Facts and rankings

Get to know VCU

We believe discovery and creativity go hand in hand. We believe in creating good ideas that really help people. We believe in the students we educate and the more than 200 programs we offer them. And we believe our grit, our relationship with the city, and our commitment to diversity and access set us apart from your average college. Here are some stats and facts that tell you who we are.

 

Our graduate schools and programs ranked in the top 50

1st Fine Arts — Sculpture
1st Nurse Anesthesia
2nd Fine Arts — Printmaking
3rd Fine Arts — Glass
4th Fine Arts
4th Fine Arts — Graphic Design
4th Rehabilitation Counseling
5th Health Care Management
5th Time-Based/New Media
11th Online Master's in Nursing — Nursing Administration/Leadership
12th Fine Arts — Painting/Drawing
15th Occupational Therapy
19th Online Master's in Education — Curriculum and Instruction
20th Nuclear Engineering
20th Pharmacy
20th Physical Therapy
21st Online Master's in Nursing — Overall
22nd Nursing (undergraduate)*
25th Best Education Schools
25th Online Master's in Education — Overall
25th Social Work
29th Public Management and Leadership
34th Best Nursing Schools: Master's
35th Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice
35th Public Affairs
43rd Clinical Psychology
44th Biostatistics: Doctoral
48th Best Medical Schools — Primary Care
49th Online MBA — Overall

These rankings are based on the most recent U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School rankings and Best Online Colleges rankings, unless marked with an asterisk.

*Ranking is based on the most recent U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. 

Our students

28,408 students
82% full time
86% Virginia residents
21,270 undergraduates
5,622 graduates
1,516 first professionals
1,495 transfer students
1,158 Honors students
999 international students, representing 140 countries
5,703 residence hall capacity

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Undergraduate tuition and fees* and financial aid

Virginia resident: $15,642**
Nonresident: $37,588
Room and board: $12,239

Average financial aid awarded to full-time undergraduates seeking assistance in 2021-22: $19,290

About one-third of VCU’s undergraduates are Pell eligible, and we make sure these students succeed, graduating at nearly the same rate as students who do not receive Pell grants.

* Based on 15 credit hours per semester and 30 credit hours for the 2022-23 year. This does not include program fees, which vary based on a student’s major.

** All in-state undergraduates will receive a scholarship to offset the 3% tuition increase for the 2022-23 academic year. Learn more about the Virginia resident tuition scholarship.

Our research and innovation

• The Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver and Metabolic Health is radically expanding treatment options thanks to a $104 million gift, the largest publicly shared gift to support liver research in U.S. history.
• The Medicines for All Institute at VCU drives down manufacturing costs for essential medicines, making them increasingly affordable worldwide. It’s working with a major partner that received a federal four-year contract for $354 million to reduce U.S. dependency on overseas drug manufacturers.
• Leads a $50 million federally funded collaboration to study traumatic brain injury on service members and veterans.
• A $27.7 million contract from the U.S. Social Security Administration helps the School of Education’s National Training and Data Center train thousands of counselors across the country to provide disability beneficiaries with the guidance and support they need to achieve their employment and self-sufficiency goals.  
• Interdisciplinary research strengths include neuroscience; cancer; substance abuse and addiction; the human microbiome; and nanoscience, nanomedicine and nanotechnology.
• Ranked among the 30 most innovative public universities by U.S. News & World Report. 
• One of only 67 universities nationwide classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an “R1 Doctoral University – Highest Research Activity,” as well as its prestigious “Community Engagement” status.
• Among public universities, five of our programs rank in the top 25 in terms of funding from the National Institutes of Health — addictions research (No. 6), pharmacology (No. 10), psychiatry (No. 11), family medicine (No. 12) and genetics (No. 18) — with several of our schools ranking in the top 50: School of Pharmacy (No. 12), School of Dentistry (No. 13), School of Nursing (No. 25) and School of Medicine (No. 36). 
• No. 50 among public research universities per National Science Foundation rankings that track federally funded research expenditures, including:
  • No. 1 in visual and performing arts
  • No. 7 in non-science/engineering fields
  • No. 13 in education
  • No. 31 in social work
  • No. 34 in health sciences
  • No. 35 in psychology
  • No. 37 in Department of Health and Human Services funding
  • No. 41 in biological and biomedical sciences
  • No. 45 in life sciences
  • No. 58 in expenditures in science and engineering fields
  • No. 66 in computer and information sciences
  • No. 82 in engineering

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Largest employer in Richmond

24,065 employees at VCU and VCU Health System
419 full-time classified staff members
3,390 full-time university and academic professionals
2,501 full-time faculty members
826 part-time adjunct faculty members

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No. 1 hospital in Richmond

• VCU Medical Center is both the region’s safety net hospital and its No. 1-ranked hospital (per the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital rankings). It is the only Level I trauma center in the region that is verified in burn, pediatric and adult trauma care.
• More than 12,000 employees
• More than 78,000 Emergency Department visits in FY21
• More than 934,000 outpatient clinic visits in FY21
• More than 36,000 inpatient discharges in FY21

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Just how big is our campus?

198 acres in downtown Richmond. And it earned a Gold Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Branch campuses and satellite locations:

• Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center
• VCUarts Qatar
• VCU Health satellite locations
• VCU Rice Rivers Center
• VCU School of Pharmacy Inova Campus
• VCU School of Pharmacy University of Virginia Division

 

Looking for even more facts about VCU? 

Explore the latest facts and figures.

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