University of Richmond, USA

Overview

History, Affiliations & Rankings

The University of Richmond (UR), founded in 1830 as a manual labor institute for men wishing to become ministers is a private liberal arts university in Richmond, Virginia. UR is a primarily undergraduate.  UR has accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). UR received the following rankings for national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report in the Best Colleges 2020 guide: 23 overall, 24 for “Best Value,” 10 for “Most Innovative Schools,” 20 for "Learning Communities". It tied for the first position in the bachelor’s institutions category of universities producing the most Fulbright U.S. Scholars. It ranked 26th among the 100 best value private liberal arts colleges by Kiplinger's Personal Finance 2019-20.

Infrastructure, Campus & Courses

Located on the western edge of the city, the UR campus is spread over 350 acres in a suburban setting. The campus’ red brick buildings in a collegiate gothic style placed around shared open lawns between a landscape of pines, rolling hills, and Westhampton Lake, is intimate and tranquil and has been recognized as the most beautiful in the United States by The Princeton Review. UR has a small downtown campus that hosts the Richmond on Broad café, a mixed-purpose lower-level, art gallery spaces, offices, two classrooms, and a conference room. 

The institute offers 100 plus majors and minors through four schools, namely the School of Arts and Sciences, the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and the University of Richmond School of Law. The School of Professional & Continuing Studies offers degree and certificate programs, professional training and summer programs to part-time and non-traditional students of all age groups. 

Accomplishments & Alumni 

It is an accomplished university as it has been ranked well in various fields simultaneously achieving several titles. Apart from academics, the university holds 9th rank as Happiest Students,  4th rank as the Best Schools for Internships, 5th rank as the Best-Run Colleges, 5th rank as the Most Beautiful Campus, 6th rank as the Best Athletic Facilities by Princeton Review. It won its first national championship, AIAW national championship in women tennis, in 1982. The university won its first NCAA national championship on December 19, 2008, in football. In the 2009–10 season it was ranked 23rd in men's basketball and 24th at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Spiders men's basketball team won the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament, placing them in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In its long fruitful journey the university produced many talented alumni including Ben Edwards, American football player; Ward Armstrong, member, Virginia House of Delegates; Frank E. Resnik, former chairman, and CEO, Philip Morris USA; Douglas S. Freeman, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian; Leland D. Melvin, NASA astronaut.

Student Diversity & Visiting Companies

The university celebrates and promotes diversity in a very welcoming way and has been ranked 61st for "Campus Ethnic Diversity." A big fraction of the student body comes from out of state including  9%  international population representing 62 countries. It arranges, for both domestic and international students,  more than 150 career workshops and career expos each year at the campus wherein many representatives from a variety of organizations come specifically to hire Spiders for internships and full-time opportunities. It has an online database, SpiderConnect, that allows students and alumni to search for opportunities posted by recruiting organizations. The Princeton Review ranked the university 2nd for “Best Career Services” in its 2020 edition of its college guide, “The Best 385 Colleges.” Prominent employers include Altria, CarMax, Citi, Amazon to name a few.