As we prepare to welcome our newest MPP cohort to Grounds for the start of orientation, we are excited to share a bit more about the new students joining us this fall. Our MPP cohort is comprised of both traditional two-year postgraduate MPP students who already have an undergraduate degree and Accelerated MPP students who begin our program in their final year of undergraduate study at UVA. Below, you will find additional information about the postgraduate MPP portion of the cohort. 

For the postgraduate MPP program, we received 257 applications for Fall 2022 entry. We are excited to have 57 of our applicants join us this fall. Our incoming students are from sixteen states including California, Texas, South Dakota, and Kansas, as well as students with primary or dual citizenship to seven countries, including Australia and Cambodia. Minority students comprise over a quarter of the new class, and women comprise a little more than half of the incoming postgraduate cohort. Additionally, we have four active duty or veterans of the armed services who will be joining our program this fall. 

We admitted students with GPAs that ranged from 2.8 to 4.0; most students admitted (middle 50%) had a GPA that fell within the 3.4-3.8 range. Thirty nine undergraduate universities are represented in the Class of 2024, including Bates, Boston College, Furman, George Washington, Hamilton, Ohio State, Providence, Smith, Texas Christian University, United States Military Academy, University of Chicago, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA, Vanderbilt, and William & Mary. Students had diverse areas of study as well, including Engineering, Mass Communications, Philosophy, Music Education, Sociology, and Women and Gender Studies.

Our postgraduate students bring a diverse range of experiences to the classroom. Some students joined right after completing their undergraduate programs, while others joined with over ten years of work experience. This range of experience brings the average age of our students to just under 25. The cohort contains members of the armed services and AmeriCorps and Teach for America alums, as well as individuals who have worked at Arabella Advisors, Bank of America, Center for Faith Justice, DC Council, Edison Research, Institute for Defense and Business, MIT’s Poverty Action Lab, Teach for America, U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Senate.

Together, our differences make us stronger. Together, we are Batten. We look forward to bringing in the next group of committed policy leaders in the months to come! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send us an email at BattenAdmissions@virginia.edu or make an appointment to discuss the postgraduate MPP with Jeff!