College of Humanities and Sciences

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Undergraduate Studies

The College of Humanities and Sciences includes the core disciplines in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. We are also home to programs in the health sciences and for education in the liberal arts and sciences for future teachers. In the College, we have more than 450 full time faculty members, and nearly 60% of VCU undergraduates have at least one major in the College. And although that may sound big, we offer a small school experience, with a very supportive atmosphere that will offer you many opportunities to build connections with our faculty, advisers, mentors and with your fellow students.

Browse majors in the College of Humanities and Sciences

We deeply care about every single one of our students and we are committed to help each student find their passion in life, while preparing each of our students for a very successful career. We can provide you with spectacular opportunities:

  • to study abroad and work with people from a range of countries
  • to conduct research
  • to pursue starting your own business and become a successful entrepreneur
  • to pursue exciting internships to help launch your careers
  • to enroll in service learning courses that make a difference in our local community

Our vision is to inspire our students to explore their passions and dreams as individuals, and provide the context to understand their place in the world and connections with others — locally, globally and throughout time. We not only attempt to prepare students for employment, but also aspire to help them construct a foundation on which they will build rich and deeply meaningful lives and careers.

Interested in transferring?

This video includes a presentation and Q&A for incoming transfer students in the College of Humanities and Sciences recorded on August 3, 2020. This event covered information relevant to all students, and some specific to new transfer students, including:

  • experiential learning
  • scholarships
  • Office of Student Services and Advising
  • foreign language general education requirement
  • academic and general resources
  • tips and information for fall 2020

Visit the VCU Transfer Center for answers to all your questions about transferring to VCU.

Our undergrads in the news:

Entrepreneurship

The VCU da Vinci Center is a unique collegiate model that advances innovation and entrepreneurship through interdisciplinary collaboration between VCU’s School of the Arts, School of Business, College of Engineering and the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Students are eligible to earn undergraduate certificates in:

