Special honors programs and courses are offered at the university. Refer to the appropriate school sections of this bulletin for further information. Interdisciplinary honors courses designed for superior freshmen in any program are also available.
Advanced scholars program
Qualified high school students from Richmond and surrounding area high schools may be permitted to carry college-level courses at the university while concurrently completing the high school diploma. Students may select courses of interest and, upon successful completion of the courses, may receive college credit. However, courses selected should not be available in the high school curriculum.
Candidates must be nominated and approved by the secondary school principal. A maximum of 100 candidates are accepted each semester and candidates may enroll in no more than two courses per semester.
As a guide to secondary schools, the following criteria for selection are considered.
- Each candidate must be nominated and approved by the secondary school principal.
- Each candidate must have achieved a total of 1180 points on the SAT or 118 on the PSAT, and a minimum GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale
- Each candidate must be a high school junior or senior.
- The desired courses to be studied must be available and appropriate.
- All parties should emphasize that tuition is charged for courses taken as an advanced scholar.
Notification forms and other information may be obtained from the Office of Admissions, Virginia Commonwealth University, Box 842526, Richmond, VA 23284-2526 or (804) 828-1222.
Teacher cadet program
The teacher cadet program is a highly selective program for students who have expressed an interest in pursuing teaching as a career. The program follows a rigorous curriculum that is standardized throughout Virginia public schools. Qualified high school students from Richmond and surrounding area may be permitted to take EDUS 101 as a college-level course at the university while concurrently completing the high school diploma.
Participating students must meet the following requirements established by the Virginia Department of Education:
- Maintain, at minimum, a 2.7 GPA or its equivalent
- Submit three satisfactory teacher recommendations
- Submit an application that includes a brief essay
In addition, students must be approved by the secondary school principal and, if the student is under the age of 18, must submit documentation of parental approval.
Students successfully completing the course with a grade of B will receive three undergraduate credits that can be used toward electives in the VCU School of Education’s five-year extended teacher preparation program. For more information about the teacher cadet program, contact the VCU School of Education at (804) 827-2670 or soessc@vcu.edu.