Meet the MPP Class of 2023

This year, we are excited to welcome 93 new students into our Master of Public Policy program! Admission statistics and information about the two paths are listed below.

For the Accelerated MPP program for current UVA students, we received 69 applications for 38 seats, about a 57% admittance rate. This year, we brought in students from eight states across the country, including Nevada, Tennessee, and Maryland. First generation students make up over 20% of our class, up from 18% the year before and marking the continual progress of increasing first-generation representation at Batten. Minority students comprise over 40% of the class, and women comprise over three-quarters of this portion of the cohort.

Additionally, we admitted students with GPAs that ranged from 3.47 to 4.0. Most students admitted (middle 50%) had a GPA that fell within the 3.6-3.8 range. Students in this cohort are majoring in degrees throughout the College, including Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law; Cognitive Science; Global Studies; Chinese Language and Literature; and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, in addition to students from the Engineering School (Civil Engineering) and the School of Education and Human Development (Youth & Social Innovation). Students were active volunteers through Madison House and other volunteer organizations, were engaged in a variety of CIOs and undergraduate research opportunities, and hold part-time positions across Grounds including in Housing and Residence Life, Orientation and New Student Programs, and the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center. Extracurricular activities on Grounds vary from the Latinx Leadership Institute, the Honor Committee, Social Justice Education Collective, and the Blueprint Leadership Program. Additionally, our students work and intern in roles throughout Charlottesville and beyond, including with congressional campaigns, US State Department, and Ashoka India.

For the postgraduate MPP program, we received 382 applications for 55 seats. We brought in students from eighteen states including Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, and Washington, as well as students with primary or dual citizenship to seven countries, including Mexico and the Nigeria. First generation students make up almost 15% of the postgraduate cohort. Minority students comprise over 43% of the class, and women comprise a little more than half of the postgraduate cohort. Additionally, we have two active duty or veterans of the armed services who joined our program this fall.

We admitted students with GPAs that ranged from 3.0 to 4.0; most students admitted (middle 50%) had a GPA that fell within the 3.3-3.7 range. Forty undergraduate universities are represented in the Class of 2023, including Harvard University, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Georgetown, Berkeley, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Richmond. Students had diverse areas of study as well, including Arabic, Comparative Literature, Information Engineering, Music and Musical Theater, and Psychology.

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 25. The cohort contains members of the armed services and returned Peace Corps volunteers and Teach for America alums, as well as individuals who have worked at The Nature Conservancy, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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 or the Accelerated MPP with Anne!