Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) is ranked the No. 1 public university school of arts and design in the country (#4 among public & private institutions) by "U.S. News & World Report" in 2015.of Date VCUarts is the only public university arts and design school in the country to ever be ranked this high in overall ranking. Indeed, the "New York Times" called it "that rare public research institution that has put the arts front and center". The VCU Brandcenter, the School of Business' graduate program in advertising, has also been ranked first in the nation by "Creativity Magazine" and as one of the top 60 design schools in the world by "BusinessWeek".of Date