Virginia Commonwealth University

Public · Moderately Selective · VA

Photo: Packer1028 (CC0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationVA · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads20,753

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate45.6%

6-yr grad rate63.2%

Drop-out rate14.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$17k

Out-of-state tuition$40k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity61.2%

Gender diversity63.4%

International1.8%

Identity—

Overview

VCU is an urban public research university split across two adjoining campuses in downtown Richmond — the Monroe Park academic campus and the MCV Campus, home to VCU Health and the medical school — and is best known nationally for VCUarts, widely regarded among the top public art and design schools in the country, alongside its large academic medical center. The Monroe Park campus blends directly into Richmond's Fan district, giving it a walkable, urban character.

Academics

VCUarts anchors the university's national reputation, with particular strength across graphic design, painting and printmaking, and craft and material studies, plus a well-known program in kinetic imaging and a strong advertising program housed in the Robertson School of Media and Culture. Health sciences form the other major pillar, spanning medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work, supported by the university's substantial MCV academic medical center and direct clinical placements.

Campus & student life

The Monroe Park campus is woven into the Fan district, one of Richmond's most walkable, historic neighborhoods of Victorian rowhouses, giving students an urban, arts-inflected environment rather than a traditional enclosed quad. Rams basketball has real national pedigree — VCU's run to the 2011 Final Four under a relentless full-court "Havoc" defense is still a point of campus pride — and creatively minded students in particular find a strong peer culture here.

Getting in

Admission for VCUarts programs typically involves portfolio review alongside academic credentials, reflecting the arts school's selectivity and identity as a destination program in its own right, while other undergraduate programs follow a more standard holistic review weighing coursework and essays. VCU draws a notably diverse applicant pool given its urban Richmond setting and its reputation as a destination either for the arts program specifically or for a broader research-university experience in a real city.

After graduation

VCUarts graduates have a notable presence in design, advertising, and fine-arts fields well beyond Richmond, while health-sciences graduates benefit from direct ties to VCU Health and the broader MCV academic medical center, and the advertising program has a particularly strong placement record into agency work.

Worth knowing

VCUarts' reputation is a genuine national draw, not just regional — students applying for art, design, or advertising programs should expect a portfolio- or supplement-driven process distinct from the university's general admissions track, and the two-campus split, Monroe Park for most undergraduates and MCV for health sciences, is worth understanding before choosing a major.

vcu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate92.6%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1010–1270 · ACT 22–30

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Regular decisionJan 15

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App.

Priority / scholarshipNov 1

VCU does not offer Early Action or Early Decision; November 1 is the priority deadline for university scholarships, and January 15 is the regular decision deadline.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