Virginia Tech ranked among the world's best in 21 subjects
The annual Destinations Career Fair gives hospitality and tourism management students at Virginia Tech an opportunity to meet with industry recruiters.
Virginia Tech has the world’s sixth-best hospitality and leisure management program, according to a global ranking of more than 4,400 colleges and universities.
The university was ranked among the world’s elite institutions in 21 of the 46 subjects and in all five broad fields evaluated in the latest QS World University Ratings by Subject. Virginia Tech’s minerals and mining engineering program was ranked No. 39. Overall, the university was ranked among the top 100 in eight subjects.
The Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of six departments in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. The program was ranked second in the U.S., ahead of prestigious ones at Penn State and Cornell.
"QS has an extremely rigorous rankings process. Our No. 6 world and No. 2 U.S. rankings are a testament to how hard our faculty and staff work to create a program that is well respected globally," said Nancy McGehee, professor and head of the Virginia Tech department.
"The high quality of Pamplin’s hospitality and tourism programs is consistent with Virginia Tech’s overall improvement and reputation," Pamplin Dean Robert Sumichrast said.
Hospitality and leisure management is one of four new subjects in this year's QS rankings, which aim to help prospective students identify leading schools in a particular field. The rankings, published annually since 2011, are based on a school’s research quality and accomplishments, academic reputation, and graduate employment levels.
The Virginia Tech Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering in the College of Engineering is home to two internationally recognized research centers: the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research and the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies.
The department's undergraduate and graduate programs offer students the opportunity to participate in some of the most critical and innovative research projects in their fields using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
“The program is dedicated to making the mining process safer, cleaner, and more efficient,” said Erik Westman, head of mining and minerals. “With energy costs on the rise, well-trained mining and minerals engineers are sought-after and highly regarded professionals. Over the past couple of years, undergraduate enrollment has increased by 40 percent and graduate enrollment over 60 percent.”
Other subjects in which Virginia Tech ranked among the top 100 in the world include:
- Agriculture and forestry
- Architecture/built environment
- Civil and structural engineering
- Electrical and electronic engineering
- Mechanical, aeronautical, and manufacturing engineering
- Statistics and operational research.
"These rankings only confirm what we have been hearing for years from prospective students in countries around the globe — that Virginia Tech is a university with a world-class reputation,” said Don Back, director of the Language and Culture Institute, which recruits international students to the university. “The fact that we ranked so highly in all five subject areas proves what a thoroughly comprehensive university Virginia Tech is.”
Since 2015, recruiters with the institute, part of Outreach and International Affairs, have met with prospective students in more than 27 countries.
The British ranking agency Quacquarelli Symonds evaluated 4,438 universities, qualified 3,098, and ranked 1,117 institutions for this year's QS World University Rankings.
Written by Rich Mathieson
