Graduate School welcomes students to campus
The Graduate School kicks off the year with a week full of events to help students get acquainted with programs, services, and life as a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
Approximately 1,200 graduate students are expected to enroll for fall semester, more than 400 of them international students representing 80 different countries. In total, more than 7,000 graduate students are enrolled in approximately 90 degree programs.
The week’s events include
- Aug. 20-21- Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop. Faculty and experienced graduate students from across campus volunteer to share their skills, experience, and advice with those who are beginning as graduate teaching assistants. This required course prepares them to teach classes and laboratories, grade papers, and interact with students.
- Aug. 22, Aug. 30, and Sept. 14 - Lunch with Karen DePauw, dean of the Graduate School. Registration required.
- Aug. 22 - Welcome BBQ sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly.
- Aug. 23 - “Make Yourself at Home in Blacksburg,” an informal program that connects graduate students to faculty, staff, students, and resources that can help them maintain a healthy life balance.
- Aug. 23- International Student Orientation. Cranwell International Center hosts this mandatory orientation event for new international students.
- Aug. 24 - New Graduate Student Orientation. This half-day program includes presentations by DePauw and other members of the Graduate School on topics such as services for graduate students, graduate student ombudsperson, graduate-life trivia, and standards of academic integrity and the Graduate Honors System.
- Aug. 25 - National Capital Region Graduate Student Orientation – This half-day event includes welcomes by DePauw and Kenneth H. Wong, associate dean and director of the Northern Virginia Center. Topics include the graduate ombudsman, the Graduate Student Assembly, academic integrity and the graduate honor system, as well as a program for international students.
In addition, the Graduate Life Center café offers free coffee and a chance for students to socialize every Thursday afternoon throughout the semester. The Cook Counseling Center provides counseling support specifically to graduate students every Wednesday and Thursday, and a representative from Career Services is available Wednesday afternoons. Finally, the Graduate Student Assembly sponsors “Dialog with the Dean,” a monthly informal discussion about graduate education, university policies, and graduate student life, among other topics.
Find more information about these and other graduate student programs online.
