Purpose
The School of Business Professional Development Fund exists to support VCU Business students pursuing professional opportunities such as conferences, hackathons, and case study competitions.
The School of Business Professional Development Fund exists to support VCU Business students pursuing professional opportunities such as conferences, hackathons, and case study competitions.
All VCU Business Majors are welcome to apply. All students (undergraduate and graduate) must apply individually, but should indicate if they are part of a student organization group that is applying for the same opportunity. You must be enrolled as a student at VCU Business at the time of submission through the time the opportunity will take place.
Students are eligible for one award per year not to exceed $2,000. Students are not guaranteed to receive the total amount they apply for. Award amounts will be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account financial need, other sources of funding, opportunity for professional growth, and the quality of responses provided. If you are awarded any funds, you will be expected to submit a summary of your experience to the Office of Student Engagement.
This application will require you to upload a budget sheet outlining the funds you are requesting. You can create a copy of the budget template by clicking here. Applications are due 3 weeks prior to the day you need the funds available. Apply here.
No, we need at least 3 weeks to review your application and process the payment.
For the 2025–2026 award cycle, eligibility is limited to students pursuing a major in business. While we value your connection to the School of Business through your minor, this particular fund is currently restricted to declared business majors.
While the application refers to specific events, you can also request funds for other opportunities that further your professional development. Make sure to be detailed in the descriptions of your request so we understand what you’re asking for. If unsure about the eligibility of an opportunity, we recommend reaching out to our team at bizpdfund@vcu before completing the application.
Funding cannot be awarded for VCU tuition or certifications.
The review process focuses on quality of the opportunity, quality of the application, financial need, and opportunity for professional development.
While the review process does not consider specific GPAs, all applicants must be in "Academic Good Standing" at VCU for at least one full semester to be eligible to receive funding.
Please note that funding from the VCU School of Business Professional Development Fund is a one-time payment from VCU, not a scholarship. Since the funding will be directly deposited in full to your personal bank account via check or direct deposit so you can utilize it immediately for professional development expenses, the award is considered taxable income. Unlike academic scholarships or other assistance that you may receive via the Office of Financial Aid to attend VCU, the School of Business Professional Development funds are intentionally not routed through your VCU student account to pay tuition and fees, and instead made available for you to use for applicable expenses like registration, travel, and more. A 1099 will be issued to you for any payments you receive of $600 or more in a calendar year. If you have further questions, please contact a tax professional to meet your specific needs.
The funds are deposited directly into your personal bank account for use on professional development expenses.
Yes, to ensure that students have the chance to experience a variety of professional development opportunities, there is a limit of 10 attendees per professional development fund opportunity per year.
For 2025-26, the following opportunities have reached the 10 person limit: AfroTech Conference in Houston TX.
Each person is awarded funds individually so an application needs to be completed for every person who wants to attend needs to fill out their own application. However, in the application you should indicate that you are applying with other people in the same organization for the same event. We will take this into account when we review your application.
Yes! The committee asks that student organization groups consider ways to cost-share such as sharing hotel rooms, sharing rides to travel to the location and sharing rides once in the location of the experience.
No, if you are no longer pursuing the experience you were awarded funds for you are required to return the funds to VCU.
Unfortunately, you are not eligible to receive additional funding for the same experience in the same academic year. We encourage you to put considerable time and effort into your budget sheet and provide fully researched estimates in your request upon submission. We do know that prices may fluctuate from the time you submit your budget sheet to the time you have the award in hand. If that happens, you will be responsible for covering the difference.
VCU Business Students (undergraduate and graduate) can receive this award one time per academic year. Each funding cycle resets on July 1. Remember that you also need to be enrolled as a student at VCU Business at the time that the opportunity will take place.