Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

General Information about Virginia Polytechnic and State Institute

Virginia Tech was first founded in 1872 as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. It is home to nine colleges, 65 bachelor's programs and 145 graduate programs. The main campus houses 125 buildings on 2,600 acres of land, as well as an airport. The school has an entire computing and communications complex dedicated to giving students access to information.

Dr. James McGrath, a Distinguished Professor in the university's chemistry department, is a world leader in polymer science. Exemplifying the schools engineering heritage, McGrath has been working on membranes--water purification membranes and gas separation membranes, for example--that aim to increase the efficiency of fuel cells. The university points to work like McGrath's as examples of their dedication to innovation.

Admissions and Enrollment Information

Virginia Tech enrolls about 30,000 students annually. Undergraduates make up a little more than 23,000 of the total student population. The school receives roughly 20,000 applications for admission each year and accepts 65% of its applicants. In order to be considered for submission, students must submit high school transcripts, high school GPA, ACT/SAT scores and TOFEL scores where applicable. The admissions committee will also consider the completion of college preparatory programs.

Colleges of Virginia Polytechnic and State Institute

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Virginia Tech was first the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College when it was founded in 1872, so the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences operates on well over a century of history. It now offers 41 associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. The school has also identified six areas of focus that all of its programs study, research and invest in. Those areas are agricultural and environmental sustainability; food, nutrition and health; biodesign and bioprocessing; the green industry; infectious diseases; and community viability.

College of Architecture and Urban Studies

Founded in 1964, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies consists of four schools: the School of Architecture and Design, School of Public and International Affairs, Myers-Lawson School of Construction and the School of Visual Arts. The Myers-Lawson School of construction is one of the first construction programs in the country, featuring programs in building construction and civil engineering.

Pamplin College of Business

This college offers accounting, business information, marketing, management, hospitality and finance programs. Students in all programs must complete two years of liberal arts courses designed to provide a good educational base and help them get acclimated to college learning. Students do not decide on a major until those two years are complete. Dual degrees are also available. These rigorous programs allow students to attain fluency in a foreign language and earn both a bachelor's and master's degree in five years.

College of Engineering

U.S. News & World Report ranked Virginia Tech's engineering program 14th among all engineering programs that offer a doctorate degree. The publication also ranked the school eighth among public universities. In addition to some of the more common engineering degrees, the college also offers several unique options, including aerospace & ocean engineering, mining & minerals engineering, engineering education and biological systems engineering.

Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences is home to programs in four major areas of study, including social and human sciences, arts, humanities and education. Students enjoy an array of outreach and research initiatives. Just some of them are writing, music and theater summer camps; a digital history project, which aims to compile oral history in an accessible, digital format; a digital Jamestown project that compiles digital research and teaching tools about the Jamestown settlement; and a project that restores Solitude, Jamestown's oldest building.

College of Natural Resources

This is the only academic department in the state that combines natural resource education, research and outreach. Among others, students can enroll in fisheries, wood science, geography, forest resources and conservation programs. Several study abroad programs are available as well, including summer programs like 'Rainforest to Reef' in Belize, an observational and developmental program in South America. Scholarships are available for most of the study abroad programs.

College of Science

300 faculty call this college home, many of whom are internationally recognized in their fields. Research emphases include nanoscience, developmental science, infectious diseases, cell biology, computational science and bio statistics. The college's institutes, like the Fralin Life Science Institute and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, support the research efforts of the students and faculty.

College of University Studies

This college is dedicated to the general success and guidance of Virginia Tech students. Its services include help choosing a major, changing majors, course selection, meeting academic requirements and analyzing students' interests and abilities. This is typically the starting point for incoming students who aren't yet sure what it is they'd like to study.

College of Veterinary Medicine

The Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program is a 4-year program. The first three years are taught with traditional lecture and laboratory courses. Students choose a specialty--small animal, equine, mixed species, or corporate veterinary medicine, for example--at the end of the first year. The senior year is 12 months long. The college also offers a combined DVM/Ph.D. program for students wishing to pursue graduate studies.

Contact Information

• Address: Blacksburg, VA 24061
• Phone Number: (540) 231-6000