EMBA - Electives

Consistent with Darden’s general management orientation, Executive MBA electives cover a broad range of topics including strategy, leadership, finance, entrepreneurship, ethics and more. In the Executive MBA program, students take a total of 12 electives. Electives are delivered primarily in the second year of the program, and students choose from a slate of electives offered specifically for executive format students.

Students can specialize or concentrate while at Darden, but it is not required.

During the elective period, there are seven focus areas:

• Data Analytics and Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• ESG and Social Impact
• Finance
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Strategy

During the elective period, students typically choose from 10 electives per quarter and usually take 3 electives during each quarter. 

Students who complete three electives in any of these areas will automatically receive a letter from the Registrar indicating they earned that focus area. However, students have broad flexibility to pursue their interests when choosing electives, and are not required to specialize at any point during the program.

Executive MBA students enjoy additional scheduling flexibility during the elective period with in-person sessions for some electives meeting only on Fridays, while others convene on Saturday and Sunday. 

Elective opportunities are also offered during January term (J-term) of the second year. J-term is a short, 10-day term between the fall and spring semesters. Courses offered during this period are held in a variety of locations – Charlottesville, Rosslyn and online. Taking a J-term elective can lighten a student's schedule during a subsequent elective quarter. 

Additional global residencies can also count as electives. EMBA students who travel on more than one global residency and GEMBA format students participating in four global residencies can enjoy lighter quarters during the elective period because of their additional global coursework.  

Electives vary from class to class, and, each year, the Executive MBA program team works with students and faculty to develop the course offerings. 

For additional details about each course, please the Course Directory on the Darden Registrar website. Pro Tip: In the Course Directory, sort by “Program Offering.” Executive MBA electives are identified as “Exec-Elec” and each course includes a course abstract that offers a helpful summary of the course. Past elective courses are listed below: