Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech has recently launched The Calhoun Centre for Higher Education Innovation. One of three interrelated initiatives run by the university, it will equip students with problem-solving skills and teach them new perspectives of the world around them.

Funded by Virginia Tech alumnus David Calhoun, who is now a senior managing director for Blackstone and was CEO of Nielsen, his USD 20 million gift to the Honors College will fund several other projects at the university.

This includes the Calhoun Honours Discovery Program, which will develop a new model for collaborative learning within the Honors College. The program is currently under development, but aims to teach graduates and prepare them for the 21st century's innovation economy. In order to help students financially, a further USD 15 million will be invested into Discovery Program scholarships.

The university has also recently launched its Apex Center for Entrepreneurs, which recently won the Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. The center won this award for many reasons, one of which being the interdisciplinary nature of its programs. Last year alone, over 1,900 students from across its eight colleges took part in programs and events led by the center. It can be used by students from any year group, studying any subject and it will encourage those who use it to learn and engage in all phases of the entrepreneurship process. Virginia Tech alumni also take part and help students who use the center. Over 2,500 students are expected to use it this year.

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at the Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviours supported a pilot research project. The project aims to tackle health issues caused by lifestyle diseases.

Virginia Tech's programs are consistently recognized for their quality and value. This is echoed by its high rankings across departments.

The university's global rankings include:

• QS World University Rankings: Virginia Tech ranked among the world's best in 21 subjects in 2017.
• Times Higher Education World University Rankings: Virginia Tech remains one of the world's top universities.
• QS World University Rankings: Virginia Tech ranked in top 10 percent among 3,500 of the world's best universities
• Center for World University Rankings: Virginia Tech rises 15 places among world's top 1,000 universities.
• National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association: Virginia Tech is among top 100 worldwide universities granted U.S. patents.

Additionally, according to the QS World University Rankings, the highest ranked subjects at Virginia Tech are:

• Agriculture and Forestry (#51-100)
• Architecture (#51-100)
• Hospitality Leisure Management (#10)
• Civil and Structural, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (#51-100)
• Environmental Studies (#101-150)
• Mine & Mineral Engineering (#27)
• Material Science (#51-100)
• Stats and Operational Research (#51-100)
• Vet Med (#45)

Virginia Tech offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, managing a research portfolio of over USD 531 million. The colleges are:

College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Explores ways to preserve natural resources and improve the economic prosperity and quality of life for people around the globe.

College of Architecture & Urban Studies

Offers highly ranked and competitive programs taught by an internationally recognized faculty who care about student success.

Pamplin College of Business

Offers many degree programs accredited by AACSB International.

College of Engineering

The engineering department aims to not only prepare the next generation of innovative engineers, but also help solve complex global problems through experiential methods.

College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Educates students for change in this dynamic global society. It challenges and provokes critical thinking.

College of Natural Resources and Environment

With outstanding programs, ground-breaking research and local and global community involvement, the College of Natural Resources and Environment is one of the USA's top natural resource schools.

College of Science

Offers students hands-on learning and research to help solve complex issues both regionally and globally.

Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

The college is a leading biomedical teaching and research center.

Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute

The university also has seven Research Institutes of Virginia Tech and they are:

• Fralin Life Science Institute
• Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
• Hume Center for National Security and Technology
• Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology
• Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science
• Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

These institutes take part in large-scale research opportunities and provide access to high expertise across a range of disciplines.

International students need to apply using a coalition application form.

In order to study an undergraduate or postgraduate course, international students must score a minimum of either 6.5 on the IELTS test or 80 on the TOEFL IBT with no subscore less than 16. Depending on the type of TOEFL, students need minimum scores of:

• Internet-based: 80
• Computer-based: 233
• Paper-based: 550

Students who take a PTE must achieve a score of at least 53.

Students can get their IELTS/TOEFL/PTE score automatically sent to Virginia Tech, by specifying the CEEB code (5859) on the test form. Students are advised to take these tests before January 15 of the academic year they wish to study in, as the final deadline is February 1.

Some subjects may also have other requirements, such as an additional year of maths or lab science.

If the student doesn't have these scores, but meets other admissions requirements, they'll be encouraged to enrol in Virginia Tech's Language and Culture Institute program until they achieve them.

Because the university requires students to have the necessary language skills, it encourages international applicants to participate in an InitialView interview as part of their application. InitialView conducts and records student interviews, with the results reviewed by the university's admissions office. Chinese students who wish to use InitialView are encouraged to use the university's partner organization in China. Students who are interested in being interviewed by InitialView should contact them to schedule it.

Evidence of a student's financial situation may also be required. F-1 visa students must show they have enough funds for the first year, as without this the university can't issue a I-20 immigration form. Similarly, J-1 bilateral exchange students need at least USD 6,000 for each semester before a DS-2019 form can be issued. If students have any questions about visa requirements, they should contact the Cranwell International Centre.

Across the university's six campuses there are a range of academic and social facilities.

For student accommodation, Housing and Residence Life offers 47 on-campus residence halls.

There are three libraries the Newman Library, Art & Architecture Library and the Veterinary Medicine Library. The Newman library offers meeting spaces, group and quiet study, cafe, exhibit areas, Multimedia Collaboration Tables, studios and a writing center.

Many departments have purpose-built facilities for students. For example, the School of Medicine has specially equipped symposium rooms, a medical library, 12 team rooms, a media center, student lounge and ten OSCE rooms.

Cowgill Hall contains architecture studios and is often the principal exhibition space on campus. Students can go there for the Art and Architecture Library, a graphics or ceramic workshop, or to use the photographic areas such as the five darkrooms or video facilities.

Over at Henderson Hall, performing arts students have access to computer and design labs, costume shop, lighting lab, editing studio, model shops and several practice rooms.

The 150,000-square-foot Moss Arts Center includes a 1,260-seat performance hall, visual arts galleries, amphitheatre, four-story experimental Cube and multiple studios.

For students to relax, the Squires Student Center offers two ballrooms, a 510-seat theatre, dining areas, activity rooms, an art gallery and lounges. Dietrick Hall has a large dining area, as does Owens Food Court, which has a wide range inside. VT's Dining Services is currently ranked #1 for Best College Food in America on NICHE.

Students can also go to The Graduate Life Center to meet and collaborate with staff, students and graduates across different subjects.

For sports and fitness enthusiasts there are several places to go. These include:

• McComas Hall (weight training, basketball courts and more)
• War Memorial Hall (weight training area, dance room and more).
• Cassell Coliseum (basketball arena, two gyms and more).

Student safety is of the upmost importance at Virginia Tech.

The university has its own professional, nationally accredited Police Department that operates 24 hours a day and provides full police service to the university community. The Police Department and Emergency Management teams work closely with the teams at Housing and Residence Life, the Counselling Center, Health Center and Dean of Students in order to protect and serve the student community successfully.

Students are encouraged to download the LiveSafe mobile app. This app has incredibly useful features, including:

• An explanation of what to do in an emergency.
• Navigational instructions for the Blacksburg campus.
• Virtual escort monitoring system.
• Ability to share reports of suspicious activity.

The university also has ''VT Alerts''. This is a notification system, so if an emergency happens on campus, alerts would go out using several different types of delivery methods in order to get the word out to students.