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 both portions of the cohort. For the MPP program, we received 446 applications for Fall 2024 entry. We are excited to have 98 of our applicants join us this fall. Our incoming students are from twenty-three states including California, Georgia, Texas, and Massachusetts, as well as students with primary or dual citizenship to eight countries, including Morocco and Afghanistan. Minority students comprise a third of the new class, and women comprise 56% of the incoming cohort.  

We admitted students with GPAs that ranged from 2.791 to 4.0; most students admitted (middle 50%) had a GPA that fell within the 3.47-3.84 range. Forty-three undergraduate universities are represented in the Class of 2026, including Boise State, Brown University, Christopher Newport University, Duke University, Miami University, Stanford University, University of California Los Angeles, United States Military Academy, William & Mary, Yale, and, of course, the University of Virginia. Students had diverse areas of study as well, including Engineering in biotechnology, African-American and African Studies, Finance and Banking Affairs, NGO Management and Development Planning, Arabic and Global Security. 

Our students bring a diverse range of experiences to the classroom. Some students joined right after completing their undergraduate programs, some joined as rising third years at UVA, while others joined with over ten years of work experience. This range of experience brings the age range from 19-43. The cohort contains members of the armed services and AmeriCorps and Teach for America alums, as well as individuals who have worked at the California Climate Action Corps, Teach for America, Colorado General Assembly, World Bank, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, Virginia Management Fellows, and Two Six Technologies. 

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. To discuss the postgraduate MPP with Jeff appointments can be made here, and to discuss the Accelerated MPP with Anne appointments can be made here!