VCU Brandcenter
Professional services
UnclaimedVCU Brandcenter is a graduate program at Virginia Commonwealth University focused on advertising, branding, strategy, design, and creative problem-solving.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
VCU Brandcenter, also known as the Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a specialized graduate program for advertising, branding, communications, and creative problem-solving. It operates within VCU’s School of Business and awards a Master of Science in Business. Rather than functioning as a conventional business-school specialization, the Brandcenter is organized around collaborative, project-based work that mirrors the structure of an advertising, branding, design, or innovation agency. The program began in 1996 as VCU Adcenter under the leadership of Diane Cook-Tench, a former senior vice president and creative director at The Martin Agency. Cook-Tench worked with VCU president Eugene Trani to establish a graduate program that connected academic instruction with the needs of the commercial communications industry. Through her industry relationships, she assembled an influential founding board that included Jay Chiat of TBWA\\Chiat\\Day and Dan Wieden of Wieden + Kennedy. The first cohort comprised 51 students studying art direction, copywriting, and strategy. Brandcenter students pursue one of five concentrations: Art Direction, Copywriting, Creative Brand Management, Experience Design, and Strategy. Students develop depth in their selected discipline while working in multidisciplinary teams on assignments involving real-world clients and agency-style briefs. Projects generally require students to move from research and strategic framing through concept development, design, production, and presentation. This model positions the program as a bridge between graduate education and professional practice. The institution’s identity evolved significantly during the 2000s. Creative Brand Management was introduced in 2007 as the program broadened beyond traditional creative roles. In 2008, VCU Adcenter adopted the Brandcenter name to reflect changes in the advertising and branding industries. That year it also added Creative Technology, responding to the growing importance of digital media and interactive communications. The concentration later evolved into Experience Design in 2015, reflecting a wider industry shift from creating brand messages to designing integrated brand experiences. The Brandcenter has also changed organizationally and physically. In 2008, it relocated from Richmond’s Shockoe Slip to a renovated former carriage house associated with the Jefferson Hotel. The building, designed for creative and collaborative work by architect Clive Wilkinson, was later named Mike Hughes Hall in honor of Martin Agency executive and founding board member Mike Hughes. In 2012, the program moved from VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences into the VCU School of Business, and its degree changed from a Master of Science in Mass Communications to a Master of Science in Business. Industry engagement is central to the Brandcenter’s operating model. Its annual Recruiter Session, sometimes described as a reverse career fair, brings recruiters from agencies and companies to meet graduating students. The school also publishes Sixty, an annual magazine named for the roughly sixty weeks required to complete the master’s program. The publication presents student work, program information, alumni profiles, industry perspectives, and student-life material. The school has maintained ties to the advertising and marketing industries through its leadership, advisory structures, alumni network, and client projects. Under director Vann Graves, who began leading the Brandcenter in 2018, the program established a Director’s Council in 2019. The council was designed to connect the school more directly with brand and business leaders and to advise on how the curriculum should prepare students for changing workforce demands. In 2020, Brandcenter alumni were credited with contributing to 18 Super Bowl commercials, involving 26 alumni, while the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the school to move its recruiter event online in partnership with Working Not Working. That year also saw students and recent graduates form The Carriage House, a creative cooperative intended to sustain collaboration and professional activity during the disruption caused by the pandemic.
History
VCU Brandcenter was founded in 1996 as VCU Adcenter, a graduate advertising program created by Diane Cook-Tench in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University president Eugene Trani. Cook-Tench brought professional advertising experience from The Martin Agency and used her industry network to help establish a board that included Jay Chiat of TBWA\\Chiat\\Day and Dan Wieden of Wieden + Kennedy. The school began with 51 students and three concentrations: art direction, copywriting, and strategy. Patricia Alvey served as director from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Rick Boyko became director after senior creative and executive roles at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. During Boyko’s tenure, the program gained external recognition, including a 2005 ranking by Advertising Age’s Creativity Magazine as the leading graduate advertising program. The curriculum expanded in 2007 with Creative Brand Management, reflecting the need for brand leadership and account-side expertise alongside traditional creative disciplines. In 2008, the institution adopted the VCU Brandcenter name. The rebranding signaled a wider conception of its mission, encompassing branding, digital media, and integrated creative problem-solving rather than advertising alone. The same year, the school introduced Creative Technology and moved from its original Shockoe Slip location into a renovated former carriage house associated with Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel. Architect Clive Wilkinson designed the building’s renovation around open, collaborative, studio-like work. The facility was named Mike Hughes Hall in 2010 in honor of Mike Hughes, a Martin Agency executive and founding board member. The program’s academic and administrative structure changed in 2012. Rick Boyko retired, Helayne Spivak became director, and the Brandcenter transferred from VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences to the VCU School of Business. The degree changed from a Master of Science in Mass Communications to a Master of Science in Business, emphasizing the relationship between creative practice, business strategy, and brand management. Creative Technology was subsequently reshaped as Experience Design in 2015. The change reflected the communications industry’s movement toward digital products, services, interactions, and broader customer experiences. The program’s five principal areas became Art Direction, Copywriting, Creative Brand Management, Experience Design, and Strategy. Students continue to specialize while working across disciplines on collaborative briefs and presentations involving faculty, peers, and real-world clients. Vann Graves became director in August 2018 after serving in global creative leadership positions at McCann and JWT. Under his leadership, the Brandcenter formed the Director’s Council in 2019. The council brings together brand and business leaders intended to advise the institution, support its advocacy, and help it anticipate changing expectations for creative and strategic professionals. Industry access remains a defining feature of the school. Each April, the Recruiter Session brings agencies and companies to meet graduating students in a format often described as a reverse career fair. The Brandcenter also publishes Sixty, an annual magazine named after the approximate number of weeks in the master’s program. It combines student work with material about the curriculum, alumni, industry leaders, and student life. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the program’s professional and extracurricular activities in 2020. The annual Recruiter Session moved online through a partnership with Working Not Working. More than 50 students and recent graduates also created The Carriage House, a student-run creative cooperative. The school reported that 26 alumni contributed to 18 Super Bowl commercials in 2020, illustrating the visibility of its alumni in advertising and brand communications. VCU Brandcenter remains an active graduate program within VCU’s School of Business, with an educational model centered on collaboration, portfolio development, professional networks, and applied creative problem-solving.
