Virginia Commonwealth University has the top visual and performing arts programs among the nation’s public research universities, according to recent rankings from the National Science Foundation.
The NSF recently published the results from their Higher Education Research and Development FY22 survey, awarding VCU the No. 1 arts recognition with additional awards across education, health sciences, engineering and more.
“This ranking is a direct reflection of our art school’s committed faculty, student body and community of creators, collaborators and performers,” said VCUarts Dean Carmenita Higginbotham, Ph.D. “We serve as a home, incubator and training ground for the extraordinary artistic expression and scholarly inquiry that moves the art and performing worlds forward. This is a wonderful recognition of our impact on the national stage.”
VCU also entered the top 50 of public research universities overall, claiming the 47th spot. This represents the university’s sixth consecutive year of moving up the rankings due to the university’s dedication to research in addressing today’s most pressing and challenging questions.
“A public research university’s role is to advance discovery, creativity and innovation in ways that few other institutions achieve as we endeavor to improve the quality of life everywhere,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “This NSF ranking is a testament to VCU’s commitment to research for the public good. Thanks to my faculty colleagues, our research enterprise has grown exponentially – we’ve risen 18 spots in the rankings and increased sponsored research funding by 71% in just the past five years.”
VCU’s other notable placements and accomplishments among public research universities include:
No. 7: Combined non-science and engineering fields (including arts, business, communication, education, humanities, law, social work, and visual and performing arts).
No. 11: Education
No. 30: Health sciences
No. 33: Social work
No. 33: Psychology
No. 38: Funding from Department of Health and Human Services
No. 39: Life sciences
No. 48: Biological and biomedical sciences
No. 55: Combined science and engineering fields
No. 64: Computer and information sciences
No. 90: Engineering
The NSF ranks U.S. colleges and universities that invested at least $150,000 into research and development in a fiscal year. A top ranking for the visual and performing arts, combined with a steadily rising prominence among all public research universities, makes VCU a force to be reckoned with across areas.