Virginia Commonwealth University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a medium-sized city.

Overview

Virginia Commonwealth University is a coeducational, public research, comprehensive urban university located in Downtown Richmond, Virginia.

The university has two campuses--the Monroe Park Campus and MCV Campus. The VCU Medical Center, including the university's health sciences schools, offers state-of-the-art care in dozens of specialty areas and serves as the region's only Level I Trauma Center.>/p>

VCU also has campuses in Northern Virginia: Doha, Qatar; and Charles City, Va.

The university first became operational as the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College in 1838. However, with the merger of the Richmond Professional Institute and Medical College of Virginia in 1968, Virginia Commonwealth University became an independent university.

The university is divided into the following colleges and schools:

• School of Allied Health Professions
• School of Business
• School of Dentistry
• School of Education
• School of Engineering
• School of Medicine
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
• School of Social Work
• School of the Arts
• College of Humanities & Sciences

The College of Humanities & Sciences has three sub-institutes: the School of Mass Communications, the School of World Studies and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

Fortune 500 companies in Richmond support student internships and business opportunities.

The Master of Fine Arts program in the School of the Arts was ranked 4th in the U.S. News & World Report 2009 among Graduate and First Professional Programs. The Nurse Anesthesia program in the School of Allied Health Professionals is ranked number one.

Among the famous alumni are Hunter "Patch" Adams, M.D., founder of the Gesundheit! Institute and subject of the movie 'Patch Adams"; Saul Krugman, M.D., a medical researcher who discovered a vaccine against hepatitis B; David Baldacci, author; Bruce Cunningham, Baltimore sportscaster; Sean Marshall, starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs; John Rollins, PGA golfer pro; Jesse Pellot-Rosa, New York Jets and Maccabi Haifa; Stefan Lessard, bassist for Dave Matthews Band; Grace Harris, civil rights activist; John C. Beal, CEO of Union Bank and Trust Company; Philip B. Meggs, historian of design; and Jason Butler Harner, Broadway and film actor.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in design, drama and performing arts, medicine, therapy and counseling, religion and philosophy, fine arts, science, and security and law enforcement.
• Large number of students.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• High faculty salary.

School characteristics:

• The school is public.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There is a hospital on campus.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students may study abroad.
• Weekend study is an option.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Tuition and Financial Aid (2009-2010)

Financial Aid

Virginia Commonwealth University participates in US Title IV financial assistance programs.

In 2009-2010, 71% of students received financial aid of some sort.

(Please refer to BrainTrack's financial aid articles section for background information.)

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Virginia Commonwealth University:

Click a column header to sort.

Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 32,044 in 2009-2010 (25,759 full-time equivalent).

About 41% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 59% of the class.

Undergrads are 69% of enrolled students, graduate students are 27%, and those seeking first-professional graduate degrees represent 4%.

Students under 25 years old represent 62% of the student body. About 8% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Among freshmen students, 99% are full-time and 1% are part-time.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Virginia Commonwealth University provides on-campus housing for 4,986 of its 25,759 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Athletics

The school is in the Colonial Athletic Association for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 68 male students received the aid (men were 43% of those receiving aid) and 91 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 57% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Virginia Commonwealth University offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship & Professional Practice).

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education and medical degrees.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral With Medical/Veterinary.

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (750 awarded)

• Accounting
• Business Administration and Management
• Business/Commerce
• Business/Managerial Economics
• Finance and Financial Management Services
• Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration
• Marketing/Marketing Management
• Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management
• Taxation

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (135 awarded)

• Computer Engineering
• Computer and Information Sciences
• Information Science/Studies

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (51 awarded)

• Environmental Studies

DESIGN (241 awarded)

• Design and Applied Arts
• Design and Visual Communications
• Fashion/Apparel Design
• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• Interior Design

DRAMA AND PERFORMING ARTS (82 awarded)

• Dance
• Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (499 awarded)

• Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching
• Art Teacher Education
• Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Education
• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Educational/Instructional Media Design
• Health Teacher Education
• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Reading Teacher Education
• Special Education and Teaching

ENGINEERING (172 awarded)

• Biomedical/Medical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (344 awarded)

• Adult Development and Aging
• Public Administration
• Social Work

FINE ARTS (171 awarded)

• Art History, Criticism and Conservation
• Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry
• Fine Arts and Art Studies
• Painting
• Sculpture

LIBERAL ARTS (713 awarded)

• African-American/Black Studies
• Anthropology
• Area Studies
• Cartography
• Creative Writing
• English Language and Literature
• Foreign Languages and Literatures
• Historic Preservation and Conservation
• History
• Language Interpretation and Translation
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Social Sciences
• Sociology
• Urban Studies/Affairs
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (51 awarded)

• Mathematics

MEDIA (298 awarded)

• Mass Communication/Media Studies

MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION (57 awarded)

• Health/Health Care Administration/Management
• Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration

MEDICAL SUPPORT AND TECHNOLOGY (93 awarded)

• Clinical Laboratory Science/Medical Technology/Technologist
• Dental Hygiene/Hygienist
• Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer

MEDICINE (437 awarded)

• Dental Clinical Sciences, General (MS, PhD)
• Dentistry (DDS, DMD)
• Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
• Medicine (MD)
• Pharmacy (PharmD [USA], PharmD or BS/BPharm [Canada])
• Public Health, General (MPH, DPH)

MUSIC (45 awarded)

• Music Performance

NURSING AND EMERGENCY MEDICINE (425 awarded)

• Nurse Anesthetist
• Nursing Science (MS, PhD)
• Nursing
• Nursing/Registered Nurse (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (133 awarded)

• Athletic Training/Trainer
• Occupational Therapy/Therapist
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies
• Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling/Counselor

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL ART (37 awarded)

• Photography

REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT (4 awarded)

• Real Estate

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (52 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (496 awarded)

• Anatomy
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Biological and Physical Sciences
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Biostatistics
• Chemistry
• Epidemiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Human/Medical Genetics
• Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
• Natural Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Physics
• Physiology

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT (397 awarded)

• Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
• Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
• Forensic Science and Technology
• Security and Protective Services

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (482 awarded)

• Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
• Clinical Psychology
• Counseling Psychology
• Genetic Counseling/Counselor
• Physical Therapy/Therapist
• Psychology

TRANSPORTATION (1 awarded)

• Transportation and Materials Moving