Borderless classrooms, endless opportunities

Life Sciences represents the full spectrum of experiential and classroom studies of the natural world.

Lab coats and goggles give way to waders and sunglasses. Many courses in VCU Life Sciences allow our students to immerse themselves in experiential learning. Whether it is navigating the whitewater rapids on the Salmon River, banding birds on top of a mountain in Panama or gathering water quality data down the road at VCU Rice Rivers Center, our pathway to an education in the life sciences takes students to the research.

It's not where you start, it's where you finish. 

Not every one of our graduates began their educational journey with VCU Life Sciences. Our students have joined us from community colleges, four-year universities, even other fields of study within VCU. Our alumni can be found working at places like NASA, NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health and the Army Corp of Engineers. Whether they are taking wildlife photos for National Geographic or tracking Atlantic Sturgeon in the James River, their paths led them through our hallways. Hands-on student opportunities often lead to top-tier jobs as alumni.

four scenes: a person standing on a pier overlooking a body of water, a v.c.u. student group posing outside in a mountainous area, students working in a lab, and a group of people whitewater rafting

News

Sara Bouchard

Aug. 23, 2024

Sara Bouchard named FLUXNET artist-in-residence

The one-year residency is at the carbon flux tower at VCU Rice Rivers Center.

A group of faculty and students from the Center on Health Disparities come together at Rice Rivers Center

Aug. 23, 2024

Rice Rivers Center hosts VCU Center on Health Disparities retreat

Faculty and students from Monroe Park and Health Campuses discuss intersection between human and environmental health.

Illustration of two prothonotary warblers in a tree, with two people in a canoe in the foreground.

Aug. 21, 2024

A bird call for wetland health

Humans need marshes. The prothonotary warbler can help us save them.