College Quick Facts

Mission

The mission of the college is to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to learning, discovery, and citizen engagement in the fields of science and the business of living systems that makes a positive difference on society.

The college will:

  • Enhance agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
  • Assist producers to gain market share through value-added endeavors, bio-based products, bio-processing, crop diversification, and new production.
  • Develop high-value horticulture and specialty crop products and systems.
  • Bring new knowledge to human health and nutrition in the quest to prevent chronic diseases.
  • Study infectious and vector-borne diseases and develop methods to reduce their effects on plants, animals, and humans.
  • Strengthen communities and their economic viability by creating innovative tools citizens and local government can use to respond to change.

History

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college named Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, Virginia Tech has evolved into a large public university with eight colleges and numerous degree offerings. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provides the kind of education intended under the Morrill Act of 1862, making it the center of the land-grant tradition at Virginia Tech. Closely associated with the college – in fact, nearly seamlessly integrated with it – are the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, established in 1886, and Virginia Cooperative Extension, established in 1914.

Location

Most of the college’s students are enrolled in classes at Virginia Tech’s main campus in Blacksburg. Situated in the heart of the New River Valley, the town of Blacksburg offers award-winning services, a reasonable cost of living, and a moderate climate.

Virginia Cooperative Extension also has 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and Extension centers (ARECs), and six 4-H educational centers located throughout the commonwealth. The AREC sites encompass nearly 3,900 acres, plus about 400 acres of adjacent leased land.

Student Profile

The total number of students enrolled in degree programs offered by the college's departments exceeds 2,400. In recent years, the college has achieved record enrollment numbers.

Diversity figures for the undergraduate population:

  • 63% female, 37% male
  • 81% in-state, 19% out-of-state
  • 77% white
  • 7% Asian
  • 3% African-American
  • 2% Hispanic
  • 1% international
  • 0.3% Native American
  • 10% unknown

Undergraduate students in the Class of 2011 entered the college with an average GPA of 3.73 and an average SAT score of 1154 on the critical reading and math sections.

The college has more than 400 graduate students.

Academic Departments

Administration, Faculty, and Staff

Sharron Quisenberry, Dean
104 Hutcheson Hall (0402)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(540) 231-4152

A directory and organizational chart of college administrators can be found at www.cals.vt.edu/about/administration.html.

The college (including Virginia Cooperative Extension) has 673 faculty members and 774 salaried and wage staff employees.

Academic Offerings

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree may enroll in 11 undergraduate majors as well as an undecided option:

The Agricultural Technology Program prepares students for careers in the agricultural and green industries with a concentrated, two-year degree experience that leads to an associate’s degree. Students specialize in either applied agricultural management or landscape and turf management.

The college has an extensive graduate program. Advanced degrees are offered in numerous disciplines:

Virginia Tech offers interdisciplinary graduate education in the life sciences, which allows faculty from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and other colleges to pool their resources for additional degree opportunities.

The college also offers an online master’s degree in agricultural and life sciences. This new, entirely online program gives place-bound learners the opportunity to earn a master’s degree without having to travel to campus.

Co-curricular Opportunities

The college hosts education abroad programs in Australia, South Africa, and France – all of which represent a fraction of the international opportunities offered to Virginia Tech students. These programs complement more than 30 undergraduate and graduate courses in the college that have an international focus.

Students may also enrich their academic experience in Blacksburg through clubs and activities. About 30 academic, honorary, and professional organizations complement nearly a dozen competitive teams affiliated with the college and its departments.

Extension and Outreach

In partnership with the College of Natural Resources and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences breathes life into the land-grant tradition at Virginia Tech through service and outreach. At the heart of this legacy is Virginia Cooperative Extension, which brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and local agents, Extension delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development.

The college’s faculty also participates in numerous international programs. Since the early 1960s, the college has conducted research projects overseas and assisted in international development efforts.

Research

As the research hub for the college and its academic partners, the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station gives faculty members an opportunity to investigate food and fiber systems, their impact on the environment, and natural and human resource issues relating to the future needs of Virginia, the nation, and the world. Supporting its research system are the 13 Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, which are dispersed throughout the commonwealth’s five geographical areas.

According to the National Science Foundation, Virginia Tech is ranked No. 10 in the nation for research and development expenditures in the agriculture sciences. In 2006, these expenditures exceeded $76.8 million and accounted for 23.9 percent of the university's research spending.

Alumni

The college boasts 16,732 living alumni. Of these, 8,994 live in the commonwealth.

Last updated May 13, 2008.

 

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