Why Study in Virginia Tech?
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech, is a public, land-grant, and research university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, educational facilities in six regions statewide, and a study-abroad site in Switzerland. The commonwealth’s third-largest university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 225 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to some 29,373 students and manages a research portfolio of US$513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
The Board of Visitors, which serves as the university’s governing body, comprises 13 members who are appointed by the governor of Virginia; the president of the state’s Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services serves ex-officio as the 14th voting member.
Serving as non-voting representatives are the presidents of the university’s Faculty Senate and Staff Senate, who serve ex-officio, and an undergraduate student and a graduate student selected through a competitive review process. The endowment is managed by the Virginia Tech Foundation, and as of 2015 topped US$817.8 million.
It offers 116 bachelor’s degree programs through its seven undergraduate academic colleges, 160 masters’ and doctoral degree programs through the Graduate School, and a professional degree from the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute is a public/private partnership jointly managed by Virginia Tech and the Carilion Clinic – formerly named Carilion Health System which was founded in January 3, 2007.
In the U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Colleges, Virginia Tech ranked 70th among national universities and 26th among public. It is among three public universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia to rank among the top 30, with the University of Virginia at No. 3 and the College of William & Mary at No. 6. Other than California, Virginia is the only state with three or more schools in the Top 30 Public Universities.
The College of Engineering undergraduate program was ranked 15th in the nation among all accredited engineering schools that offer doctorates, and sixth among engineering schools at U.S. public universities, tying with Texas A&M University. Several Virginia Tech undergraduate engineering specialties ranked among the top 20 of their respective peer programs: aerospace and ocean engineering, 14th; civil engineering, 10th; electrical and computer engineering, 15th; engineering science and mechanics, eighth; environmental engineering, 11th; industrial and systems engineering, eighth; mechanical engineering, 14th; biological systems engineering, 11th; and chemical engineering, 20th.
