Students : Graduate Ed

Graduate Student Research

Virginia Commonwealth University is a leader in teaching among institutions of higher education in the commonwealth. It also is a major doctoral-granting institution that is ranked by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of the nation's top research universities. As such, VCU is fully committed to a broad-based program of research and scholarly activities that enhances the teaching mission of the university and the quality of services provided to the community. VCU's level of funded research will soon place it among the top 75 colleges and universities in the country in attracting external funding, which totaled more than $169 million for fiscal year 2002.

Detailed information about the research initiatives and facilities at VCU is available at the Web sites of the individual schools and departments, as well as the Web sites of individual faculty at the university.

VCU Office of Research

The mission of the VCU Office of Research includes the creation of new knowledge through research, the application of knowledge in public service and technology transfer, the preservation of knowledge, and the transfer of knowledge to future generations through teaching and publication. Visit the VCU Office of Research Web site for information about the policies and guidelines that govern the conduct of research at the university, as well as the resources that support that research.

Biotechnology at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia has targeted biotechnology as a key industry for the state's economic growth. Long prized for its livability and pro-business environment, Virginia is ideally located within the eastern U.S. pharmaceutical/biotechnology corridor. This region is now home to more than 144 biotechnological, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and bioscience-related companies.

In 1992, the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park located adjacent to VCU's Medical College of Virginia Campus and Richmond's downtown business district was launched by a public/private partnership of university, government and industry leaders. The research park's development is at the center of a growing enclave of research-oriented biomedical/biotechnology ventures in Virginia, many of which have sprung from research work at the state's research universities and described on the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park Web site.

VCU Life Sciences

VCU Life Sciences centers on the study of the interrelationships among the biological components of life. Visit the Life Sciences Web site to see how outstanding faculty throughout the university are brought together to participate in flexible curricula that encompass interdependent bodies of science such as biology and chemistry, engineering and mathematics, medicine, technology and physics.