Virginia Commonwealth University

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 1,100,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 115 (84%)
Sunshine Hours 2,615 (51%)
Days Without Precipitation 255 (64%)

Honors College

Name Honors College
Students 1,000 (5%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 19,289
Men / Women 37% / 63%
From State 92%
From Region 3%
Athletes 313 (1.7%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 38%
Black 23%
Asian 14%
Hispanic 12%
Mixed 8%
International 2%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Engineering 612 71% 37% 26% 18% 8% 2% $105,732 96 -0.23 96 98%
Biomedical Engineering 57 +2 47% 35% 26% 7% 9% 5% $89,177 21 -0.82 88 100% — — — —
Chemical Engineering 27 — 56% 37% 11% 7% 22% 11% $100,241 27 -0.54 94 100% — — — —
Computer Engineering 25 — 84% 56% 24% 16% 4% 0% $124,186 73 +0.34 99 95% — — — —
Electrical Engineering 38 +1 92% 61% 11% 13% 8% 0% $110,714 43 -0.30 97 100% — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 90 — 80% 57% 14% 13% 9% 0% $95,545 33 -0.46 92 98% — — — —
Computer Science 193 +1 76% 34% 33% 15% 8% 3% $120,146 51 -0.14 99 99% — — — —
Computer Science 4 — 75% 25% 25% 25% 0% 0% $119,575 50 -0.16 98 — — — — —
Information Systems 178 — 65% 25% 31% 29% 7% 1% $97,422 57 -0.04 93 97% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
College of Humanities and Sciences 1,873 30% 43% 17% 20% 10% 1% $59,587 9 -0.14 43 93%
Chemistry 74 +1 36% 36% 27% 12% 12% 0% $69,909 44 -0.16 67 95% — — — —
Mathematics 17 — 71% 65% 0% 12% 6% 0% $73,807 41 -0.44 73 98% — — — —
Physics 10 +1 70% 70% 0% 20% 10% 0% $80,574 42 -0.22 81 100% — — — —
Bioinformatics 31 — 26% 10% 61% 3% 10% 6% $98,545 100 +2.41 93 — — — — —
Biological and Physical Sciences 59 — 27% 32% 25% 25% 8% 2% $65,655 46 -0.09 58 90% — — — —
Biology 341 +2 33% 31% 32% 17% 9% 4% $63,740 36 -0.31 54 92% — — — —
Environmental Studies 51 — 25% 59% 10% 10% 6% 0% $54,006 25 -0.58 28 94% — — — —
African American Studies 6 +3 17% 17% 0% 50% 0% 0% $45,665 6 -1.08 10 98% — — — —
Area Studies 30 +2 17% 57% 3% 7% 23% 7% $56,187 47 -0.24 33 92% — — — —
English 80 +4 29% 68% 6% 10% 5% 0% $49,730 40 -0.33 17 92% — — — —
Foreign Languages 12 +1 17% 50% 8% 17% 25% 0% $62,524 67 +0.40 50 85% — — — —
History 64 +5 48% 64% 3% 14% 12% 2% $54,542 46 -0.23 29 92% — — — —
Interdisciplinary Studies 159 — 41% 42% 12% 28% 10% 0% $55,993 49 -0.13 33 92% — — — —
Philosophy 16 +4 31% 56% 6% 12% 6% 6% $44,595 4 -1.27 9 88% — — — —
Religious Studies 5 — 20% 40% 0% 40% 20% 0% $44,908 21 -0.73 9 78% — — — —
Women's Studies 8 +1 38% 62% 0% 12% 12% 0% $45,665 9 -1.30 10 98% — — — —
Anthropology 17 +1 18% 59% 6% 18% 12% 0% $44,935 3 -1.08 9 95% — — — —
Mass Communications 203 +1 32% 52% 6% 24% 11% 0% $62,337 55 +0.04 50 96% — — — —
Political Science 127 +21 39% 52% 10% 17% 9% 2% $61,464 20 -0.79 48 92% — — — —
Psychology 510 +42 20% 37% 16% 24% 10% 1% $55,703 58 +0.10 32 94% — — — —
Sociology 53 +1 28% 51% 13% 21% 8% 2% $55,410 51 -0.13 31 95% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs 260 27% 45% 5% 22% 19% 0% $64,318 23 +0.54 55 96%
Urban Studies/Affairs 19 — 47% 68% 0% 5% 26% 0% $61,464 15 -0.76 48 96% — — — —
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration 144 +44 23% 43% 5% 24% 22% 0% $61,763 67 +0.26 48 97% — — — —
Forensic Science and Technology 51 +2 16% 51% 6% 20% 12% 0% $62,050 68 +0.30 49 92% — — — —
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services 46 +8 46% 35% 4% 24% 17% 0% $76,015 98 +2.22 76 98% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Allied Health Professions 145 15% 33% 15% 34% 6% 1% $96,878 93 +1.22 92 95% 3.8%
Clinical Laboratory Science 40 — 20% 30% 28% 28% 0% 0% $79,727 64 +0.18 80 100% 3.8% — — —
Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiographer 42 — 14% 57% 5% 17% 10% 0% $77,676 50 -0.13 78 100% — — — —
Health Administration 63 — 13% 19% 14% 49% 6% 3% $120,569 98 +2.79 99 88% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Business 618 50% 43% 17% 18% 12% 2% $78,318 67 -0.30 79 96%
Accounting 76 — 53% 38% 29% 16% 9% 1% $85,586 51 -0.09 85 97% — — — —
Economics 26 — 73% 42% 15% 15% 8% 0% $73,365 11 -1.09 73 92% — — — —
Finance 102 +3 69% 43% 24% 17% 11% 3% $93,552 48 -0.19 91 — — — — —
Finance and Financial Management Services 5 — 60% 60% 40% 0% 0% 0% $93,552 48 -0.19 91 — — — — —
General Business 205 +5 47% 45% 13% 20% 11% 3% $73,736 55 -0.20 73 96% — — — —
Human Resources Development 4 — 50% 0% 0% 25% 25% 0% $75,120 49 -0.06 75 — — — — —
Marketing 182 +2 37% 43% 14% 20% 14% 1% $72,581 35 -0.39 71 97% — — — —
Real Estate 18 — 61% 50% 11% 11% 22% 6% $75,154 16 -0.87 75 95% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Dentistry 19 11% 37% 5% 16% 21% 0% $79,514 71 +0.93 80 97%
Dental Hygiene/Hygienist 19 — 11% 37% 5% 16% 21% 0% $79,514 87 +0.93 80 97% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Education 305 25% 37% 16% 26% 10% 1% $61,946 15 +0.74 49 97%
Early Childhood Education 6 — 0% 67% 0% 33% 0% 0% $54,182 70 +0.28 28 — — — — —
Elementary Education 41 — 12% 54% 5% 20% 12% 2% $54,182 70 +0.28 28 — — — — —
Health Teacher Education 219 +2 31% 27% 21% 30% 11% 1% $63,560 79 +0.72 53 97% — — — —
Physical Education Teaching and Coaching 4 — 50% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $63,560 79 +0.72 53 97% — — — —
Secondary Education 2 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 50% 0% $54,182 47 -0.10 28 — — — — —
Special Education 5 — 0% 80% 0% 0% 20% 0% $57,058 59 +0.17 36 94% — — — —
Art Education 28 — 4% 64% 4% 18% 4% 0% $63,560 96 +1.79 53 97% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Nursing 201 10% 54% 10% 13% 8% 1% $88,076 86 -0.41 87 97% 3.8%
Nursing 201 — 10% 54% 10% 13% 8% 1% $88,076 38 -0.41 87 97% 3.8% — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of Social Work 90 13% 46% 6% 24% 16% 0% $56,487 4 +0.38 34 94%
Social Work 90 +2 13% 46% 6% 24% 16% 0% $56,487 71 +0.38 34 94% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
School of the Arts 660 27% 53% 9% 15% 12% 2% $51,848 2 -0.08 22 94%
Art History 8 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 25% 0% $41,364 16 -0.81 6 90% — — — —
Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry 22 — 14% 82% 9% 0% 9% 0% $41,961 28 -0.52 6 80% — — — —
Dance 9 — 0% 44% 0% 44% 0% 0% $29,369 2 -1.83 2 94% — — — —
Design and Applied Arts 37 — 41% 32% 14% 8% 24% 8% $57,765 43 -0.18 38 95% — — — —
Fashion Design 82 — 13% 51% 9% 12% 13% 2% $57,765 33 -0.38 38 95% — — — —
Film Production 47 +1 49% 53% 4% 26% 6% 2% $43,007 12 -0.88 7 95% — — — —
Graphic Design 71 — 28% 48% 15% 20% 7% 4% $57,765 43 -0.18 38 95% — — — —
Illustration 147 — 24% 56% 10% 12% 14% 1% $57,765 92 +1.17 38 95% — — — —
Interior Design 52 — 10% 38% 13% 27% 13% 0% $57,765 11 -1.18 38 95% — — — —
Music Performance 34 — 50% 65% 9% 12% 3% 0% $45,974 46 -0.08 11 98% — — — —
Painting 27 +1 11% 59% 4% 7% 15% 0% $41,364 26 -0.59 6 90% — — — —
Photography 45 — 40% 58% 7% 13% 9% 0% $43,007 10 -0.86 7 95% — — — —
Sculpture 19 — 16% 68% 0% 16% 5% 5% $41,364 26 -0.59 6 89% — — — —
Theatre 60 +1 37% 57% 3% 17% 15% 2% $46,811 76 +0.50 12 93% — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $17,802
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $42,670
Est. In-State Cost $23,029
Est. Out-of-State Cost $55,198
ROI Percentile 66th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 85%
4-Year Graduation Rate 46%
6-Year Graduation Rate 63%
Transfer-Out Rate 21%

