About VCU
This is our real.
Every day our students and faculty are challenging the norm, going against the grain of expectation and doing things that make a difference. The world’s problems won’t wait; that’s why we’re here. That’s how we make it real.
We are a premier urban, public research university focused on academic success.
We take pride in our nationally ranked academic programs and academic medical center, research and scholarly productivity, and engagement with the communities we serve and change.
-
#1 public graduate arts program in the country
Ten VCU School of the Arts professors and alumni have received Guggenheim Fellowships since 2002, including two faculty recipients in 2012 — one of the highest totals of any university in the nation.
-
$275 million in sponsored research in FY17
Funded in 2010 by a $20 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research is part of an elite consortium of more than 60 nationally prominent research institutions that focus on translating research into real-world applications
-
#1 hospital in the Richmond metro area
In 2016, U.S. News & World Report named VCU Medical Center the No. 1 hospital in the Richmond metropolitan area, with two programs — nephrology and orthopaedics — ranking in the top 50 nationally.
We are not afraid to break through barriers in the pursuit of excellence.
Closing the gap
In a 2015 report, The Education Trust listed VCU among 26 “top-gaining institutions” in the U.S. for boosting graduation rates for underrepresented minority students and for closing the graduation rate gap between minorities and white students.
Nationally recognized for exceptional community engagement
In 2014, VCU won the C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award for the Pharmacist Collaborative Care and Outreach in the Community program in the university’s School of Pharmacy.
Ranked No. 9 in engineering doctoral degrees awarded to women
In 2014, the American Society for Engineering Education ranked VCU’s School of Engineering as the nation’s No. 9 engineering school or university based on the percentage of doctoral degrees awarded to women.
Groundbreaking health care initiatives in Virginia
In 2013, The VCU schools of Nursing and Dentistry opened a nurse practitioner-managed center to address significant health issues among patients receiving dental care at the VCU School of Dentistry – the first of its kind at a university in Virginia.
We are current, ever-changing, ever-growing.
Cabell Library:
1970 »
The James Branch Cabell Library opened in 1970 on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus, and was one of the first buildings constructed for the newly formed university.
Cabell Library:
2016 »
The expanded library, completed in 2016, boasts 93,000 square feet of new construction, 1,500 new seats, a makerspace, a reading porch and more than 2 million visitors per year.
Medical education:
Early 1900s »
Medical College of Virginia surgery students watch a bandaging demonstration in Memorial Hospital’s surgical amphitheater.
Medical education:
2013 »
Medical students participate in a pediatric simulation exercise with a mannequin infant in the state-of-the-art McGlothlin Medical Education Center.
Women’s basketball:
1920s »
Students at the Richmond Division of The College of William and Mary, one of VCU’s predecessor schools, wear blouses and bloomers as they play basketball in the 1920s.
Women’s basketball:
2015 »
Keira Robinson races down the court of the Siegel Center, VCU’s 7,500-seat arena. Women’s basketball is one of the university’s 17 NCAA Division I sports teams.
Social Work:
1920 »
A graduate of the Richmond School of Social Work and Public Health (now the VCU School of Social Work) serves at a hospital camp in Wythe County, Va., that was established to provide health care to impoverished children.
Social Work:
2015 »
A School of Social Work graduate student works with a child as part of her internship with local nonprofit Childsavers. The almost-100- year-old school features more than 500 field partnerships throughout Virginia.