Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly merged MCV with the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, to create Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2022, more than 28,000 students pursued 217 degree and certificate programs through VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health System supports health care education, research, and patient care. It was the only school in the South to have graduated a class every year during the Civil war.

VCU had a record $464 million in sponsored research funding in the fiscal year 2023 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". VCU's athletic teams compete in NCAA Division I and are collectively known as the VCU Rams.