Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia · Public

Of 86 assessed programs, 84 leave graduates out-earning a typical Virginia high-school graduate (about $36,613/yr) and 2 fall short. Another 135 could not be assessed.

What would this cost you?

My family earns and I expect to take

Family income	Net price per year
Under $30k	$17,512
$30k to $48k	$17,777
$48k to $75k	$20,925
$75k to $110k	$24,691
$110k and up	$32,739
All families (average)	$23,433

Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, by family income (College Scorecard). It reflects students who received federal aid.

Program earnings vs a high-school graduate

Earnings are measured four years after completion when available. Where four-year earnings are suppressed, one-year earnings are shown and marked 1-year earnings. One-year and four-year figures reflect different career stages and should not be compared as if measured at the same time.

86 of 221 programs could be assessed 39% have an earnings verdict

Programs by earnings versus a typical Virginia high-school graduate.
Program	Degree	Median earnings	vs a high-school grad	Verdict	Median debt	Years to repay	Recent completers
Psychology	Bachelor's Degree	$51,440	+$14,827	clears the bar	$21,167	1.4 yrs	540
Biology	Bachelor's Degree	$58,420	+$21,807	clears the bar	$20,500	0.9 yrs	391
Teacher Education (by subject)	Bachelor's Degree	$59,442	+$22,829	clears the bar	$25,000	1.1 yrs	340
Design	Bachelor's Degree	$53,575	+$16,962	clears the bar	$24,250	1.4 yrs	323
Criminal Justice	Bachelor's Degree	$58,792	+$22,179	clears the bar	$21,250	1.0 yrs	255
Social Work	Master's Degree	$65,063	+$28,450	clears the bar	$41,000	1.4 yrs	250
Business	Bachelor's Degree	$68,387	+$31,774	clears the bar	$21,298	0.7 yrs	239
Interdisciplinary Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$55,855	+$19,242	clears the bar	$22,500	1.2 yrs	219
Nursing	Bachelor's Degree	$86,661	+$50,048	clears the bar	$21,591	0.4 yrs	218
Political Science	Bachelor's Degree	$62,182	+$25,569	clears the bar	$20,000	0.8 yrs	208
Communications and Media	Bachelor's Degree	$59,968	+$23,355	clears the bar	$21,500	0.9 yrs	204
Medicine	First Professional Degree	$101,335	+$64,722	clears the bar	$202,416	3.1 yrs	179
Information Science	Bachelor's Degree	$87,219	+$50,606	clears the bar	$21,500	0.4 yrs	169
Business	Master's Degree	$108,337	+$71,724	clears the bar	$54,332	0.8 yrs	133
Business Administration	Master's Degree	$116,932	+$80,319	clears the bar	$41,000	0.5 yrs	125
Marketing	Bachelor's Degree	$68,622	+$32,009	clears the bar	$20,500	0.6 yrs	122
Computer and Information Science	Bachelor's Degree	$118,521	+$81,908	clears the bar	$19,933	0.2 yrs	118
English	Bachelor's Degree	$45,844	+$9,231	clears the bar	$19,949	2.2 yrs	116
Pharmacy	First Professional Degree	$135,859	+$99,246	clears the bar	$141,047	1.4 yrs	110
Dentistry	First Professional Degree	$197,507	+$160,894	clears the bar	$273,400	1.7 yrs	103
Physical and Occupational Therapy	Doctoral Degree	$79,288	+$42,675	clears the bar	$71,750	1.7 yrs	103
Chemistry	Bachelor's Degree	$67,439	+$30,826	clears the bar	$20,500	0.7 yrs	100
Education	Master's Degree	$56,354	+$19,741	clears the bar	$25,419	1.3 yrs	96
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	Bachelor's Degree	$72,239	+$35,626	clears the bar	$20,000	0.6 yrs	96
Social Work	Bachelor's Degree	$55,288	+$18,675	clears the bar	$22,000	1.2 yrs	96
Nursing	Master's Degree	$134,661	+$98,048	clears the bar	$37,750	0.4 yrs	94
Film and Photography	Bachelor's Degree	$37,958	+$1,345	clears the bar	$24,125	17.9 yrs	87
Mechanical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$88,410	+$51,797	clears the bar	$22,220	0.4 yrs	86
Biological and Physical Sciences	Bachelor's Degree	$61,395	+$24,782	clears the bar	$24,000	1.0 yrs	83
Security Science and Technology	Bachelor's Degree	$61,026	+$24,413	clears the bar	$24,583	1.0 yrs	72
Management Science	Master's Degree	$136,353	+$99,740	clears the bar	$41,000	0.4 yrs	62
Mathematics	Bachelor's Degree	$68,457	+$31,844	clears the bar	$25,750	0.8 yrs	61
Nursing	Doctoral Degree	$206,527	+$169,914	clears the bar	$102,262	0.6 yrs	61
Sociology	Bachelor's Degree	$53,122	+$16,509	clears the bar	$23,500	1.4 yrs	58
Natural Resources and Conservation	Bachelor's Degree	$50,217	+$13,604	clears the bar	$21,500	1.6 yrs	57
Fine Arts	Bachelor's Degree	$43,690	+$7,077	clears the bar	$21,500	3.0 yrs	56
Biomedical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$86,295	+$49,682	clears the bar	$22,250	0.4 yrs	54
Accounting	Bachelor's Degree	$78,631	+$42,018	clears the bar	$23,500	0.6 yrs	53
Chemical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$97,781	+$61,168	clears the bar	$27,000	0.4 yrs	52
Kinesiology and Physical Education	Master's Degree	$61,300	+$24,687	clears the bar	$20,500	0.8 yrs	51
