VCU College of Engineering

The Virginia Commonwealth University College of Engineering is a Richmond-based engineering education institution that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, chemical and life science engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical and nuclear engineering.^[3] Established as the "School of Engineering" in 1996, its name and status was officially changed to the College of Engineering in April 2018. The college's dean, Barbara D. Boyan, cited doubled faculty numbers and an increase in funding as reasoning for the switch from school to college.^[4]

Virginia Commonwealth University
College of Engineering

VCU Engineering West Hall, Monroe Park campus.
Type	Public university, engineering college
Established	1996
Dean	Azim Eskandarian, DSc, Fellow of ASME [1]
Academic staff	64
Students	1,993 (1,746 undergraduate/247 graduate)[2]
Undergraduates	75% male, 25% female
Address	601 West Main Street Richmond, VA , Richmond , Virginia , United States 37.5456°N 77.4495°W / 37.5456; -77.4495
Campus	Monroe Park Campus, VCU
Website	egr.vcu.edu

Upon its founding, initial courses at the VCU school were offered in mechanical, electrical and chemical engineering. The school added a new undergraduate major in biomedical engineering in the fall of 1998. The undergraduate biomedical engineering program is unique in the Commonwealth, established as a response to the growing presence of biomedical companies in Virginia. VCU's long-standing degree programs in computer science joined the school in fall 2001. In May 2000, a graduate degree program in engineering was created and added to the historic graduate programs of biomedical engineering.^[5]

Facilities

The first two of the School of Engineering's planned facilities opened in the fall of 1998—the main classroom building and the Virginia Microelectronics Research Center. Together, they total 147,000 square feet (13,700 m²) at a cost of $42 million. To foster growth in enrollment and faculty number, the school embarked on an ambitious campaign to expand facilities, fund endowed scholarships, chairs, and academic programs. The campaign raised more than $67 million to meet these needs.^[5]

Current facilities

147,000 square feet (13,700 m²) West Hall ^[6]
131,000 square feet (12,200 m²) East Hall
28,000 square feet (2,600 m²) Microelectronics Lab
25,000 square feet (2,300 m²) Health & Life Science Engineering Lab

92,000 square feet (8,500 m²) Institute for Engineering and Medicine ^[7]

94,000 square feet (8,700 m²) Engineering Research Building ^[8] In January 2008, the school opened East Hall, a 120,000-square-foot (11,000 m²) facility housing 48 research labs, 50 faculty offices, six classrooms, and other student spaces allowing for future growth of the college.^[5]

Departments

• Biomedical Engineering^[9]
• Chemical and Life Science Engineering^[10]
• Electrical and Computer Engineering^[11]
• Computer Science^[12]
• Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering^[13]

Statistics

Alumni: 2,936 ^[14]
2010 Freshman Class: 291
2011 Freshman Class: 286
2011 Freshman Admit SAT Mid 50%: 1190 - 1350
2011 Freshman Admit SAT Average: 1280
Fall 2009 Freshmen returning as Sophomores: 80%

Placement after Graduation: 64% full-time employment, 36% Graduate School

Top Employers of Alumni: Mitsubishi nuclear energy, Thomas & Betts Power, Altria, MWV, TRANE, and Infilco Degremont.^{[citation needed]}

Student diversity

Undergraduate Fall 2015 Diversity Statistics^[1] White - 944 students (47.2%)
Asian - 377 students (18.8%)
International - 288 students (14.4%)
Black/African American - 188 students (9.4%)
Hispanic/Latino - 113 students (5.6%)
Two or More Races - 59 students (2.9%)
Unknown - 23 students (1.1%)
Native American/Alaskan - 4 students (0.2%)
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander - 2 students (0.1%)