Panth Doshi, Julissa Martinez, Joe Siejack, Mehwish Safdar, Joanna Rivera and Michael Portillo each in separate, circular frames in front of a colorful background [View Image]
June 9, 2021
Students get REAL
Six students share their hands-on learning experiences at VCU and what they got out of them.
savannah-zhane in three frames - one as a toddler with her mother, another with her holding a report with an A on it, and another with her smiling [View Image]
May 7, 2021
Class of 2021: A mysterious illness couldn’t derail Savannah-Zhané Jolley’s journey to a VCU degree
Headaches and memory loss nearly derailed her final years of school. But thanks to her mother, the Department of Political Science and her own perseverance, Jolley will graduate this month.
alexia brown [View Image]
May 6, 2021
Class of 2021: Alexia Brown is on a mission to learn – and make the world a better place
“I want something that’s going to make me want to get up in the morning, no matter how exhausted I am, with an energy that says, ‘I gotta go. I gotta go do my work.’ … There’s so much work to do.”
nayab mughal [View Image]
April 27, 2021
Real research: Future nurse finds rewards in research’s potential to better understand others
Nayab Mughal has been involved in three studies, giving her the chance to learn how the pandemic has affected the experiences of both pregnant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients.
George Kahingo smiling [View Image]
April 26, 2021
Class of 2021: George Kahingo helps his fellow students grow as leaders
Kahingo, a biology major, is a leadership involvement ambassador in the Division of Student Affairs, a role that connects him with dozens of student organizations and hundreds of peers across campus.
Alex Trainham wearing a mask [View Image]
April 20, 2021
Class of 2021: Alex Trainham excels inside and outside the classroom
Long fascinated with computers and audio engineering, Trainham was introduced to coding at VCU and will graduate next month with degrees in computer science and mathematical sciences.
Bird's eye view of the robert e. Lee monument covered in graffiti [View Image]
April 7, 2021
Podcast by VCU students on graffiti-covered Confederate monuments named a finalist in NPR national contest
A podcast by VCU students, “When Time Slows Down,” is one of 10 finalists in the NPR Student Podcast Challenge: College Edition. Winners will be featured in segments on “Morning Edition” or “All Things Considered.”
Students gathered looking at posters at the chemistry undergraduate research symposium [View Image]
April 7, 2021
Undergraduate students present research to industry partners
NASA, Altria and GSK are just a few of the national companies that participate in the annual Chemistry Undergraduate Research Symposium.
V.C.U. student Kevin Armas Rodas talks to Marisela, a Central American mother who left Mexico with her 10-day-old baby, about her experiences and difficulties at home and crossing the U. S. border. [View Image]
April 2, 2021
Helping the Hispanic community in the midst of the pandemic
Students in the VCU service-learning course Hispanic Immigrants in the U.S. are continuing to make a difference.
raven witherspoon outside harris hall at v.c.u. [View Image]
March 29, 2021
Class of 2021: Raven Witherspoon is pursuing a career in physics to help improve the world
The VCU Honors College student hopes to help reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world and “transfer those materials into peaceful uses like civil nuclear energy.”
isaiah king on the v.c.u. campus [View Image]
March 23, 2021
Class of 2021: Isaiah King’s love of medicine leads to a new passion for research
King’s experiences with the student organization Black Men in Medicine gave him the support and freedom to pursue his own path. Up next: A fellowship program at the National Institutes of Health.
a pair of shoes with arrows pointing forward and to the right and left [View Image]
March 10, 2021
VCU P.R.I.M.E. empowers underrepresented students interested in health care careers
The student- and staff-initiated group identifies traditional barriers and develops strategies to help peers overcome them.
close-up view of a globe [View Image]
March 2, 2021
13 from VCU named Fulbright semifinalists for 2021-22
Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
soldiers in fatigues and backpacks on a lawn outside the u.s. capitol building [View Image]
March 1, 2021
VCU students in the Virginia National Guard reflect on a history-making mission
As they return to their studies, the students who were stationed at the U.S. Capitol earlier this winter share details of their experiences in Washington.
inside the rotunda at the virginia state capitol [View Image]
Feb. 11, 2021
At the General Assembly (sort of) with VCU’s capitol semester students
Interns at the Virginia State Capitol this legislative session are doing most of their work virtually. It’s still “a very cool experience,” they said.
a student volunteer gives the covid vaccine to an older patient [View Image]
Feb. 8, 2021
Hundreds of students are volunteering and providing shots at vaccination events
With some VCU students already trained and others lined up for training, volunteers are ready to address the need for more COVID-19 vaccinators and take on roles that will serve them in their careers.
colorful game pawns on a playing board [View Image]
Feb. 2, 2021
Students in a VCU math class have published six research papers in top journals. More are on the way.
The undergraduate students in “Introduction to Mathematical Biology” are applying math concepts like game theory to better understand and tackle infectious diseases and other real-world problems.
Akhila Kunuthuru, Jennifer Duong and Sneha Gade, the co-founders of Virtual Volunteer at V.C.U. [View Image]
Jan. 19, 2021
A new group virtually connects VCU student volunteers with local organizations
Virtual Volunteer at VCU has paired hundreds of students with more than a dozen Richmond partners, creating a sense of community in a time of distance.
Maryum Elnasseh, Naomi Ghahrai and Macy Pressley [View Image]
April 16, 2020
Three VCU students named Critical Language Scholars
Three Virginia Commonwealth University students have been selected for the 2020 Critical Language Scholarship, a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of 15 languages deemed critical to the United States’ diplomatic and security interests.
jordan rasure [View Image]
Feb. 2, 2020
Report from the field: A new wilderness practice and policy study abroad course in Patagonia
Jordan Rasure was one of 11 students who participated in the Patagonia National Parks Comparative Analysis of Wilderness Policy course/study abroad trip during winter break 2019.
Tarek Haggy [View Image]
Nov. 25, 2019
Student turns EMT experience into research opportunity
“The research process as an undergraduate has had an instrumental impact on my personal development,” Tarek Haggy said. “It’s taught me things that no class could and provided early exposure to the professional world.”
David Baldacci visiting VCU [View Image]
May 1, 2019
Students share stories of life-changing experiences made possible by Baldacci gift
Bestselling novelist and VCU alumnus David Baldacci met with students who have received awards through an experiential learning fund and a political science scholarship he created with his wife, Michelle. (Photo by Kevin Morley, University Relations)
Caitlin Cain in a chemistry lab [View Image]
April 16, 2019
Chemistry and Forensic Science student receives prestigious NSF graduate fellowship
Caitlin Cain, a senior majoring in chemistry and forensic science, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.
sarah yanskon [View Image]
April 9, 2019
Do insecticide-treated mosquito nets harm sleep quality? This VCU student is aiming to find out.
Sarah Yankson will work on a study this summer in Ghana as one of a dozen recipients of grants from the College of Humanities and Sciences’ Baldacci Student Experiential Learning Fund.

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