Virginia State University
Petersburg, VA1 Hayden Drive, Petersburg, VA 23806
804-524-5000
Founded in 1882, Virginia State University is a public, historically black university located in Ettrick, Virginia. The university is the oldest public historically black university in Virginia and the second-oldest in the United States. Virginia State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. The university offers over fifty undergraduate majors, thirty-seven graduate programs, and is home to five schools and colleges: the College of Agriculture, the College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Virginia State University's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The university is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Virginia State University was founded as the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in 1882 by the Virginia General Assembly. The legislature designated the college a land-grant institution for the education of black Virginians and appropriated $10,000 for its initial operation. The school's first president, John Mercer Langston, was a former dean of Howard University's law school and the first black elected to the U.S. Congress from Virginia. The Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute was the first state-supported educational institution for blacks in Virginia and the second in the nation. The college's original mission was to train teachers for the state's segregated black public schools.
In 1930, the college's name was changed to Virginia State College for Negroes. In 1944, the college was designated a land-grant college under the federal Morrill Act. In 1946, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 1968, the college was renamed Virginia State University.
The university has an enrollment of over 5,000 students and offers over fifty undergraduate majors, thirty-seven graduate programs, and is home to five schools and colleges: the College of Agriculture, the College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The university's athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The university is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Quick Facts
Enrollment: 4020
Acceptance Rate: 96.26%
Type: Public, 4-year or above
Main Website: https://www.vsu.edu/
Financial Aid: https://www.vsu.edu/financial-aid/index.php
Annual Costs
Total Cost In-State On-Campus: $23673
Total Cost Out-State On-Campus: $35428
Return on Investment Rating
The estimated cost for four years as an undergraduate at Virginia State University is $96106.10. This includes the average cost of attendance for four years plus the interest on the average loan over a ten year repayment minus the average of grants and scholarships per student.
We then contrast this figure with average early-career and mid-career average incomes of graduates of four year programs at Virginia State University. For graduates of Virginia State University, we saw an average early-career income of $49600.00 and mid-career income of $85200.00. We then ranked the school's value based on how many years of mid-career income it takes to repay the educational costs.