A group of VCU community members dance together in front of the new glass facade of a building on a sunny day on a brick sidewalk.

March 17, 2023

VCU is an inclusive community unlike any other

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By Mary Kate Brogan
School of Pharmacy

About 5 ways VCU is uncommon: In this series, we explore how VCU students learn, grow and challenge the status quo at one of the nation’s premier urban universities.

There’s nothing cookie-cutter about Virginia Commonwealth University. Every student is unique, coming to VCU from different places, backgrounds and lived experiences. We don’t just accept those differences; we celebrate them.

Being part of our inclusive community encourages students to grow and be open to new experiences and serves as a catalyst that cultivates a sense of belonging on our campus. Our students – our community – make up the fabric of VCU, and the perspectives our students bring to the table push our university forward.

Belong on our campus

  • A student dances with another student while other students dance around a brick sidewalk next to a green space in Monroe Park.
    With nearly 500 student organizations, clubs and initiatives and hundreds more opportunities to build connections in Richmond — the city that surrounds our campus — find your community here in clubs and organizations. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • A medical student hands another student materials at the Black Men in Medicine booth of the Student Organization & Volunteer Opportunities Fair this fall along a sidewalk next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    Black Men in Medicine and VCU P.R.I.M.E. are two organizations building community among future health professionals from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in health care. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • Two students seated on a table next to a poster that says The Baby Box Project at VCU talk with another student on a sidewalk next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    Students at VCU volunteer regularly, including with student organizations such as The Baby Box Project. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • A student watches as one student demonstrates how to use a handheld device by practicing on the inside of another student's arm to observe the student's vital signs. All three stand in front of a poster that says Emergency Medicine Club on a sidewalk next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    A student demonstrates the use of a handheld device at the booth for the Emergency Medicine Club at the Student Organization & Volunteer Opportunities Fair this fall. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • A student in front of a rainbow pride flag talks with another student at the Triangle Club booth of the Student Organization & Volunteer Opportunities Fair this fall along a sidewalk next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    Triangle Club at VCU brings together queer students and allies for health advocacy, social justice and community events. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • A large group of pairs of students dance on a brick sidewalk lit by the evening sun next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    Students practice their dancing in Monroe Park during a weekly Latin dance night series. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • Hundreds of students walk around the sidewalks next to a tree-lined green space in Monroe Park.
    Thousands of students attend the Student Organization & Volunteer Opportunities Fair in Monroe Park. The annual event is a chance to check out the nearly 500 student organizations on campus. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
  • A student registers to vote on a clipboard while standing on a sidewalk with hedges in the background.
    VCU Votes, a nonpartisan initiative led by students, faculty and staff promoting voter engagement on campus, recently won a national award for its commitment to civic engagement. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

With a 16:1 student-faculty ratio, you’re not just a number. You’ll engage with faculty who care about you as a person – and who reflect the diverse and inclusive community VCU has to offer. As of 2021, VCU had the highest percentage of minority faculty and instructors among all Virginia universities with graduate programs.

Our community includes faculty, staff and students – students from 49 states, as well as Washington, D.C., international students from 140 countries, transfer students, adult learners and military veterans.

A gif of VCU students in different locations on campus

At VCU, 54% of undergraduate students and nearly half of all students are from minority backgrounds. In 2020-21, Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranked VCU in the top 30 universities for bachelor’s degrees awarded to African American students and No. 61 for undergraduate students from all minority backgrounds. We’re a Minority Serving Institution – a prestigious eligibility status we gained in 2022 and acknowledgment of our efforts to create conditions of belonging that benefit all students and build a future that reflects equity, inclusivity and justice for all.

Last fall, 34% of incoming freshmen at VCU were first-generation college students. Our You First at VCU initiative empowers first-generation students, and our First-Generation Student Success and Research Center — expanding with a recent grant from the U.S. Department of Education — aims to increase first-generation students’ sense of belonging, academic success, retention and graduation rates.

We serve students from all socioeconomic backgrounds: Nearly 1/3 of students are Pell Grant-eligible, demonstrating a high financial need.

We offer numerous resources to prepare you for your career. Identity + Career support is available to students, as is our Men of Color Initiative, which offers Black and Latino men a chance to strengthen connections at VCU.

Our Office of Multicultural Student Affairs offers opportunities for learning and building community around celebrating diversity, promoting inclusion and advocating for social justice at VCU and in the surrounding community. The Q Collective, VCU’s Queer Research and Advocacy Center, promotes connection and supports LGBTQIA+ artistic, educational and community-engaged research activities among students, faculty, staff and the Greater Richmond community.

Our Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation is broadening access to education for students from diverse backgrounds and fostering connection between our university and the community to address societal challenges in areas including sustainable food access, urban education, intersections in the lives of LGBTQIA+ communities and race, culture and health. Through this and numerous other programs at VCU, students have opportunities to contribute to research that makes an impact.

Students from all walks of life and all backgrounds converge here in Richmond, the city we call home.

To see how our prime location lends itself to numerous opportunities and resources to prepare you for your career, read the next part in our 5 Ways VCU is Uncommon series.