Degrees and Programs, Graduate School, Virginia Tech

Degrees and Programs.

Aerospace Engineering. The aerospace engineering curriculum includes the areas of aerodynamics, flight dynamics and controls, propulsion, and aerospace structures. The program culminates in a nationally recognized senior-level design sequence including analysis and design of aircraft, spacecraft, and their related technologies. Home college: College of Engineering. Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D. Location: Blacksburg, online. Agricultural and Applied Economics. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (PhD jointly with Department of Economics) Agricultural and Life Sciences. Home college: Agriculture and Life Sciences. Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education. The Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education at Virginia Tech is committed to preparing students for success in professions that include formal and non-formal teaching and learning in agriculture, as well as skills for leading agricultural organizations and communities. Home college: Agriculture and Life Sciences. Location: Blacksburg, online. Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (ASPECT) ASPECT is an innovative interdisciplinary and theoretical Ph.D. program located on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. ASPECT fosters a critical engagement between domains of inquiry in the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts. Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Degree: Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary) Animal and Poultry Sciences. The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech offers the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Students may specialize in the areas of genetics, genomics, immunology, management, muscle biology, nutrition, physiology, and product quality assurance. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Architecture. Architecture enriches our lives by offering us environments that are sensibly compelling, thought provoking, and capable of lifting our spirits. In addition to being beautiful, architecture is, by ancient definition, functional and durable. Like art, architecture is permeated by dualities. It is stable and transitory, measurable and immeasurable, and capable of both being touched and touching us. Like science, architecture involves systematic study. Its methods are iterative, experimental, and rely on intense observation. Home college: College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Degrees: MS, MArch. Locations: Blacksburg, National Capital Region. Architecture and Design Research. There are two major tracks within the Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research degree program, each of which has topical areas. Both provide significant flexibility for each student to develop a plan of study consistent with his or her academic goals. The two tracks are Architecture and Design Research . Home college: College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Location: Blacksburg, National Capital Region. Bio-Inspired Buildings. This doctoral program answers the pressing societal need for professionals with the interdisciplinary expertise necessary to develop buildings and communities that are, in fact, bio-inspired. Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. Biochemistry. The Graduate Program in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech prepares students for careers as independent researchers in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, biotechnology, and related areas. Home college: Agriculture and Life Sciences. Biological Sciences. Graduate students, in consultation with Major Advisors, design programs of study that include cutting edge research, courses that support their particular interests, and at least one semester of a teaching experience. Opportunities for research span the biological disciplines from molecular biology to ecosystems ecology and may include computational, experimental, empirical, theoretical, and/or applied approaches. Home college: College of Science. Degrees offered: MS, Ph.D. Biological Systems Engineering. The mission of the Biological Systems Engineering Department is to develop and disseminate engineering knowledge and practices that protect natural resources and improve sustainable production, processing, and utilization of biological materials. Home colleges: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Engineering. Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D. Biological Transport. The Biological Transport program aims to prepare future leaders of industrial and academic research to think, collaborate, and solve problems at the intersection of the engineering and biological sciences. The program is based on a systematic process of increasingly interdisciplinary coursework, student interaction, community development, and cross-disciplinary research experience, including ethics and professional development training. Interdisicplinary Graduate Education Program. Biomedical Engineering. The Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering & Sciences (SBES) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional graduate program that bridges engineering, science and medicine.

