Apply

• Begin the VCU Graduate School Application.
  • Filter by start term: “Fall 2026”
  • Filter by academic level: “Master’s Degree”
  • Filter by school/academic department: “School of Business”
• Search for “Branding” and select “Apply Now” to find the Brandcenter concentration to which you’re applying.
• Create an account for the Graduate School portal using your preferred email address.

Upload transcripts for all schools attended.

• Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at this stage. Official transcripts will be required upon enrollment.
• Applicants who have studied outside of the U.S. must provide academic documentation/school records for all schools attended. Visit the International Admissions website and the Academic Documentation section for detailed expectations, requirements, and instructions for how to submit your school records.

Provide the contact information for one reference—academic or professional. They’ll be sent an email to submit their reference.

Pay the $75.00 application fee to complete and submit the VCU Graduate School application.

Within two days of submitting the VCU Graduate School application, you will receive a link to the Brandcenter Portal, where you will complete the second part of the application process—the Brandcenter application.

*If admitted, you will need to return to the VCU Graduate School portal to officially accept your offer of admission with the university, so be sure to bookmark this portal and document your login credentials.

• Within two days of submitting your VCU Graduate application, you will receive a link to your Brandcenter portal, where you will complete the Brandcenter application and submit the required documents.
• When you receive the email with the link to the Brandcenter portal, create your account.

Upload your resume.

Respond to the application prompts below.

• If you are eligible to receive federal aid and are considering taking out loans or applying for scholarships to help fund your Brandcenter education, you should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
• The VCU school code for the FAFSA is 003735.
• Brandcenter applicants should submit the FAFSA as soon as possible, even if your admission status is undetermined.
• Visit Brandcenter Tuition & Aid and VCU Student Financial Services for more information and resources.

Students who complete their full application by the Early Deadline (January 15, 2026) and who are admitted within this first round, will receive:

• a guaranteed one-time $2,500 award upon admission

and will automatically be considered for:

• a $10,000 award
• a full-tuition award for the 2026-27 academic year

No additional paperwork or application materials are required.

Early Applicant Awards are one-time payments that will be allocated towards tuition for the 2026-27 academic year. Early Applicant Award recipients remain eligible to apply for Brandcenter Annual Scholarships.

Applicants who apply by the regular deadline of March 17, 2025 are eligible to apply for Brandcenter Annual Scholarships.

• All applicants are eligible to apply for Brandcenter scholarships.
• The scholarship application will be available in your Brandcenter portal.
• In order to be considered for scholarships, your admissions and scholarship application must be completed by the March 17 deadline.
• Students who wish to be considered for need-based scholarships must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid if they are eligible to do so. View the FAFSA eligibility criteria.
• Visit Brandcenter Tuition & Aid and VCU Student Financial Services for more information and resources.

Some applicants may be asked to schedule a virtual Admissions Interview after submitting their Brandcenter application. You will be notified via email if you are selected for an interview.

In addition to the VCU Graduate School and Brandcenter applications, international applicants must submit additional documentation to the VCU Office of Admissions. Visit International Admissions for full requirements and contact [email protected] with questions.

International applicants must hold the equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor’s degree, or, if you have a degree from a three-year program, be eligible for graduate education in your country of citizenship.

You must provide academic documentation/school records for all schools attended. Visit the International Admissions website and the Academic Documentation section for detailed expectations, requirements, and instructions for how to submit your school records. Contact [email protected] with questions.

• VCU requires Proof of English Efficiency. Visit International Admissions to learn more about the types of accepted tests, minimum scores, and how to submit your materials.

Visit International Admissions to view the requirements for financial certification.

1. Tell us why you are applying to the Brandcenter, why you selected your specific concentration, and what you hope to do with a Brandcenter degree. You may write your response (150 words or less) or you can submit a video response (2 minutes or less) by sharing a link.

1. Provide an example of a visual artist you admire and why. (150 words or less)

2. Provide a visually driven campaign for one of the following brands. Create three distinct pieces of communication that visually demonstrate and exaggerate the promise and power of the product in an unexpected way. See the examples provided for inspiration.

Choose from one of the four brands below:

• Mr. Clean Magic Eraser – Cleans anything like magic without chemicals.
• Post-It Notes – Small notes, big impact.
• Mike’s Hot Honey – It’s honey, but hotter. 
• Athletic Non-Alcoholic Beer – The beer you can drink anywhere, anytime.

3. Please attach 5 samples of your graphic design work (Portfolio site preferred, but you can also upload a pdf).

1. Choose a widely recognized piece of media that you love. This could be a brand campaign, a television show, a book series, or a movie (500 words or less).

• Develop a fresh and interesting next iteration of this media.
• Describe your new iteration in detail. If applicable, write an excerpt or sample scene to showcase your vision.
• Remember, we’re looking for originality and creativity, not mimicry. Show us how you can take a well-known idea and transform it into something new and exciting.

2. Write five possible captions for the cartoon below:

3. Write a tagline and headlines for both of the following brands: Olly Vitamins and Hinge.

• For both brands, create one tagline – this is your core idea
• Then, write five unique headlines that bring that idea to life
• Here is an example of what we’re looking for using laCroix (please note laCroix is not one of the brands you’ll use)
• You may use stock images to mock up ads, or just submit a google doc or a PDF of your writing.