Theatre	Bachelor's Degree	$43,957	+$7,344	clears the bar	$20,500	2.8 yrs	51
History	Bachelor's Degree	$53,186	+$16,573	clears the bar	$21,269	1.3 yrs	47
Medical Laboratory Science	Bachelor's Degree	$80,344	+$43,731	clears the bar	$19,849	0.5 yrs	45
Area Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$45,852	+$9,239	clears the bar	$22,625	2.4 yrs	42
Biology	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$23,862 1-year earnings	-$12,751	falls short	$38,722	insufficient data	42
Allied Health Diagnostics and Treatment	Bachelor's Degree	$77,786	+$41,173	clears the bar	$22,000	0.5 yrs	41
Music	Bachelor's Degree	$38,278	+$1,665	clears the bar	$27,000	16.2 yrs	39
Educational Administration	Doctoral Degree	$108,580	+$71,967	clears the bar	$27,834	0.4 yrs	37
Electrical Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$107,487	+$70,874	clears the bar	$22,550	0.3 yrs	37
Healthcare Administration	Master's Degree	$114,150	+$77,537	clears the bar	$51,250	0.7 yrs	36
Philosophy	Bachelor's Degree	$64,402	+$27,789	clears the bar	$20,500	0.7 yrs	33
Business/Managerial Economics	Bachelor's Degree	$64,164	+$27,551	clears the bar	$18,000	0.7 yrs	33
Urban Studies/Affairs	Bachelor's Degree	$58,084	+$21,471	clears the bar	$22,250	1.0 yrs	32
School Counseling	Master's Degree	$58,540	+$21,927	clears the bar	$41,000	1.9 yrs	31
Special Education	Master's Degree	$59,134	+$22,521	clears the bar	$18,650	0.8 yrs	29
Public Administration	Master's Degree	$76,945	+$40,332	clears the bar	$26,604	0.7 yrs	26
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$84,799	+$48,186	clears the bar	$23,250	0.5 yrs	25
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	Bachelor's Degree	$42,233	+$5,620	clears the bar	$25,998	4.6 yrs	24
Teacher Education (by subject)	Master's Degree	$60,431	+$23,818	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	24
Anthropology	Bachelor's Degree	$49,641	+$13,028	clears the bar	$13,996	1.1 yrs	24
Computer Engineering	Bachelor's Degree	$118,273	+$81,660	clears the bar	$23,605	0.3 yrs	23
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	Master's Degree	$108,117	+$71,504	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	23
Fine Arts	Master's Degree	$49,077	+$12,464	clears the bar	$31,145	2.5 yrs	23
Mental Health and Counseling Services	Master's Degree	$82,962	+$46,349	clears the bar	$41,000	0.9 yrs	23
Education	Doctoral Degree	$95,708	+$59,095	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	21
Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry	Bachelor's Degree	$37,253	+$640	clears the bar	$20,500	32.0 yrs	20
Physics	Bachelor's Degree	$77,737	+$41,124	clears the bar	$22,078	0.5 yrs	19
Real Estate	Bachelor's Degree	$60,718	+$24,105	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	18
Communications and Media	Master's Degree	$76,100	+$39,487	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Engineering, Other	Master's Degree	$95,707 1-year earnings	+$59,094	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Counseling Psychology	Doctoral Degree	$68,489 1-year earnings	+$31,876	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Security Science and Technology	Master's Degree	$66,695	+$30,082	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Dance	Bachelor's Degree	$20,397 1-year earnings	-$16,216	falls short	$27,000	insufficient data	16
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences	Master's Degree	$336,392	+$299,779	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Dental Assisting and Hygiene	Bachelor's Degree	$78,231	+$41,618	clears the bar	$22,341	0.5 yrs	16
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	Bachelor's Degree	$45,607	+$8,994	clears the bar	$21,627	2.4 yrs	14
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General	Master's Degree	$83,165 1-year earnings	+$46,552	clears the bar	$43,799	0.9 yrs	14
Public Health	Master's Degree	$58,177 1-year earnings	+$21,564	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Physical and Occupational Therapy	Master's Degree	$70,577	+$33,964	clears the bar	$36,100	1.1 yrs	14
Business	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$58,235	+$21,622	clears the bar	$23,250	1.1 yrs	14
Urban Studies/Affairs	Master's Degree	$65,514 1-year earnings	+$28,901	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	13
Business Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$68,939	+$32,326	clears the bar	$40,495	1.3 yrs	13
Natural Resources and Conservation	Master's Degree	$73,253	+$36,640	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Design	Master's Degree	$65,638	+$29,025	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Human Development and Family Studies	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$119,836	+$83,223	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	0
