Virginia Commonwealth University Overview
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public institution located in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is a great location for students who prefer city over country life.
What Is Virginia Commonwealth University Known For?
- The student loan default rate at VCU is 5%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- The highest award offered at VCU is the doctor's degree.
- In 2017-2018, 63% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, VCU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $44,000 a year. That's about 8% more than their peers at other schools.
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Virginia Commonwealth University Rankings
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
VCU has been awarded the following overall awards by our latest rankings.
Rank | Ranking Name | Share |
---|---|---|
#98 | Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools | Tweet It - Post It |
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at VCU.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards VCU has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#1 | Best Interdisciplinary Studies Schools | College Factual |
#1 | Best General Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies Schools | College Factual |
#28 | Best Mental & Social Health Services Schools | College Factual |
#33 | Best Family, Consumer & Human Sciences Schools | College Factual |
#108 | Best Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Schools | College Factual |
#121 | Best Nursing Schools | Nursing Degree Search |
Where Is Virginia Commonwealth University?

Contact details for VCU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 910 W Franklin St, Richmond, VA 23284-2512 |
Phone: | 804-828-0100 |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/virginiacommonwealthuniversity |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/VCU |
How Do I Get Into VCU?
You can apply to VCU online at: https://www.vcu.edu/admissions/apply
Admission Requirements for VCU
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | considered but not required |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | recommended |
Recommendations | recommended |
SAT or ACT Scores | required |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into VCU?
Approximately 35% of accepted students are men and 65% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 89%, and the acceptance rate for women is 91%.
Average Test Scores
About 85% of students accepted to VCU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 540 and 640. Math scores were between 520 and 610.
Can I Afford Virginia Commonwealth University?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At VCU, approximately 52% of students took out student loans averaging $8,195 a year. That adds up to $32,780 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at VCU is 4.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 7,127 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 18,734 full-time undergraduates at VCU, 37% are male and 63% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Virginia Commonwealth University students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 2,831 |
Black or African American | 3,759 |
Hispanic or Latino | 2,122 |
White | 7,754 |
International Students | 435 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,833 |
Geographic Diversity
Virginia students aren't the only ones who study at Virginia Commonwealth University. At this time, 33 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 103 countries are represented at VCU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Saudi Arabia, India, and China.
Online Learning at Virginia Commonwealth University
The following chart shows how the online learning population at VCU has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 12th most popular in Virginia for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.
Online Affordability Rankings of VCU
The following table shows how VCU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.
Major | Tuition for In-State Students | Tuition for Out-of-State Students |
---|---|---|
Other Homeland Security | #6 | #12 |
Sociology | #28 | #28 |
Other Engineering | #32 | #32 |
Human Development & Family Studies | #40 | #60 |
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science | #49 | #55 |
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions | #58 | #76 |
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | #67 | #93 |
Social Work | #67 | #79 |
Online Growth Rankings of VCU
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Virginia Commonwealth University was 294.9%. This is the #221 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at VCU regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of VCU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at VCU ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at VCU.
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Virginia Commonwealth University Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By user:mentes under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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