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).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Social Sciences 20.9% 1,000 24% 44% 12% 23% 11% 1% $57,653 47 -0.03 38 94% —
Arts 14.8% 707 26% 54% 8% 15% 12% 2% $52,571 55 -0.03 24 94% —
Business & Economics 14.2% 681 47% 41% 17% 21% 11% 2% $82,227 58 -0.01 83 95% —
Life & Natural Sciences 9.0% 431 32% 30% 33% 17% 9% 3% $66,506 43 -0.09 60 92% —
Humanities 7.9% 380 36% 53% 8% 19% 11% 1% $53,645 42 -0.28 27 92% —
Computer Science 7.8% 375 71% 30% 32% 22% 7% 2% $109,354 48 -0.09 97 98% —
Health Sciences 6.3% 302 12% 50% 12% 16% 8% 1% $84,985 76 -0.21 85 98% 3.8%
Education 5.8% 277 27% 34% 17% 27% 11% 1% $61,784 88 +0.63 49 97% —
Professional 5.0% 241 26% 43% 5% 23% 19% 0% $64,544 43 +0.64 56 96% —
Engineering 5.0% 237 72% 50% 17% 11% 10% 3% $100,002 42 -0.45 94 99% —
Physical Sciences & Math 2.1% 101 46% 45% 20% 13% 11% 0% $71,621 30 -0.21 70 96% —
Agriculture & Food Science 1.1% 51 25% 59% 10% 10% 6% 0% $54,006 23 -0.58 28 94% —

Research R1

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Health Sciences $242M #41 38% $19.3M 218 #2 318 77
Life & Natural Sciences $107M #51 59% $1.7M 30 #79 210 60
Humanities & Social Sciences $52.8M #36 17% $0.1M 33 #138 106 4
Engineering $35.9M #118 38% $0.8M 27 #115 133 21
Education $30.3M #18 75% $0.7M 83 #24 — —
Business & Economics $9.1M #72 3% $0 6 #168 — —
Physical Sciences & Math $6.6M #205 72% $0.1M 33 #88 107 10
Computer Science $5.4M #126 36% $0.0M 5 #138 35 —
Agriculture & Food Science $0 #318 — $0 — — — —
Total $489M #64 42% $22.8M 435 #46 909 172

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D1

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 90 $1.0M $1.0M $0
Baseball 42 $1.7M $1.7M $0
Soccer 31 $1.3M $1.3M $0
Basketball 13 $7.8M $7.8M $0
Golf 8 $687K $687K $0
Tennis 8 $760K $760K $0
Total 140 $13.3M $13.3M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 99 $1.5M $1.5M $0
Soccer 34 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Lacrosse 31 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Field Hockey 24 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Basketball 15 $4.3M $4.3M $0
Volleyball 15 $1.5M $1.5M $0
Tennis 8 $631K $631K $0
Total 173 $11.7M $11.7M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 189 $2.5M $2.5M $0
Soccer 65 $2.4M $2.4M $0
Baseball 42 $1.7M $1.7M $0
Lacrosse 31 $1.2M $1.2M $0
Basketball 28 $12.1M $12.1M $0
Field Hockey 24 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Tennis 16 $1.4M $1.4M $0
Volleyball 15 $1.5M $1.5M $0
Golf 8 $687K $687K $0
Total 313 $40.9M $40.7M $183K

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App Yes
Acceptance Rate 93%
Yield (non-ED) 21%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 93% 93% 93%

This college’s Common Data Set does not break down admissions by applicant demographics, so in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants share one Regular Decision rate.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 37%
SAT Range 1010 – 1270
SAT Math Range 490 – 620
SAT RW Range 520 – 650