UVA Expanding Presence in Rosslyn and N. Va.

(Updated 10/1) The University of Virginia is expanding its footprint in Northern Virginia, including its Rosslyn campus.

The university currently operates a satellite location of its Darden School of Business in the top two floors of an office building at 1100 Wilson Blvd, one of the two Rosslyn “twin towers.” As part of the expansion plan, announced last week, the regional campus will be renamed UVA|NOVA and will offer more courses from other schools within the university.

“UVA|NOVA will be UVA’s campus in Northern Virginia, beginning with a site in the Rosslyn neighborhood of North Arlington and ultimately expanding to other sites in the region,” the school said. “The campus will build upon, and bring together, existing programs and serve as a platform for significantly expanding offerings – including in-person, online and hybrid instruction – targeting those who are interested in advancing in their careers.”

For now, most courses will be located within the satellite campus, according to university spokesman Brian Coy. It’s unclear how much the program will physically expand within Rosslyn, but Coy said the school is currently in talks about getting more space here.

“We will operate out of the 1100 Wilson building, at least initially,” Coy said. “We are in discussions regarding additional space and will make announcements as we can. Our expansions are going to be staged, focused on both the University’s current location in Rosslyn as well as other facilities in the Northern Virginia region.”

He did not say how many new students or faculty would come to Rosslyn through the revised program, or how the expansion will impact the campus or the surrounding area.

Per UVA’s website, about 300 students are based out of the campus, which offers courses in the master’s programs of business administration and business analytics as well as lifelong learning classes.

An article published by the school last week identified which programs will be added to or expanded within the Rosslyn campus:

In the near term, the UVA|NOVA initiative will include expanded course offerings in several schools, including the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Education and Human Development, the Darden School of Business, the McIntire School of Commerce, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and the School of Data Science. UVA will also offer a new degree beginning in the fall of 2022: a part-time MBA program in the Darden School.

The UVA article says the new classes will include in-person, online and hybrid instruction.

The announcement comes on the heels of Virginia Tech breaking ground on a high-profile campus in Potomac Yard. The Virginia Tech campus is being built alongside a new Potomac Yard Metro station, which recently had its opening delayed to next September.

Coy similarly said it was transit accessibility that played a part in the decision to expand the Rosslyn campus.

“The original decision was made to locate in Rosslyn because of its proximity to key partners in the region and to mass transit,” Coy said. “The area is also full of people who are pursuing rewarding careers in competitive industries and may wish to pursue additional education through UVA that could help them advance.”