virginia phd in education programs

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• Concentration in Educational Psychology

Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Educational Psychology

“ vcu’s e ducational psychology program gave me the opportunity to work on exciting research projects, focused on supporting students’ motivation and learning in urban classrooms. i collaborated with so many great faculty, graduate students, and k12 educators. this was crucial to translate our theories and research to practice. ” - martinique sealy, ph.d., postdoctoral researcher at american university, educational psychology graduate/vcu holmes scholar.

Designed for research-oriented doctoral students who want to promote the success of students in educational environments, the Ph.D. in education, concentration in educational psychology degree is ideal for students who want to specialize in achievement motivation and other related social processes.

Students in the program integrate theory and research in the areas of cognition, social psychology and motivation, assessment, educational policy and diversity to better study learning in schools or other educational settings. Graduates are well prepared to teach in educational psychology and related programs at the university level; as well as take leadership positions in state and local research and policy environments.

Doctoral students may be admitted with only a bachelor’s degree. It is expected that these students will have coursework related to educational psychology, research experience and/or academic writing experience.

Regardless of whether the student has a master’s degree or not, prerequisites will be determined by an analysis of the student’s transcript. All students who are admitted need to show competence in research methods in education and introductory social statistics. Students without the competencies will take up to two prerequisite classes for credit either at VCU, another institution or online.

Curriculum requirements

The Ph.D. in education, concentration in educational psychology requires a minimum of 60 total graduate credit hours:

Degree requirements for the Ph.D. in education, concentration in educational psychology »

Please keep in mind, however, that the exact course requirements may vary depending on when you matriculated into the program, so please consult your adviser or the program coordinator with any additional questions.

VCU BULLETIN INFO Ph.D. in education, concentration in educational psychology PROGRAM BASICS How to apply:   Graduate application Semester of entry:  Summer or fall Application deadline:  Jan. 15 Additional materials: Ph.D. Education-EdPsychology Handbook 2023_ADA [PDF] Faculty listing: Foundations of Education Research labs:  Discourse and Learning Lab Motivation in Context Research Lab Caring Adult Relationships Everywhere (CARE) Lab Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISTEME) Resources and Checklists Application Checklist - Ph.D. Programs [PDF] ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS General admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School Baccalaureate or master’s degree in psychology, educational psychology or related discipline Three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s potential for graduate study in education Statement of intent describing: 1) alignment between applicant’s interests and goals with concentration mission and requirements, and 2) alignment between concentration faculty and applicant’s interest in research topics Transcripts of all previous college work A personal interview and additional writing sample (may be requested) Professional curriculum vitae Optional: GRE scores For more information about admission requirements, please consult our Ph.D. Education-EdPsychology Handbook 2023_ADA [PDF] . FOR MORE IN-DEPTH INFO Foundations of Education degree programs Student Spotlight: Kori Nicolai

The VCU Holmes Scholars Program  is a selective program that provides accepted doctoral students from  historically underrepresented groups  with resources and professional development to best position them for  tenure track faculty positions in high (R2) and very high (R1) research universities . Our cross-disciplinary scholars create a network that leverages the collective and individual strengths of each member to maximize their VCU School of Education program. Learn more about how we live our values  through the Holmes program!

Email [email protected] if you would like to do any of the following:

• Shadow a VCU Student: Ph.D. in Education - Educational Psychology Concentration
• Visit one of our concentration doctoral seminars
• Sharon Zumbrunn ’s faculty page and Motivation in Context Research Lab
• Christine Lee Bae ’s faculty page and Discourse and Learning lab website
• Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch ’s bi-weekly virtual, multi-disciplinary Caring Adult Relationships Everywhere (CARE) lab meeting
• Dr. John Fife ’s Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISTEME)

Prospective students: We highly encourage you to contact faculty who you share research interests with directly to learn more about their work and inquire about whether or not they are currently accepting students.

• Christine Lee Bae, Ph.D. (Associate Professor)
• Thomas Farmer, Ph.D.   (Full Professor, Department Chair of Foundations)
• John Fife, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Director of CISTEME)
• Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch, Ph.D. * (Associate Professor)
• Kathleen M. Rudasill, Ph.D. (Full Professor, Interim Dean of School of Education)
• Sharon K. Zumbrunn, Ph.D. * (Full Professor, Director of SOE Ph.D. Program)

Ready To Get Started?

• Christine Lee Bae, Ph.D.
• Coordinator
• (804) 828-1334
• [email protected]
• Jenna Lenhardt, Ph.D.
• Recruitment specialist
• (804) 827-2479
• Email: [email protected]

• Thomas Farmer, Ph.D.
• Department Chair
• (804) 827-2627
• [email protected]

Alternate contact email for this program: [email protected]

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Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

*Ph.D. in Educational Leadership

Program for the Preparation of School Principals and Supervisors (M.A.Ed.  ∕  Ed.S.) ▼

Educational leadership doctoral program (ed.d.  ∕  ph.d.) ▼, soe offices and resources ▼, program overview.

