VCU School of Education

What VCU School of Education does

VCU School of Education is a constituent academic unit of Virginia Commonwealth University, a public research university in Richmond, Virginia, established in 1964 to address Virginia's in-state teacher preparation gap. The school operates undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs across teaching, educational leadership, counseling, special education, and educational psychology, delivered through in-person, online, and hybrid modalities to roughly 1,000 enrolled students and supported by a network of 18,074 living alumni.

The school's research and service operations are organized around three core operating subsidiaries: the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC), launched in 1983 to advance employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities; the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), established in 1991 as a research-practice partnership with Richmond-area PK-12 districts; and the Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation (ICRE), established in 2023 as a fee-for-service expansion of MERC. Together these units manage $152 million in active cumulative research funding, secured $44.7 million in new grants in 2024, and connect the school to regional districts, federal agencies, and philanthropic funders including the William T. Grant Foundation.

Revenue derives from three primary streams: tuition and fees — including a discounted Educator Rate of $612 per credit for in-state and $765 per credit for out-of-state graduate students — federal and foundation research grants, and alumni donations supporting endowed chairs and scholarships. Distribution channels include the VCU graduate application portal, the RTR Teacher Residency program in partnership with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, the CodeRVA Lab School, and direct research-practice partnerships with PK-12 districts. The school is consistently ranked among the top 20 U.S. education schools by U.S. News & World Report and #2 in Virginia.

Name

VCU School of Education

Legal name

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education

Website

https://soe.vcu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The VCU School of Education is a top-20 nationally ranked constituent school of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, preparing teachers, leaders, and counselors through undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs while operating three research-practice units — RRTC, MERC, and ICRE — that manage $152 million in active research funding for partner school districts, federal agencies, and philanthropic funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Undergraduate Teacher Education Colleges (EDAHAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF), Curriculum & Instruction / Instructional Design Programs (EDAHAFAE), Academic Support & Learning Assistance (Tutoring Centers) (EDALABAF)

Keywords

• Higher education programs
• Teacher preparation
• Educational research services
• Doctoral leadership programs
• Special education training

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from tuition and fees for undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs including online and in-person modalities
2. Research Grants and Contracts: Federal and foundation funding for educational research including grants from Department of Education, William T. Grant Foundation, and other funding bodies
3. Alumni Giving and Donations: Charitable contributions from alumni and supporters, including endowed chairs and scholarship funding

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The VCU School of Education delivers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs preparing teachers, school leaders, counselors, and special education professionals. It also conducts funded educational research and provides research and evaluation services to PK-12 school districts, nonprofits, government agencies, and higher education institutions through centers like ICRE, MERC, and RRTC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC): A research-practice partnership between VCU School of Education and school divisions in metropolitan Richmond, Virginia, working to connect research, policy, and practice on PK-12 education issues.
• Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation (ICRE)
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC)
• RTR Teacher Residency