Home: College of Engineering. Locations: Blacksburg, Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC. Biomedical Technology Development and Management. The Master of Science in Biomedical Technology Development and Management prepares students to meet the challenges of current and future directions in medical product discovery and development and the emerging needs of industry and government. Home College: College of Science. Location: National Capital Region. Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences. The goal of our program is to provide the students with a sound background in the basic and clinical sciences and to cultivate the ability to apply rigorous scientific thinking to advanced biomedical and veterinary sciences. A basic philosophy of graduate education in biomedical and veterinary sciences is flexibility. Programs of study - courses, laboratory and field research, clinical experiences, and teaching opportunities - are tailored to meet the individual student's needs, depending on academic background, professional experience and career goals. Home college: Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Locations: Blacksburg, Leesburg. Building Construction Science and Management. At the Master's degree level, the Building Construction curriculum prepares students with the professional capabilities to critically address present and evolving needs of the construction industry. Home college College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Business, Accounting and Information Systems. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Degrees: Master’s, PhD (business) Business Administration. Pamplin offers three different MBA programs, evening, executive, and professional, all designed with the working professional in mind. The college also offers an online master of information technology, a master of accounting and information systems, and a master of science in business administration with concentrations in business analytics, marketing, and hospitality and tourism management. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Locations: Richmond, Roanoke, National Capital Region. Business, Executive Business Research. This degree concentration is designed to serve experienced executives seeking the advanced knowledge and skills needed to conduct high quality research on emerging business issues. Tailored for working professionals, this three-year part-time program provides students with an in-depth understanding of the scholarly literature in their chosen business discipline, training in relevant analytical research techniques, and experience in conducting original research embodied in a dissertation addressing a complex business problem. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Locations: National Capital Region. Business, Information Technology. The program offers specialized study in information technology, business analytics, decision support systems, and operations and supply chain management. The program emphasizes the study of technologies used in the creation, storage, exchange, analysis, and use of information in its various forms, and also emphasizes the related disciplines of mathematical optimization, stochastic processes, computer simulation, artificial intelligence, and statistics. Study of these topics requires that the student have a strong background in mathematics and computing. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Business, Finance. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management. The Ph.D. in Business with hospitality and tourism management focus emphasizes the research applications of business concepts and strategies to hospitality and tourism management, helping students develop the knowledge and research skills to address the critical challenges and problems faced by hospitality and tourism businesses. The newly designed master of science in business administration, with a concentration in hospitality and tourism management is offered in the National Capital Region. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Degrees: MS, Ph.D. (business) Location: Blacksburg, National Capital Region. Business, Management. The Ph.D. program in Business Administration with a major in Management dedicated to preparing students who will be among the next generation of research faculty at top academic institutions. Our approach to doctoral education is unique. We emphasize preparation of students in ways that allow them to understand and address the whole organization, from the study of individuals and groups within organizations to how they operate strategically in the larger business environment. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Business, Marketing. We offer a focused Master of Science program with a concentration in advanced marketing research, and a Doctoral Program designed to develop graduates who assume positions as faculty members in research-oriented schools of business. Home college: Pamplin College of Business. Chemical Engineering. Graduate plans of study in chemical engineering are heavily oriented toward synthesis as well as analysis. There are strong threads of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, and microbiology in much of the research in the department. Active research areas include polymer chemistry, polymer science and engineering, colloid and surface chemistry, solid state chemistry and physics, nanotechnology, applied thermodynamics, molecular modeling, biochemical and tissue engineering, biomaterials, nanomedicine, catalysis and surface science, design for sustainability, green engineering, computer-aided design, and supercritical fluid science and technology. Home college: College of Engineering. Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D. The Chemistry Department is consistently top-ranked among its peers in terms of degree production and research expenditures. Our 30 faculty members and 170 graduate students generate over 100 peer-reviewed publications per year and have earned numerous prestigious awards for research, teaching, and outreach. In addition to the major areas of chemistry (analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical), our polymer chemistry program has been ranked among the top 5, and we have highly developed programs in several interdisciplinary areas, including drug discovery, computational and theoretical chemistry, surface science, renewable energy, and chemical biology. Home college: College of Science. Civil Engineering. The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which is ranked in the top 10 accredited civil and environmental engineering departments by the US News and World Report, is one of the largest programs in the United States. For the civil engineering graduate degrees, students may emphasize one or more of 10 discipline areas within the Department: civil engineering materials, civil infrastructure engineering, construction engineering and management, environmental engineering, geospatial engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydrosystems engineering, structural engineering, and transportation engineering.