4. Please submit 2-3 samples of your original writing. Ads, short stories, poetry, etc.-anything that best highlights your creative abilities, skill set, and personality. Please do not include school essays or research papers. (Provide a link or upload a PDF)

1. Choose two brands, one that is on the rise and one that is in decline. What could the failing brand learn from the rising star to reverse their decline? (250 words or less)

2. Tell us about a time when you played a leadership role in working on something from start to finish. Summarize what you did, the process, and what you learned from the experience. (200 words or less)

3. A cult-followed beauty brand has gone viral for its radically honest customer reviews and stripped-back branding. Its sales are up 300% in the past year. Now the brand is expanding into major retail stores and wants to launch a national campaign. The CMO asks you: “Should we preserve the raw, scrappy tone that built our following or polish the brand now that we’re scaling?” What do you recommend and what risks do you accept by making that choice? (250 words or less)

1. What character from a novel would have the best TikTok account?

• Tell us why and what kind of content they would deliver.
• What would their TikTok Handle be?
• What would their most recent post be?
• Optional: We’d love to see your creativity. Film their latest post and upload it. Have fun with it!

2. Tell us about a subculture which you are not a part of that interests you and why. (250 words or less)

3. Pick a location from the following categories to observe and explore: Retail, Outdoors, or Sports.

• Which location did you choose?
• Share five insights you learned from observing people/consumers at the location
• Upload a picture that corresponds to each insight (These should be pictures you take – not a stock photo)
• Here is an example from observing a College Move-In Day for freshmen

We have an early application deadline of January 15, a regular application deadline of March 17, and a scholarship deadline of March 17. Applications received after March 17 will be reviewed on a rolling and case-by-case basis depending on program availability.

Admitted students who submit their completed application by our early deadline of January 15, 2026, and are admitted within this round, will get guaranteed funds. 

All admitted early applicants will receive a guaranteed $2500 award AND be automatically considered for a $10,000 award and a full tuition award.

Please note these are one-time payments allocated to tuition for the first year of the program.

Recipients may also apply for Brandcenter Annual Scholarships (application due in March).

Nope. Simply complete all application materials by January 15, 2026. 

Students admitted within this round will receive a guaranteed $2,500 towards tuition, and will be automatically considered for a $10,000 award and a full tuition award.

Please note these are one-time payments allocated to tuition for the first year of the program.

Recipients remain eligible to apply for Brandcenter Annual Scholarships (application due in March).

We have new financial awards for students who complete their application by January 15, 2026 and are admitted in the first round.

Applications received by our January or March deadlines are eligible for Brandcenter Annual scholarship consideration. Those who apply after March 17 will not be able to apply for Brandcenter Annual scholarships.

Applications received after March 17 will only be reviewed if a concentration has capacity and on a rolling basis.

If you’ve applied for the early deadline and the admissions committee needs more information, we may reach out to you to move your application to the regular decision deadline and ask for additional materials.

This happens from time to time and simply means we need a little more information or work to supplement your application.

It is not an indication that you will not be admitted. However, if we ask to move your application to regular decision, you will not be considered for the Early Applicant Awards. You will, however, still be eligible to apply for Brandcenter Annual scholarships.

You can expect to receive a decision approximately 6-8 weeks after the application deadline.

You are welcome to submit your application past the deadline, but a decision is not guaranteed to be made on your application by our 6-8 week turnaround. Note that if you complete your application after the early decision deadline and before the regular decision deadline, you will be considered for the regular decision deadline. Any applications received after March 17 will be reviewed on a rolling basis and case-by-case basis depending on program availability.

All applicants are eligible to apply for scholarships through March 17.

Your application is considered complete when you have submitted both the VCU Graduate School application as well as the Brandcenter application.

No. You must respond to application prompts in the online Brandcenter supplemental application.

We only require unofficial transcripts for our application review process.

Upon admission to the Brandcenter, you will need to send your official transcripts with your final coursework and degree listed to VCU Graduate Admissions.

Any applicants who have studied outside of the U.S. must provide official academic documentation electronically to the International Admissions Office at [email protected]. in addition to their transcripts as a required part of the admission process. For more information, visit International Admissions. Contact [email protected] with questions.

No, all application pieces must be submitted through the online portals for both the VCU Graduate School (Step 1) and Brandcenter (Step 2) applications.

You may only apply to one concentration. Please contact Admissions if you would like to have a conversation about choosing your concentration.

You will only need to provide financial documents if you are admitted and choose to enroll in the program. For more questions about what financial information is required once you are accepted, view the VCU International Admissions page.

No.

The courses for Brandcenter students are prescribed; as such, students are unable to take additional courses or be enrolled in concurrent programs, either at Brandcenter, VCU, or elsewhere, during their time in our program.

As for concentration changes, exceptions may be allowed in very limited circumstances and within a specific timeframe. We have a class audit policy, if you are interested and eligible, you may be permitted to audit a certain course outside of your degree requirements. More info about these policies will be available at Orientation.