VCU Computer and Information Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Computer and Information Sciences, General
- Public university
- Richmond, VA
- About 122 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
VCU computer and information science graduates earn more than graduates of most computer and information science programs nationally, $84,338 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,050 in federal loans, less than at 87% of computer and information science programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying computer and information science degrees in Virginia.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all computer and information science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, VCU graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,764 more than the Virginia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia computer and information science program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 39% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,670 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $202 a month, or 2.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (80 of 95) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Richmond area are about 2% below the national average, so a $84,338 salary here buys what about $86,184 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to computer and information science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Software Developers
$136,460Median pay in Virginia. 88,280 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$201,490Median pay in Virginia. 17,550 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Computer Systems Analysts
$120,840Median pay in Virginia. 23,190 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
$109,610Median pay in Virginia. 12,430 people work in this job in Virginia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About VCU
Computer and Information Science ranks 1st of 47 bachelor's programs at VCU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($84,338), Computer Engineering ($82,964), and Chemical Engineering ($79,721).
Other computer and information science bachelor's programs near Richmond
Common questions
The median graduate earns $84,338 one year after graduating and $117,373 five years after. The median across computer and information science bachelor's programs in Virginia is $72,333.
The median federal loan balance is $19,050, which ranks 2nd lowest of 14 computer and information science bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $202 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 23% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 40%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
Most do. 84% (80 of 95) were working in Virginia one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Virginia comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the computer and information science program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024