Products and services

• Undergraduate Programs Undergraduate degree programs for prospective teachers and educators seeking initial teaching licenses and preparation for K-12 classrooms.
• Graduate Programs Master's and graduate degree programs in teaching, leadership, counseling, special education, and educational psychology delivered through online and hybrid modalities for working professionals.
• Ed.D. in Leadership Program Ed.D. in Educational Leadership doctoral program requiring 48 credit hours, delivered part-time averaging three years, designed for practicing educational leaders.
• M.Ed. in Special Education - General Education Master of Education in Special Education (General Education) requiring 37 credit hours for degree completion, preparing special education professionals.
• Special Education K-12 Teaching Graduate Certificate Graduate certificate in Special Education K-12 Teaching requiring 27 credit hours, qualifying for the Educator Rate tuition discount.
• Graduate Certificate in Preparing Future Faculty New graduate certificate program designed to prepare doctoral students and scholars for faculty careers in higher education.
• Advanced Educational Statistics Graduate Certificate New graduate certificate program providing advanced training in educational statistics and research methods.
• RTR Teacher Residency Program Teacher residency program designed to support recruitment, preparation, and development of the educator workforce in Virginia, with partnership opportunities for military members and their families.
• Institute for Collaborative Research and Evaluation (ICRE) Services Flexible research and evaluation services for nonprofit organizations, PK-12 school districts, private schools, governmental agencies, and institutions of higher education.
• Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) Partnership Research-practice partnership connecting research, policy, and practice on enduring and emerging issues in public PK-12 education in metropolitan Richmond, Virginia.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) Research and training center dedicated to advancing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
• Rural Rams Coaching Group Coaching group providing support for rural students including discussions on rural identity, wellness and self-care, and advocacy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduation rate improvements documented through research-practice partnerships with Richmond Public Schools
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Richmond Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch-practice partnership to identify and test strategies supporting pathways to postsecondary success for multilingual learners across three Richmond middle schools
• VCU College of Humanities and SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research partnership with the Department of Psychology to study family engagement with multilingual students
• Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding research-practice partnership between VCU School of Education and PK-12 public school divisions in the Richmond, Virginia region, established in 1991
• PK-12 School DistrictscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorICRE provides flexible research and evaluation services for PK-12 school divisions across the Richmond metropolitan region
• Nonprofit OrganizationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorICRE offers research and evaluation services to nonprofit organizations seeking to maximize program outcomes
• Governmental AgenciesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorICRE provides research and evaluation support services for governmental agencies
• Institutions of Higher EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRE offers collaborative research and evaluation services for higher education institutions
• Virginia Department of Veterans ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTR Teacher Residency program partnership providing career opportunities for military members and their families to become licensed teachers
• CodeRVA Lab SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirginia's first lab school partnership addressing teacher shortage and preparing students for STEM careers through innovative preparation programs
• Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide initiative to enhance work-based learning opportunities, with ICRE leading evaluation efforts
• Lebanese American UniversityminorOthersEd.D. graduate student employed as senior director of International Services and Programs while completing doctoral studies remotely
• University of BuffalominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICRE serves as lead evaluator for University of Buffalo Teacher Residency (UBTR) program, studying its impact on teacher development and student achievement
• Amazon Career Choice ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting adult learners transitioning from Amazon warehouses to academic journeys

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• University of Maryland College of Education: Larger mid-Atlantic R1 public college of education with research scale, comparable federal grant capture, and online graduate programs; competes for out-of-state online students and federal research awards.
• Penn State College of Education: Large public R1 college of education with substantial online World Campus offerings in teaching, leadership, and educational psychology; a benchmark for online scale against which VCU SOE's online programs compete.
• UNC Chapel Hill School of Education: Highly ranked public research university school of education in the Southeast; competes for top-ranked U.S. News positioning, federal research dollars (e.g., IES, NSF), and doctoral students with VCU SOE.

Direct peers

• Virginia Tech School of Education: Research-oriented Virginia public university school of education offering teacher preparation, leadership, and counseling; comparable in research intensity and competes for federal grant funding and STEM-education partnerships.
• University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development: Virginia's flagship public research university school of education; competes directly with VCU SOE for in-state teacher preparation students, faculty talent, and Virginia Department of Education grant dollars.
• George Mason University College of Education and Human Development: Large Northern Virginia-based public college of education with similar program breadth (initial licensure, leadership, counseling, special education); competes with VCU SOE for graduate online enrollments and Virginia workforce pathways.
• William & Mary School of Education: Another top-ranked Virginia public university school of education offering teacher preparation, leadership, and counseling programs; competes for the same in-state prospective students and state-funded initiatives.
• James Madison University College of Education: Virginia public university college of education with strong undergraduate teacher preparation reputation; competes for in-state teaching candidates and featured in Virginia Department of Education workforce initiatives.
• Old Dominion University Darden College of Education and Professional Studies: Virginia public university with a large college of education and significant online graduate offerings; competes directly with VCU SOE's online M.Ed. and educational leadership programs.

Regional players

• Radford University College of Education and Human Development: Virginia public university with a long-standing teacher preparation focus and similar PK-12 district partnerships; competes regionally but in a different sub-region than VCU's Richmond base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTnSyfQiAowd7PLlEY3uXJQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/vcusoe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vcu-school-of-education
• Instagraminstagram.com/vcu_soed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VCU School of Education