Educational Goals and Outcomes
The mission of the University of Richmond is to educate in an academically challenging, intellectually vibrant, and collaborative community dedicated to the holistic development of students and the production of scholarly and creative work. A Richmond education prepares students for lives of purpose, thoughtful inquiry, and responsible leadership in a diverse world.
Academic Organization
The University offers its academic programs through five schools with distinct educational missions: School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Law, School of Leadership Studies, and School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Traditional undergraduate education is offered jointly through the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business and Leadership Studies. Students begin their undergraduate education in the School of Arts and Sciences and may transition into the Schools of Business or Leadership Studies during the second semester of their sophomore year. The Graduate Business School offers a part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) program and the School of Law offers a Juris Doctor (JD) and a LLM for foreign-educated lawyers. The School of Professional and Continuing Studies offers degree completion and practitioner-oriented programs for adult, non-traditional students through evening and weekend undergraduate and graduate certificate and degree programs.
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Undergraduate
Traditional Undergraduate Education
Goals
The University of Richmond’s traditional undergraduate education program integrates a core foundation in the liberal arts with interdisciplinary and pre-professional study. The School of Arts and Sciences offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in a broad range of majors in the humanities, visual and performing arts, social sciences, sciences and interdisciplinary programs. The Robins School of Business offers a Bachelor of Science in business administration in accounting, Business administration, and economics. The Jepson School of Leadership Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in leadership studies.
By graduation, students are well-prepared for further study in graduate or professional schools and for employment in a variety of fields, including healthcare, government, business, law, and nonprofit work. The knowledge and skills fostered by a liberal arts education serve students well in the world of work, as well as in their personal lives. In addition, a Richmond education prepares students to become well-informed and thoughtful citizens, to be able to contribute to the lives of others, and to help advance the society of which they are a part.
Outcomes
Retention and Graduation Rates
The University tracks the success of first-time full-time students in continuing and completing their program through federal retention and graduation rates. Ninety-one percent of first-year students who entered in Fall 2021 were still enrolled at the University in 2022 for their sophomore year. Of the first-year students who entered in Fall 2016, 88% graduated within six years.
Post-Graduation Outcomes
The University tracks post-graduation outcomes of our undergraduate students through three surveys. The First Destination Survey is administered by Career Services to graduating seniors to track plans after graduation. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness surveys graduates one year after graduation to follow up on these outcomes. The One-Year-Out Survey of the Class of 2021 showed a six-month employment rate of 94% and a one-year employment rate of 96%. An employment rate is the number of alumni employed full-time divided by the number of alumni employed full- or part-time or seeking employment. The results also showed that 24% were in or had already completed graduate/professional school or other undergraduate degree. The median salary range one-year out of college was $55,000-$59,999. The top five employment fields were Financial Services/Insurance, Consulting, Technology/Information Technology, Healthcare, and Accounting. The Alumni Outcomes Survey of the Class of 2016 showed a five-year employment rate of 96%. The average salary range was $65,000-$69,999. The top six fields of employment were Technology/Information Technology, Teaching, Consulting, Financial Services/Insurance, and Law. In addition, in the five years since receiving their bachelor’s degree, 39% of the alumni in this class were in or had completed graduate/professional school or other undergraduate degree. Note: For the Class of 2017, in lieu of the aforementioned Alumni Outcome Survey, the National Alumni Career Mobility Survey was administered and results will be available in March 2023.
Medical School Placement
The School of Arts and Sciences offers a Pre-Health Program for traditional undergraduates planning to attend various health professional training programs after graduation. The Pre-Health Studies Program advises pre-health students and tracks their successful completion of the pre-health program, performance on the national entrance exams such as the MCAT and DAT, and acceptance into health professional schools. Of those who enter the pre-health program as freshmen, approximately 55% go on to apply to health professional school. Those who leave the program rarely do so because of poor academic performance. Rather, they are usually attracted to some other field of study to which they had not been exposed prior to college. The University has a strong track record with health professional schools. For example, during the period 2017-2022, 1) the overall acceptance rate for University of Richmond applicants to medical school was 81%, 2) the mean composite MCAT score of our applicants to medical school was 509, and 3) in any given year, Richmond alumni are attending more than one-quarter of all U.S. medical schools, including several top-25 schools as ranked by U.S. News and World Report. Check out the complete list.
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Graduate Business
Graduate School of Business
Goals
Graduate study in business administration at the University of Richmond is designed for Richmond-area professionals who hold an undergraduate degree. The MBA degree program is a decision-based course of study that provides students with the ability to advance to higher levels of management in all types of organizations.
Outcomes
The Richmond MBA program is structured to be completed on a part-time basis within two-five years. Of MBA students in the entering class of 2017, 90.6% completed their degree program within the five-year time period for degree completion. 59% finished in two years, 16% in three years, and 3% in four years.
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School of Law
School of Law
Goals
The mission of the Law program is to expose students to basic legal principles that will serve as the foundation for our system of justice; to develop in students the core lawyering skills of clear thinking, writing, and speaking; and to provide students experience using this knowledge and skill to perform a reasonable range of lawyering tasks. It is our program’s mission to graduate individuals dedicated to excellence in all aspects of professional life as they embark on their careers.
Outcomes
The school’s Career Development Office tracks graduating student outcomes and performance on the bar exam. Results from the Summary Report of the Class of 2021 indicate an employment rate of 93% overall. The mean salary was $75,565 for all positions and $101,416 for positions in law firms. As of July 2022, 75.3% of Law School graduates who took the Virginia State Bar Exam for the first time passed.
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SPCS
School of Professional and Continuing Studies
Goals
The School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS) offers degree and certificate programs, enrichment opportunities, professional training and summer programs to part-time and non-traditional students of all ages. Through its degree programs, SPCS offers master’s and bachelor’s degrees; undergraduate and graduate certificates; undergraduate minors; and a variety of individual courses to meet the educational, professional and personal growth needs of adults in the metropolitan Richmond area and beyond. It is through the non-traditional educational opportunities of the School that the University offers its strengths and resources to the Richmond area community.
Outcomes
The School of Professional and Continuing Studies programs are designed for adult students who are usually employed and who wish to continue their education or advance in their current profession. The majority of SPCS programs are designed to be pursued part-time (excluding the bachelor’s degree completion program). This unique mission allows adult students to pursue their education at a customized pace to fit their individual needs. Students are usually able to successfully complete their program within the time period allowed for each program. Of the 2022 graduating class, students enrolled in the bachelor’s degree programs on campus completed their degree programs within an average of 15 to 26 semesters. Post-bachelor’s certificate program students completed their certificates within an average of 4 to 9 semesters. Students in the graduate certificate programs completed their certificate program within 2 to 12 semesters, while students in the master’s degree programs completed their programs in an average of 6 to 10 semesters.