VCU College of Engineering General Information

VCU’s College of Engineering was established in 1996 as a public-private partnership to address the need for engineering innovation in a 21st century economy. VCU Engineering’s research collaborations with industry, community and academic partners regularly yield breakthroughs in pharmaceutical engineering; smart cities, sustainability and clean energy; materials development; health care, regenerative medicine, rehabilitation and medical device development; data science and better security for cyber and cyber-physical systems. Its multidisciplinary, entrepreneurial approach to engineering education immerses undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in meaningful research investigations throughout their studies. VCU Engineering is the headquarters of the Medicines for All Institute, an international leader in bringing down the cost of pharmaceuticals for underserved populations. The college and VCU’s School of Pharmacy together are home of the Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Science and offer the nation’s only Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical engineering.

Our Mission

Our mission is to create and grow a community of exceptional students, faculty, staff, alumni and industry partners that strive to create a common future for all where innovative, sustainable and equitable solutions to global engineering challenges are realized for the benefit of this generation and future generations.

Our Vision

Our vision is a community that fosters: 

  • An environment for experiential student-centered learning, preparing the interdisciplinary leaders of tomorrow.
  • Research making a positive difference on grand challenges facing society.
  • Making big ideas real through a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration.
  • A diverse and inclusive community supporting our students, alumni, faculty and staff.
  • Real-world computer science and engineering by being a catalyst in encouraging industry and academia to collaborate, enabling experiences connecting students and faculty with alumni and industry, both at home and abroad.
  • Sustainability, in order to create thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient communities for this generation and generations to come.

Core Values

These are the values for which we hold each other responsible:

  • Accountability: Committing to the efficient and transparent stewardship of our resources to achieve excellence
  • Achievement: Ensuring distinction in learning, scholarship
  • Collaboration: Fostering cooperation to advance learning, entrepreneurship and inquiry
  • Freedom: Striving for truth with responsibility and civility, respecting the dignity of all individuals
  • Innovation: Cultivating discovery, creativity and originality
  • Service: Engaging in the application of teaching, learning and discovery to improve the human condition and support the public good
  • Diversity and inclusion: Ensuring a culture of mutual trust and respect where individuals of differing cultural backgrounds, identities, abilities, ideas, beliefs and life experiences are embraced, engaged and empowered to drive excellence
  • Integrity: Adhering to the highest standards of honesty, respect and professional and scholarly ethics
  • Perseverance: Encouraging faculty, staff and students to meet their aspirational goals