+11%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Virginia Commonwealth University rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($15.3k → $16.9k).
Virginia · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
VCU
Richmond, Virginia. 20,797 undergraduate students. 213 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at VCU
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Virginia Commonwealth University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.9% → 0.0%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
VCU earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Virginia median
Each tile compares this institution to the Virginia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$58,128+23% · 6→10y
Virginia median $44,813$47,161
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry65.4%+41% · '97→'24
Virginia median 50.7%$17,021+221% · '97→'20
At program completion20,797+63% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS85.6%+8% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time93.1%+22% · '01→'24
latest cohort$16,458+354% · '00→'24
out-of-state $39,042SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How VCU earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at VCU
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
3.9%Median federal debt $17,021 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $58,128 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
VCU enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+41%
VCU · completion · 150% rose
44.9% → 63.2%
+176%
VCU · completion · 100% rose
16.5% → 45.6%
+63%
VCU · undergrad enrollment rose
12,771 → 20,753
+354%
VCU · in-state tuition rose
$3,730 → $16,945
+199%
VCU · out-of-state tuition rose
$13,410 → $40,109
+221%
VCU · median debt rose
$6,698 → $21,500
-100%
VCU · cohort default rate fell
5.0% → 0.0%
+59%
VCU · pell share rose
19.6% → 31.2%
+32%
VCU · earnings_median_10yr rose
$44,200 → $58,128
+32%
VCU · earnings_median_6yr rose
$35,600 → $47,161
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
VCU programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences$287,357Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$214,278Dentistry$171,547Medicine$166,894Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration$139,694Business Administration, Management and Operations$127,587Information Science/Studies$125,277Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$124,642Business/Commerce, General$123,969Health and Medical Administrative Services$120,156Computer and Information Sciences, General$117,373Educational Administration and Supervision$110,326Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering$99,480Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other$99,382Chemical Engineering$91,990Accounting and Related Services$87,843Mechanical Engineering$87,500Information Science/Studies$86,853Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$86,488Business/Managerial Economics$81,935Biomedical/Medical Engineering$76,242Urban Studies/Affairs$75,626Dental Support Services and Allied Professions$75,427Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General$74,599
Showing top 24 of 71 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
71 VCU programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas$52,617Education, General$53,087Special Education and Teaching$56,908Educational Administration and Supervision$110,326Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas$55,477Student Counseling and Personnel Services$56,120
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PARKS, RECREATION & FITNESS · CIP 31
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HOMELAND SECURITY & PROTECTIVE SERVICES · CIP 43
Criminal Justice and Corrections$57,508Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other$65,519Security Science and Technology$58,080Security Science and Technology$69,643Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other$99,382
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & SOCIAL SERVICES · CIP 44
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$86,488Medicine$166,894Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration$139,694Dentistry$171,547Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$124,642Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$74,019Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$214,278Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions$71,425Health and Medical Administrative Services$120,156Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions$70,688Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions$70,120Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences$287,357Dental Support Services and Allied Professions$75,427
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
AREA, ETHNIC & CULTURAL STUDIES · CIP 05
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at VCU
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$162,305
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 15
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $16,455
- HS-only baseline · VA
- $39,800
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 42
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to VCU in Virginia
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“VCU graduates earn $X” — not “VCU makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending VCU caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.