- 2020
Recruiter Session moves online
[1]The annual recruiter event is delivered virtually during the COVID-19 outbreak through a partnership with Working Not Working.
- 2019
Director’s Council is founded
[1]The Brandcenter creates an advisory body linking the program with business and brand leaders.
- 2018
Vann Graves becomes director
[1]Vann Graves assumes leadership of the Brandcenter.
- 2015
Experience Design replaces Creative Technology
[1]The concentration evolves toward designing broader brand experiences rather than focusing primarily on creative technology.
- 2012
Brandcenter joins the School of Business
[1]The program moves into VCU’s School of Business and changes its degree designation to a Master of Science in Business.
- 2010
Building is named Mike Hughes Hall
[1]The facility receives the name Mike Hughes Hall in recognition of Martin Agency executive and founding board member Mike Hughes.
- 2008
Program is renamed VCU Brandcenter
[1]VCU Adcenter changes its name to reflect a broader focus on branding and the evolving communications industry.
- 2008
Creative Technology concentration launches
[1]The school adds Creative Technology to address digital media’s expanding role in advertising and marketing.
- 2008
Move to the renovated carriage house
[1]The Brandcenter relocates from Shockoe Slip to a renovated former carriage house designed by Clive Wilkinson.
- 2007
Creative Brand Management is introduced
[1]The program adds a concentration focused on brand leadership and management.
Products and positioning
A selective, industry-connected graduate program that combines business education with multidisciplinary advertising, branding, design, strategy, and creative technology practice.
Graduate degree · 2012
Master of Science in Business
VCU Brandcenter’s primary academic offering is a specialized Master of Science in Business focused on advertising, branding, creative problem-solving, and related business practices. The program uses collaborative, project-based learning in which students work within a concentration and across disciplines on agency- and client-style assignments.
Graduate concentration · 1996
Art Direction
The Art Direction concentration develops visual concepting and communication skills for advertising and brand work. Students work on visual systems, campaign concepts, presentation materials, and collaborative projects that require translating strategic problems into compelling visual ideas.
Graduate concentration · 1996
Copywriting
Copywriting focuses on verbal concept development, messaging, naming, campaign language, and persuasive storytelling. Students collaborate with art directors, strategists, experience designers, and brand managers to create integrated communications for client and agency-style assignments.
Graduate concentration · 1996
Strategy
The Strategy concentration addresses research, audience understanding, positioning, insight development, planning, and the formulation of creative briefs. Strategists work with other concentrations to connect business and consumer problems with actionable brand and communications ideas.
Graduate concentration · 2007
Creative Brand Management
Creative Brand Management was added as the program expanded its focus beyond traditional creative roles. The concentration addresses brand leadership, marketing decision-making, collaboration with creative teams, and the management of brand-building initiatives.
Graduate concentration · 2015
Experience Design
Experience Design developed from the earlier Creative Technology concentration and reflects the industry’s shift toward designing interactions and experiences across digital and physical touchpoints. Students consider how brands behave, function, and are encountered rather than limiting their work to advertising messages.
Annual publication
Sixty
Sixty is the Brandcenter’s annual magazine, named after the approximate number of weeks students spend completing the master’s program. It presents student work and information about the concentrations alongside coverage of alumni, industry leaders, and student life.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Virtual Recruiter Session
United States
The Brandcenter partnered with Working Not Working to move its annual recruiter event online during the COVID-19 outbreak, preserving connections between graduating students and industry employers.
Outcome. The event continued in a virtual format; no further measured outcome is specified in the cited material.
- 2020The Carriage House
United States
More than 50 Brandcenter students and recent graduates created a student-run creative cooperative during the pandemic period to support collaborative creative work.
Outcome. The cited material identifies the cooperative’s formation but does not provide a later performance assessment.
Brand decisions
2015
Evolve Creative Technology into Experience DesignGeneration changeBackground
The industry was shifting from conventional brand communications toward integrated digital and physical experiences.
Action taken
The Creative Technology concentration was reshaped and renamed Experience Design.
Aftermath
The curriculum more explicitly addressed experience creation and interaction across brand touchpoints.
2012
Move into the VCU School of BusinessStrategyBackground
The Brandcenter sought a closer institutional relationship between creative communications education and business education.
Action taken
The program transferred from the College of Humanities and Sciences to the VCU School of Business, and its degree changed to a Master of Science in Business.
Aftermath
The program’s academic framing placed greater emphasis on the connection between creative practice, brand leadership, and business strategy.
2008
Adopt the VCU Brandcenter identityStrategyBackground
The program judged that the advertising and communications sector was expanding toward broader brand, digital, and experience-oriented work.
Action taken
VCU Adcenter was renamed VCU Brandcenter.
Aftermath
The new identity accompanied curriculum expansion into Creative Technology and a broader positioning around branding and creative problem-solving.
Sources2 sources
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