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Virginia Commonwealth University

Basic Information

Type Public

Geographical Reach Regional

Location Richmond, VA

Population 1,100,000

Website http://vcu.vcu.edu/

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 20,797

Men / Women 37% / 63%

White 41%

Black 21%

Asian 12%

Hispanic 10%

Mixed 7%

International 2%

Native American 0%

From State 92%

From Region 3%

Academics

Undergraduate Degrees

Humanities & Social Sciences 35%

Arts 15%

Business & Economics 13%

Life & Natural Sciences 11%

Education 7%

Computer Science 6%

Health Sciences 6%

Engineering 5%

Physical Sciences & Math 3%

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,945

Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $40,109

Est. In-State Cost $21,920

Est. Out-of-State Cost $51,885

10-Year ROI $160,000

ROI Percentile 61th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 85%

4-Year Graduation Rate 46%

6-Year Graduation Rate 63%

Transfer-Out Rate 21%

Weather

Comfortable Days 115 (84%)

Sunshine Hours 2,615 (51%)

Days Without Precipitation 255 (64%)

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes

Acceptance Rate 72%

Yield (Unbound) 21%

Regular Decision Jan 1

Research

Research Level R1

Expenditure

Life & Natural Sciences	$355M	#56
Humanities & Social Sciences	$19M	#82
Engineering, Computing & Math	$42M	#125

Graduate Degrees

Life & Natural Sciences	643	#22
Engineering, Computing & Math	42	#114
Humanities & Social Sciences	129	#166

Honors College

Name Honors College

Students 1,000 (5%)

Standardized Tests

Test Scores

Test Policy optional

Submitted Test Scores 37%

SAT Range 1050 – 1220

SAT Math Range 490 – 620

SAT RW Range 520 – 650

ACT Range 22 – 30

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Schools & Majors

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
College of Engineering	478	68% / 32%	4%	$96,531		95%
Biomedical Engineering	50 —	40% / 60%	2%	$76,242	83	98%
Chemical Engineering	35 —	63% / 37%	23%	$91,990	94	97%
Computer Engineering	21 —	71% / 29%	5%	$115,908	99	96%
Electrical Engineering	25 —	84% / 16%	0%	$99,480	96	97%
Mechanical Engineering	82 —	85% / 15%	2%	$87,500	91	96%
Computer Science	131 —	66% / 34%	4%	$117,373	99	95%
Information Science/Studies	134 —	66% / 34%	1%	$86,853	91	92%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
College of Humanities and Sciences	1,928	29% / 71%	1%	$55,562		94%
Chemistry	89 +2	44% / 56%	0%	$63,326	63	95%
Mathematics	36 —	64% / 36%	0%	$67,088	71	94%
Physics	9 +1	89% / 11%	0%	$76,182	83	87%
Bioinformatics	37 +2	27% / 73%	3%	$62,997	63	—
Biological and Physical Sciences	72 +1	28% / 72%	3%	$57,252	49	88%
Biology	341 +2	28% / 72%	4%	$62,092	61	94%
Environmental Studies	54 +2	24% / 76%	0%	$53,220	37	100%
African American Studies	8 +2	12% / 88%	0%	$51,484	32	94%
Anthropology	22 +2	27% / 73%	0%	$41,449	9	93%
Area Studies	33 +3	18% / 82%	0%	$51,261	31	86%
English	87 +6	29% / 71%	0%	$46,439	18	94%
Foreign Languages	11 —	18% / 82%	0%	$49,017	25	85%
History	61 +3	43% / 57%	2%	$42,698	11	92%
Interdisciplinary Studies	147 —	41% / 59%	3%	$51,371	31	91%
Mass Communication/Media Studies	178 +2	30% / 70%	0%	$56,586	47	94%
Philosophy	20 +7	35% / 65%	0%	$63,114	63	95%
Political Science	127 +30	34% / 66%	0%	$55,117	43	95%
Psychology	518 +43	17% / 83%	1%	$54,210	40	95%
Religion/Religious Studies	5 —	60% / 40%	0%	$46,061	17	91%
Sociology	58 +3	31% / 69%	2%	$46,863	19	98%
Women's Studies	15 +3	7% / 93%	0%	$51,484	32	94%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs	283	31% / 69%	1%	$58,157		96%
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration	139 +47	25% / 75%	1%	$57,508	50	96%
Forensic Science and Technology	69 +1	14% / 86%	0%	$58,080	51	97%
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services	41 +8	63% / 37%	5%	$65,519	68	97%
Urban Studies/Affairs	34 +3	53% / 47%	0%	$52,091	34	95%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Allied Health Professions	106	15% / 85%	0%	$90,469		88%
Clinical Laboratory Science	26 —	23% / 77%	0%	$71,425	77	87%
Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer	38 —	11% / 89%	0%	$70,688	76	89%
Health Administration	42 +1	14% / 86%	0%	$120,156	99	88%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Business	567	54% / 46%	3%	$69,287		96%
Accounting	54 —	39% / 61%	2%	$71,783	78	97%
Business/Managerial Economics	27 +1	74% / 26%	4%	$81,935	88	93%
Finance	74 —	66% / 34%	5%	$75,220	82	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	11 —	64% / 36%	9%	$73,948	81	—
General Business	227 —	54% / 46%	2%	$70,969	77	95%
Human Resources Development	3 —	0% / 100%	0%	$69,033	74	—
Marketing	153 +1	51% / 49%	2%	$61,633	60	96%
Real Estate	18 —	61% / 39%	6%	$59,504	55	95%

⇅	Trends	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Dentistry		16	12% / 88%	6%	$75,427		94%
Dental Hygiene/Hygienist		16 —	12% / 88%	6%	$75,427	82	94%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Education	345	24% / 76%	2%	$52,588		94%
Early Childhood Education	2 —	0% / 100%	0%	$51,629	32	—
Elementary Education	37 —	0% / 100%	3%	$51,480	32	—
Health Teacher Education	278 —	28% / 72%	3%	$52,617	35	94%
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching	2 —	100% / 0%	0%	$52,617	35	94%
Special Education	8 —	12% / 88%	0%	$56,908	48	94%
Art Education	18 —	11% / 89%	0%	$52,617	35	94%

⇅	Trends	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Nursing		203	14% / 86%	0%	$86,488		95%
Nursing		203 —	14% / 86%	0%	$86,488	91	95%

⇅	Trends	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of Social Work		83	8% / 92%	0%	$52,309		98%
Social Work		83 +1	8% / 92%	0%	$52,309	34	98%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
School of the Arts	665	25% / 75%	1%	$44,336		90%
Art History	10 —	10% / 90%	0%	$38,214	6	92%
Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry	27 —	0% / 100%	4%	$33,207	3	70%
Dance	15 +1	0% / 100%	0%	$29,576	2	94%
Design and Applied Arts	43 —	37% / 63%	0%	$49,801	27	88%
Fashion Design	68 —	18% / 82%	1%	$49,801	27	88%
Film Production	62 +2	47% / 53%	0%	$43,942	13	95%
Graphic Design	67 —	27% / 73%	6%	$49,801	27	88%
Illustration	139 —	15% / 85%	1%	$49,801	27	88%
Interior Design	36 —	22% / 78%	0%	$49,801	27	88%
Music Performance	40 +1	62% / 38%	2%	$42,111	10	94%
Painting	34 —	9% / 91%	0%	$38,214	6	92%
Photography	44 —	39% / 61%	0%	$43,942	13	95%
Sculpture	21 —	14% / 86%	5%	$38,214	6	92%
Theatre	59 +2	20% / 80%	0%	$29,450	2	97%