Home college: College of Engineering. Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D. Locations: Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Roanoke, Richmond, Southwest Virginia, Online. Communication. The M.A. in Communication prepares graduates to pursue communication doctoral studies, research positions in communication industries, and advanced teaching or professional careers. This thesis program blends social-scientific and humanistic research and communication theory in public advocacy (campaigns and strategic communication) and media effects, policy, and issues. Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Computational Tissue Engineering. The goal of this program is to define the field of Computational Tissue Engineering, wherein seamlessly intertwined computational and experimental models will drive the of advances in tissue engineering. Our vision is that predictive computational models will drive novel experimental analyses of engineered tissues, while the demands of tissue engineering will inspire novel analysis frameworks in computational science. Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. Degrees: Ph.D. in parent department. Computer Engineering. Home college: College of Engineering. Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D. Locations: Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Roanoke, Richmond, Southwest Virginia, Online. Computer Science & Applications. The graduate program in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech is on its way to becoming one of the top programs in the country. The resources and facilities for research areas such as human-computer interaction, bioinformatics, and high-end computing are state of the art, and the growing list of specialized masters and doctoral degrees in a variety of areas provides opportunities for students to concentrate their research and study on the specific aspects of computer science in which they are most interested. Home college: College of Engineering. Location: Blacksburg, National Capital Region. Creative Technologies. The Master in Fine Arts in Creative Technologies is a terminal degree program that prepares students to use digital and new media technologies to create, present, communicate and shape information and imagery. The program addresses emerging trends in scientific and research arenas, art and design, and industrial/commercial contexts. Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Creative Writing. The three-year MFA program offers tracks in poetry and fiction. We encourage cross-genre experimentation through workshops in new media creative writing, playwriting, and creative non-fiction. Students also gain extensive teaching experience. Home college College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences. As a department with strong expertise in both environmental and agronomic (crops and soils) sciences, we are committed to improving present and future health and livelihoods through a deeper understanding of processes involving living organisms, soil, and water across a range of managed and degraded ecosystems. We focus strong expertise in agronomy, plant genetics and breeding, soil science, water quality, landscape restoration, and nutrient and waste management on the improvement of agroecosystem productivity, the discovery of important processes, the restoration of essential functions, and on improving management of ecosystem services in a wide variety of rural and urban landscapes. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dairy Science. Our graduate students have diverse backgrounds and research interests including genetics, reproduction, nutrition, immunology, management, and lactation. All have the opportunity to gain classroom teaching experience and to participate in extension education programs in addition to their involvement in research programs at the forefront of nutrition, management, physiology, infectious disease, immunology, and metabolic modeling. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Data Analysis and Applied Statistics. The Master of Arts in Data Analysis and Applied Statistics is offered by Virginia Tech’s Department of Statistics. The degree is also sponsored by other programs and departments including the Education Research and Evaluation Program (EDRE), the Departments of Psychology, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Geography, Economics, Human Development, Sociology, Psychology, Biological Sciences, and the Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology program. The curriculum provides a broad variety of applied statistical tools to students, without the emphasis on statistical theory steeped in mathematics. The M.A. DAAS degree is structured so that certain courses that emphasize the fundamentals of statistics, are required. Electives in specialized topics in statistics are then be chosen by the student. Thus, the degree offers sufficient depth in the fundamentals of contemporary applied statistical methods and gives students an understanding of how these methods are applied indifferent fields. Degree: Master of Arts. Disaster Resilience. The primary goal of our collaborative effort is to prepare graduate students to become thought leaders in promoting resilience concerns in a wide variety of disciplines. Focusing on the trans-disciplinary paradigm, our effort leverages the strengths of several world-class academic units at Virginia Tech to produce a well-rounded understanding of the full complexity of disaster risk, resilience, and mitigation. Our approach concentrates on investigating the main drivers of vulnerabilities, recognizing their complex interactions, and generating informed risk minimization strategies. Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program. Degrees: Ph.D. in core participating department. Economics, Sciences. The Department of Economics at Virginia Tech focuses on teaching, research and outreach in regard to economic issues at the state, national and international levels. Home College: College of Science. Education, Career and Technical Education. The Career and Technical Education program is among the top programs in the United States. The program is designed to prepare individuals for careers in career and technical education and to enhance the professional development of current career and technical educators. Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.