Accounting	Post-baccalaureate Certificate	$81,943	+$45,330	clears the bar	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data
Finance	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	79
Special Education	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	43
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	$19,036	insufficient data	42
Computer and Information Science	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	26
Teacher Education (by level)	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	22
Psychology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	17
Biology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Accounting	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	16
Information Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Educational Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Mental Health and Counseling Services	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	15
Engineering, General	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Nursing	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	14
Computer and Information Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Economics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	12
Biomedical Engineering	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Pharmacy	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	11
Teacher Education (by level)	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Teacher Education (by level)	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Engineering, General	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Mathematics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	10
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Chemistry	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Medical Laboratory Science	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Accounting	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	9
Educational Administration	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
English	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Mathematics and Statistics, Other	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Criminal Justice	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Public Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Pharmacy	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	8
Information Science	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Teacher Education (by subject)	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Gerontology	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Religion/Religious Studies	Bachelor's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Public Administration	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Theatre	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Healthcare Administration	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	7
Biomedical Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Engineering, Other	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Human Development and Family Studies	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Pharmacology and Toxicology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Sociology	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Social Sciences, Other	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Public Health	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Business	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	6
Curriculum and Instruction	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Natural Sciences	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Natural Sciences	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Interdisciplinary Studies	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Physics	Master's Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Geography and Cartography	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	5
Psychology	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	4
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Computer and Information Science	Graduate/Professional Certificate	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Special Education	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3
Chemical Engineering	Doctoral Degree	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	insufficient data	3

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians measured four years after completion where available (programs shown with a 1-year figure are marked), compared with the state high-school-graduate benchmark ($36,613/yr). Debt is federal loans only. Suppressed values are shown as insufficient data, never imputed. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise.