University of Richmond: Courses, Admission, Cost

Located in the city of Richmond, the University of Richmond (UR) is a highly-ranked private institution of higher education and research in Virginia. It was set up by Virginia Baptists as a manual labour institute for men in the year 1830. Initially, the institution functioned in a two-storey building in the downtown. However, UR relocated its campus to the present-day site in the year 1914. In 1920, UR became a university and took up the current name. The university has academic affiliations from the Associated Colleges of the South, Council of Independent Colleges and the South-eastern Universities Research Association.

UR has a beautiful 350-acre campus settled about 6 miles from Richmond downtown. The campus features state-of-the-art academic, administrative, athletic, recreation and support facilities for the students. Weinstein Centre is the venue for major athletic facilities such as a three-court gymnasium, classroom, sauna, massage therapy room, cardio and training areas, conference and assessment rooms, multipurpose rooms, indoor tracks and racquetball courts. The outdoor sports complex on the campus consists of a sand volleyball pit, a picnic area and two basketball courts.

The University Chaplaincy has 18 ministries and organises several pilgrimage trips and multi-faith programming to foster an environment of inclusion and exploration for helping students grow in their faith. UR provides accommodation to about 87% of undergraduate students in its on-campus housing facility. Other on-campus facilities include a health and wellness centre, bookstore, dining point and disability services. The campus is well-connected to the downtown via a strong transportation system, where students can visit the major shopping, dining and entertainment points.

UR has five schools that offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in arts, sciences, business, professional and continuing studies, leadership studies and law. At present, the university has about 4,002 students from 47 states of the U.S. and 62 countries of the world. The institution has skilled, experienced and responsible staff on the roll that includes academic affiliates, administrative officers and helping staff. With an average class of 16 students, the student-teacher ratio at UR is 8:1. UR has a total of 190 student organisations that promote cultural unity, relationship building and exploration of various personal, political, academic and social interests. Under the sports affiliation from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, UR maintains 17 varsity teams that participate in the Atlantic-10 Conference as the Spiders. Apart from this, there are 32 sports clubs managed by the students' association.

The University of Richmond has a comprehensive alumni network of over 50,578 graduates living in 50 states of the U.S and 93 nations across the globe. The alumni list includes some notable names like Michael Henry Dunkley (Businessman and Politician), Grant Shaud (Actor), Shaun Herock (Football Executive and Former Player), Josie Daga (Blogger and Entrepreneur), Paul Duke (Popular Journalist), Bruce Randall Hornsby (Pianist, Singer and Writer), Timothy Cline (Basketball Player), Leland Melvin (Retired NASA Astronaut) and Saul Krugman (Scientist).