Building a thriving community: Exploring the supportive environment of the MSBA Program

As we count down the days until our sixth M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) cohort joins us here in Rosslyn, we wanted to take time to highlight the engaging and supportive community of students, faculty, and alumni the program has fostered.

While our students work together in the classroom applying skills, technologies, tools, and methods learned to each project, outside of the classroom, they take on numerous leadership roles to enhance the student experience for each of their classmates.

Joining the Student Council Advisory Board

One way our students get involved is through joining the Student Council Advisory Board. The Student Council is open for any MSBA student to join and focuses on community-building events and staying connected via Slack on everything from birthdays and weddings to the latest industry news and project information. During residency weekends, the Student Council members can be found coordinating a pirate cruise on the Potomac, inviting guest speakers to give lectures, and collaborating on service and fundraising projects. Additionally, these students play a significant role in the End of Program Celebration, as they select students and faculty as speakers and recognize various accomplishments their classmates have made throughout their time in the program.

Peer Support

A second way students facilitate the supportive and generous environment surrounding the MSBA Program is through creating new initiatives to meet each other’s needs. The current cohort determined the best way to aid their classmates was in creating opportunities for peer tutoring, with the support of McIntire and Darden’s program delivery teams. Students held open office hours and tutoring sessions on programming languages and other course components, and recorded sessions so that these tools were available to students, regardless of their location or time zone.

Optional Immersion Trip

The inclusion of an optional immersion trip built into Module 5 of this year’s MSBA schedule created yet another opportunity for students to support their cohort. This year’s immersion trip, which brought students to New York, had them meeting with companies such as LinkedIn, Bloomberg, American Express, and BlackRock to discuss practical applications of business analytics within each company. In collaboration with both McIntire and Darden’s Career Services and program delivery teams, students volunteered to assist with trip planning and leading groups throughout the week to each company.

Helpful and Knowledgeable Faculty

Not only do our students seek opportunities to serve each other outside of the classroom, but our world-class faculty also find ways to engage students and provide additional learning and development opportunities outside of the classroom and their office hours. The program’s Co-Directors, Trey Maxham and Raj Venkatesan, are the first to ensure students have direct access to discuss a myriad of topics, whether academic, professional, or personal. Other opportunities faculty provide to students include optional sessions where students can review course slide decks, discuss concepts related to upcoming or submitted assignments, analyze Python notebooks, and even engage in friendly competitions, allowing students additional opportunities for experiential learning.

A Network for Life

Once students come to the end of their time in the program, the MSBA community continues to be available to them, in addition to the network of students and career teams from McIntire, Darden, and UVA. One way we work to keep alumni engaged and connected to the program is through hosting events and receptions at Sands Family Grounds (SFG), with the nation’s capital as the backdrop from the rooftop patio. Near the end of April, we were able to host MSBA alumni at SFG to reconnect with their classmates, meet students from previous cohorts, and offer advice to current students and those joining the program as the Class of 2024. To cap off the event, Maxham spoke to how far the MSBA Program has come since its inception and toasted to its future. Stay tuned for additional ways you can engage the MSBA community. We hope to see you at our next event!