Know before you go

Virginia Commonwealth UniversityTuition & Cost · 2025–26

PublicRichmond, Virginia20,753 undergraduates · Fall 2024
In-state tuition & fees
$17,490
Academic year 2025–26

Tuition and fees only; living costs excluded.

About this number

Published in-state tuition and required fees. This does not include living costs. Public colleges may have separate in-district rates that are not in this package.
Source field: TUITIONFEE_IN. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2025–26. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$40,654
Academic year 2025–26

Tuition and fees only; living costs excluded.

About this number

Published out-of-state tuition and required fees, excluding living costs.
Source field: TUITIONFEE_OUT. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2025–26. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Average net price
$25,037
Academic year 2024–25

After grants and scholarships; loans are not deducted. In-state, federally aided students.

About this number

Average cost after grants and scholarships for full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving Title IV aid. Public-college figures cover in-state students. Loans are not deducted. Your actual price may differ.
Source field: NPT4_PUB. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Average cost before aid
$43,180
Academic year 2024–25

Includes tuition, books and living expenses.

About this number

Average cost of attendance before grants: tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses for full-time, first-time students receiving Title IV aid. Living arrangements vary; this is not an individual quote.
Source field: COSTT4_A. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

01 / Beyond the sticker price

Reported costs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Attendance cost includes tuition and required fees, books, supplies and living expenses. Net price subtracts grants and scholarships, but not loans. Each average below has its own reporting period.

Before and after grants.

Average cost before grants

$43,180

Academic year 2024–25

Tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses.

Average net price after grants

$25,037

Academic year 2024–25

Costs after grants and scholarships; loans are not deducted.

Historical averages; their difference is not an aid award or a saving you can expect.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

Definitions and source years

Net price includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses, after grants and scholarships. Loans are not subtracted.

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population. These averages do not cover every student.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

  • Before grants: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field COSTT4_A. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • After grants: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT4_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. These are historical group averages, not a current bill, aid offer or personal estimate.

02 / Historical averages by family income

Average cost after grants, by family income.

Average total cost after grants and scholarships for each family-income group. Includes living expenses; loans are not deducted.

Academic year 2024–25

5 of 5 family-income groups have reported averages. Longer bars mean higher reported costs after grants.

Average net price after grants (U.S. dollars)
Family income
$0$20,000$40,000
Reported cost
$0–30,000$18,927
$30,001–48,000$18,347
$48,001–75,000$20,373
$75,001–110,000$27,067
$110,001+$38,273

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

What is included and where these figures come from

Net price includes tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses, after grants and scholarships. Loans are not subtracted.

First-time, full-time undergraduates receiving federal financial aid (Title IV); the public-college figures use the reported in-state student population. These averages do not cover every student.

These are reported academic-year costs. Living arrangements and the students covered by each average can differ.

  • Family income $0–30,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT41_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $30,001–48,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT42_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $48,001–75,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT43_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $75,001–110,000: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT44_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.
  • Family income $110,001+: Academic year 2024–25. Source-file year 2025–26. Source field NPT45_PUB. Official cohort: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Source release: 2026-10-15.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. These are historical group averages, not a current bill, aid offer or personal estimate.

Older income-group observations

These separately dated observations are retained history. Source-file years may differ from the year costs were measured. They are not replacements for missing current groups.

Historical average net price after grants · U.S. dollars
Family incomeSource-file yearAverage net price
$0–30,0002024–25$17,512
$30,001–48,0002024–25$17,777
$48,001–75,0002024–25$20,925
$75,001–110,0002024–25$24,691
$110,001+2024–25$32,739

03 / Help paying for college

The financial aid picture.

Pell Grant recipients

35.8%

Share of undergraduates · Academic year 2024–25

About this number

Share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants. This is not the share receiving any financial aid.
Source field: PCTPELL. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Federal loan recipients

41.4%

Share of undergraduates · Academic year 2024–25

About this number

Share of undergraduates receiving federal student loans. Loans must generally be repaid; they are not grant aid.
Source field: PCTFLOAN. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Academic year 2024–25. Official cohort note: AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

Grants lower your cost. Loans help fund it, but usually need to be repaid.

04 / What borrowers leave with

Debt, in perspective.

$19,500
Median federal debt among graduates who borrowed

Pooled FY2024 and FY2025 cohorts. Includes only borrowers who completed.

About this number

Median cumulative federal student-loan debt among borrowers who completed. This is not an average across all students. Federal debt may be reported for a group of campuses sharing a federal aid identifier.
Source field: GRAD_DEBT_MDN. Source-file year: 2024-2025. Coverage: Pooled FY2024 and FY2025 cohorts. Official cohort note: NSLDS FY2024, FY2025 pooled cohorts. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

05 / After you enroll

Finishing. Then earning.

