---
title: Virginia Commonwealth University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Richmond, VA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, VA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $58,128 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,933 – $84,890 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $17,021 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 63% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $38,954 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.29× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $30,128 | derived |

**63% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $17,021 (≈ 29% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $14,657 to $166,030 across 75 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Doctoral Degree | $166,030 | $102,262 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration. | First Professional Degree | $101,582 | $141,047 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Master's Degree | $100,759 | not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $94,371 | $37,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $94,094 | $41,000 |
| Dentistry. | First Professional Degree | $87,586 | $273,400 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $80,142 | $41,000 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Doctoral Degree | $77,993 | $27,834 |
| Education, General. | Doctoral Degree | $73,776 | not reported |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Master's Degree | $73,726 | $51,250 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,920 | $22,550 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Doctoral Degree | $70,292 | $71,750 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,204 | $23,605 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,978 | $19,933 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $67,147 | $27,000 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. | Master's Degree | $64,254 | $41,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,311 | $22,220 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,142 | $22,341 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. | Master's Degree | $61,148 | $36,100 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Master's Degree | $60,953 | $54,332 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,267 | $21,591 |
| Medicine. | First Professional Degree | $57,175 | $202,416 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,687 | $22,000 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,497 | $19,849 |
| Information Science/Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,416 | $21,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,310 | $23,500 |
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other. | Master's Degree | $50,852 | not reported |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $49,669 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $48,531 | not reported |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $48,484 | $26,604 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $47,263 | not reported |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $46,698 | $41,000 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Master's Degree | $46,456 | $18,650 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $46,214 | not reported |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $45,516 | $41,000 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,482 | $22,078 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $45,365 | $25,419 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $44,907 | not reported |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,919 | $21,298 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,433 | $22,250 |
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,654 | $20,000 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,690 | $20,500 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,239 | $18,000 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,377 | $25,750 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $38,805 | $20,500 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,326 | $21,250 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,639 | $22,250 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,157 | $22,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,107 | $20,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,961 | $21,500 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,701 | $20,500 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,111 | $22,625 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,506 | $22,500 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,863 | $25,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,652 | $21,167 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,473 | $24,250 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,284 | $23,500 |
| Biological and Physical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,313 | $24,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,141 | $21,269 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,404 | $21,500 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,501 | $21,627 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,218 | $25,998 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,666 | $20,500 |
| Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,463 | $20,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $24,239 | $31,145 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,182 | $19,949 |
| Religion/Religious Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,285 | not reported |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,973 | $27,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,092 | $20,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,783 | $21,500 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,118 | $13,996 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,660 | $24,125 |
| Dance. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,193 | $27,000 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $16,953 | $20,500 |
| Biology, General. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $14,657 | $38,722 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Virginia Commonwealth University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?234030

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/virginia-commonwealth-university-va.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`