Virginia State University, America's first fully state supported four-year institution of higher learning for Blacks, is a comprehensive university and one of two land-grant institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its mission is to promote and sustain academic programs that integrate instruction, research, and extension/public service in a design most responsive to the needs and endeavors of individuals and groups within its scope of influence. Ultimately, the University is dedicated to the promotion of knowledgeable, perceptive, and humane citizens--secure in their self-awareness, equipped for personal fulfillment, sensitive to the needs and aspirations of others, and committed to assuming productive roles in a challenging and ever-changing global society.
< CollapseVirginia State University is a historically black university and land-grant university located in Petersburg, Virginia in the Richmond area, and was founded on March 6, 1882. It was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans. Its first president was John Mercer Langston, who later became the first African-American elected to Congress from Virginia. The board of trustees was almost entirely African-American, except for one member. The faculty of the collegiate program and the normal school was African-American until the mid-1960s. The name used by the school's athletic teams is the "Mighty Trojans." The third season of the reality television series College Hill was filmed at Virginia State University in 2006. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
Following the American Civil War, William Mahone (1826-1895) of Petersburg, Virginia was the driving force in the linkage of Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, South Side Railroad and the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in 1870 to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a new line extending from Norfolk to Bristol. After several years of operating under receiverships, Mahone's role as a railroad builder ended in 1881 when the AM&O was sold at auction to form the Norfolk and Western Railway.
Mahone, a former Confederate general best known as the hero of the Battle of the Crater, later led Virginia's Readjuster Party and was a major proponent of public schools for the education of the former slaves and free blacks. He became a United States Senator from Virginia, and arranged for the proceeds of the AM&O sale to help found a school for teachers near Petersburg. In 1882, the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute at Petersburg was established. State delegate Alfred W. Harris, a black attorney, introduced the bill that established the institute.
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| Percent of Students International: | 0% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 45% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc) Basketball (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc) Baseball (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc) Track (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 4,834 | $ 12,046 | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 2,317 | $ 9,471 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 2,517 | $ 2,574 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,873 | 75% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 3,428 | 37% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 2,602 | 24% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,330 | 86% | |
Any Aid: |
97% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 64% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 95% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 380, Math: 370 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 460, Math: 460 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
