State approves two science degrees for 2015
The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia recently approved two new Virginia Tech majors that can now be offered at the beginning of the Spring 2015 term.
The Microbiology and Nanoscience programs will both be housed in the university's College of Science. The two programs join the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics program that was approved by SCHEV earlier in July.
Already a leader in nanoscience research, the addition of the undergraduate degree in nanoscience will make Virginia Tech home to one of the few such programs in the nation. The array of nanoscience applications includes medicine, environmental science, information, and energy – all areas of emphases at the university.
Students will acquire skills needed to discover and achieve at the nano level, employing techniques only recently made possibly by advances in theory, instrumentation and computing power that allow the precise steering of individual atoms.
The bachelor’s degree in microbiology will be the first program of this type in the commonwealth.
Due to the presence and participation of microbes in virtually every environment, biological process, and ecological structure, students with advanced microbiology knowledge are recruited into the broadest range of health, industrial, and environmental activities.
The laboratory-intensive Microbiology degree program will provide state-of-the-art classroom and hands-on training to undergraduate students so they may tackle societal issues including emerging and reemerging diseases, the generation of biofuels, food safety, and environmental conservation.
