an offer within three months. On those figures the degree pays back 4.1 years after graduation, with a ten-year net present value of $257,290. Consulting is the largest destination, 37.3% of the class at $190,000, and Darden comes first of 38 in our consulting ranking.
Consulting first, and first in our ranking
37.3% of graduates who took a job went into the consulting industry at a median of $190,000, and 39.4% hold a consulting job by function, a little more because some consultants work inside companies. Weighing that share, the salary and the ten-year value for the same person, our consulting ranking places Darden first of 38. On the consulting median, the payback for the reference person is 3.5 years.
Finance takes 26% at $175,000, though the report gives no split between banking, private equity and asset management, so the finance figures cannot be read segment by segment. By function, corporate finance is a strength: Darden ranks number 3 of 30 there. Technology is 16.1% at $142,800, where the payback stretches to 6.1 years. General management roles take 13.7% of hires by function. Manufacturing employers took 5.1% of the class, enough for Darden to rank number 2 of 14 in that industry.
UVA Darden: where the class went
Share of the class
37.3%
| Salary reported | $190,000 |
| Graduates, about | 135 |
| Payback with that salary | 3.5 years |
Reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA.
Nearly every job seeker placed, and every graduate tracked
89.3% of the class seeking a job had accepted an offer three months after graduation; only 2 American schools on this site report a higher one. The school tracked the outcomes of 100% of the class, so the rate is not flattered by graduates who failed to answer. With salary and ten-year value, that places Darden number 2 of 40 in our whole-class ranking. 98.3% of those jobs were in the United States. For an international student who wants to work at home right after the degree, the payback rests on an American salary; the Europe and Asia rankings show which schools place there.
What the bill counts, and what it leaves out
Charlottesville keeps the living budget at $59,720 for two years, lower than all but 10 of the 29 two-year American programs on this site that publish one. That budget is the international student's version, with travel home included; the school lists a computer allowance apart, and adds estimates for a spouse or a child. Tuition of $176,480 is the international rate, which the school bundles with university fees in one line. The case fees add $2,200. Darden does not publish summer internship pay, so the calculator gives no credit for those months and the total is on the high side.
UVA Darden: when the MBA pays back, for your salary
Payback after graduation
4.1 years
| Total cost with the salary given up | $395,900 |
| Salary after (median base salary) | $175,000 |
| 10-year NPV | $257,290 |
Same assumptions as the main calculator; US dollars.
Where UVA Darden stands in our rankings
- #2 of 40 · Any industry (whole class)
- #1 of 38 · Consulting
- #8 of 39 · Finance, all segments
- #20 of 40 · Technology
- #5 of 39 · Working in the United States
Our fit score, reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA (method). Third-party rankings play no part in it. For reference, UVA Darden was ranked 19 in the FT Global MBA 2026.
What the UVA Darden MBA costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, whole program (published yearly rate ×2.00) | $176,480 |
| Mandatory fees | $2,200 |
| Living budget, whole program | $59,720 |
| Salary given up: $90,000 a year for 21 months | $157,500 |
| Total cost, reference person | $395,900 |
UVA Darden employment report: Class of 2025
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median base salary | $175,000 |
| Signing bonus (median) | $30,000, received by 86.9% |
| Graduates who accepted an offer within three months | 89.3% |
| Response rate to the survey | 100% |
UVA Darden graduates by industry
| Industry, as the school names it | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 37.3% | $190,000 |
| Financial Services | 26% | $175,000 |
| Technology | 16.1% | $142,800 |
| Consumer Packaged Goods + Retail | 6.9% | not published |
| Manufacturing + Transportation and Logistics Services | 5.1% | not published |
| Healthcare (Including Products and Services) | 3.1% | $140,000 |
| Energy | 2.4% | $135,000 |
| Media/Entertainment + Real Estate + Other | 2% | not published |
| Government + Non-Profit/Education | 1% | not published |
Where UVA Darden graduates went to work
| Region | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| US (US Mid-Atlantic + US Midwest + US Northeast + US South + US Southwest + US West) | 98.3% | not published |
| Canada | 0% | not published |
| Europe | 0% | not published |
| Asia | 0.7% | not published |
| Africa | 0% | not published |
| Latin America | 1% | $89,604 |
| Oceania | 0% | not published |
UVA Darden graduates by job function
| Function | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 39.4% | $190,000 |
| Finance/Accounting | 30.5% | $175,000 |
| General Management | 13.7% | $135,000 |
| Marketing/Sales | 7.2% | $141,500 |
| Operations/Logistics | 4.5% | $143,900 |
| Information Technology | 3.1% | $142,800 |
| Human Resources | 1% | not published |
| Other | 0.7% | not published |
Employers named by UVA Darden
Amazon · Barclays · Bank of America · Boston Consulting Group · Capital One · Emerson · McKinsey · JP Morgan Chase · Bain · Visa
Names only: the school gives no hire counts.
The UVA Darden class
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| International students | 30% |
| Women | 35% |
| Average years of work experience | 5.7 |
| GMAT median | 730 |
| Class size | 361 |