64.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time

First-time, full-time students · Fall 2019 / academic year 2019–20 entry cohort

About this number

Share of first-time, full-time students who complete at this institution within 150% of normal program time. Typically six years for a bachelor’s degree, three for an associate’s degree; certificate lengths vary.
Source field: C150_4. Source-file year: 2025-2026. Coverage: Fall 2019 / academic year 2019–20 entry cohort. Official cohort note: Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

$64,442
Median earnings 10 years after entering college

Working and not enrolled · Measured in 2022 and 2023; 2024 dollars

About this number

Median earnings among federally aided former students who are working and not enrolled. Entry-based cohorts include both completers and noncompleters. This is an earnings measure, not a guaranteed salary.
Source field: MD_EARN_WNE_P10. Source-file year: 2022-2023. Coverage: Measured in 2022 and 2023; 2024 dollars. Official cohort note: Treasury AY2011-12, AY2012-13 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars. Institution source release: October 15, 2026.

06 / The longer view

Older tuition and net-price observations.

These are older reported observations, in U.S. dollars without inflation adjustment. The labels are source-file years; the retained snapshot does not establish a measurement year for every row.

Published in-state tuition and required fees (U.S. dollars)
Source-file year
$0$10,000$20,000
Reported cost
2015–16$12,772
2016–17$13,130
2017–18$13,624
2018–19$14,493
2019–20$14,596
2020–21$14,710
2021–22$15,319
2022–23$15,828
2023–24$16,458
2024–25$16,945
View retained tuition and net-price observations
Retained observations · U.S. dollars · Source-file years
Source-file yearIn-state tuition & feesOut-of-state tuition & feesAverage net price after grants
2015–16$12,772$31,464$21,741
2016–17$13,130$32,287$21,405
2017–18$13,624$33,656$21,655
2018–19$14,493$35,834$21,313
2019–20$14,596$35,904$22,021
2020–21$14,710$36,048$20,490
2021–22$15,319$36,657$18,904
2022–23$15,828$37,786$20,405
2023–24$16,458$39,042$19,452
2024–25$16,945$40,109$23,433

These rows are not current prices. Missing values are not zero. Net-price student groups and reporting practices can change, so these averages are not a continuous personal-cost trend.

07 / The major matters

A look at programs.

Reported median earnings four years after completing, for graduates working and not enrolled.

Program & credentialEarnings after 4 yearsMedian federal debt
Accounting and Related ServicesBachelor's Degree$78,631$24,350
Accounting and Related ServicesPost-baccalaureate Certificate$81,943Not reported
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral SciencesMaster's Degree$336,392Not reported
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsBachelor's Degree$77,786$26,992
AnthropologyBachelor's Degree$49,641$13,996
Area StudiesBachelor's Degree$45,852$23,500
Biological and Physical SciencesBachelor's Degree$61,395$26,975
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$58,420$21,712
Biomedical/Medical EngineeringBachelor's Degree$86,295$24,000
Business Administration, Management and OperationsMaster's Degree$116,932Not reported
Business Administration, Management and OperationsGraduate/Professional Certificate$68,939Not reported
Business/Commerce, GeneralUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma$58,235$23,250
Business/Commerce, GeneralBachelor's Degree$68,387$23,750
Business/Commerce, GeneralMaster's Degree$108,337Not reported
Business/Managerial EconomicsBachelor's Degree$64,164$21,500
Chemical EngineeringBachelor's Degree$97,781$27,000
ChemistryBachelor's Degree$67,439$21,872
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsBachelor's Degree$80,344$24,589
Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree$59,968$24,000
Communication and Media StudiesMaster's Degree$76,100Not reported
Computer EngineeringBachelor's Degree$118,273$23,813
Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralBachelor's Degree$118,521$19,050
Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and ArtisanryBachelor's Degree$37,253$19,500
Criminal Justice and CorrectionsBachelor's Degree$58,792$23,250
Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsBachelor's Degree$78,231$25,924
DentistryFirst Professional Degree$197,507Not reported
Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree$53,575$25,937
Design and Applied ArtsMaster's Degree$65,638Not reported
Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's Degree$43,957$21,875
Education, GeneralMaster's Degree$56,354Not reported
About these program numbers

Up to 30 programs with reported four-year earnings, in alphabetical order. A program is identified by institution, CIP field and credential. Debt is median Stafford and Grad PLUS debt disbursed at all institutions for program completers who borrowed. Figures are drawn from the June 10, 2026 field-of-study snapshot. The existing package does not preserve exact program cohort years, so none are inferred and these figures are excluded from cross-college comparison.

Other options to explore.

Colleges in Virginia.