The  Educational Leadership and Policy Studies  doctoral program is available at multiple Virginia Tech campuses across Virginia. Designed for working professionals, the program is conducted on a part- or full-time basis, with coursework that balances modern  theory with real-life practice. The vast majority of our doctoral students pursue the Ed.D., though a Ph.D. option is available.

For over fifty years, the Virginia Tech Educational Leadership and Policy Studies  Doctoral Program has prepared aspiring educational administrators throughout the Commonwealth.  Ed.D. graduates leave with the skills they need to lead ethically; advance equity and social justice in educational settings; consider and implement educational policy; lead innovative practices; communicate with diverse constituents; and improve the learning and well-being of all PK-12 students. 

Currently, approximately 30% of division superintendents in Virginia are graduates of Virginia Tech’s Educational Leadership programs.

Alumni of our educational leadership and policy studies program serve as school principals, central office administrators, state department of education officials, members of state boards of education, researchers, university faculty, and administrators of various colleges and universities including Virginia Tech itself.

Our  Nationally Recognized Program Faculty  include widely published, nationally recognized authors and researchers  with an average of over 20 years of experience working with PK-12 educators .

Ed.D. students complete approximately 69 hours of coursework on a part- or full-time basis.  Typically, students attend two classes – totaling 6 credit hours – per semester. Students may attend fewer credit hours in Summer I or II, or more credit hours while working on their dissertation research. Students must be enrolled in at least 3-credits and one class for continuous enrollment.  Courses are conducted in the evening or asynchronously to fit the schedules of full-time educators.

LOCATIONS AND COHORTS

Virginia Tech offers the  Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Ed.D. program online and also frequently utilizes a hybrid model for some in-person studies at the five Virginia Tech extension sites: the Hampton Roads Center (Virginia Beach/Newport News), the Richmond Center , the Roanoke Higher Education Center , and the Southwest VA Higher Education Center (in Abingdon).

THE COHORT MODEL

The Ed.D. program operates on a cohort model. In other words, each site admits a new, approximately fifteen-person group – or cohort –of doctoral students every three years.  Members of a given cohort attend all of the same classes in the same sequence and pursue common plans of study.

The benefits of a cohort model are many.   The cohort model is designed to facilitate social interaction, collaboration, and the formation of a supportive learning community.

Students in cohorts learn from and help each other with the successful completion of coursework and professional networking. They report a strong sense of community and are more likely to complete their programs of study in a timely manner.

WHAT YOU'LL STUDY

All Ed.D. students graduate with a minimum of 69 doctoral course credits, 30 transfer credits (from previous graduate coursework), totaling at least 99 credits in total. The degree may be completed in three years, though some students take additional semesters to complete their dissertations. 

Course topics include:

• Advanced School Law
• Advanced School Finance
• Instructional Leadership
• Governance and Policy
• Facilities Planning
• Theories of Administration
• Quantitative Research Methods

Each course will address relevant, contemporary issues in PK-12 education, such as standardized testing, school safety, special education, school accreditation, diversity and equity, educational policy and politics, and school improvement. 

Courses are offered face-to-face, blended/hybrid, and online for most cohorts. For the online-only cohort, all courses are delivered virtually with synchronous and asynchronous classes. 

DISSERTATION

The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies is not awarded solely on the basis of coursework completion. To graduate, each student must also conduct a research study culminating in the presentation and defense of a dissertation. The Ed.D. dissertation demonstrates the student’s ability to investigate a practical issue in educational administration – in program evaluation, program implementation, curriculum development, or another topic agreed upon by the student’s dissertation chair and advisory committee.

The majority of students write their dissertations in the traditional five-chapter format (i.e., as a research paper with an introduction, literature review, methodology section, results, and conclusion). Other options such as a journal article dissertation are available.  Students work with the dissertation chairs and committees to determine the best format for their  dissertation.

Course Descriptions

Edel 6004 - theories of educational administration.

A general course for students of administration in public and private schools, community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. Content includes purposes and nature of theory in educational administration and the application of organizational theory to education. Theories of decision making, communication, leadership, climate, power, conflict, change, morale, and motivation are covered.

Credit Hour(s): 3

Lecture Hour(s): 3

Level: Graduate

Instruction Type(s): Lecture

EDEL 6014- Administration of Instructional Programs and Support Services

The roles and responsibilities of central office (system) and building level (school) personnel in the administration of instructional programs and services. Students engage in a variety of activities designed to improve their skills in planning, organizing, delivering, and monitoring instructional programs and services within this dynamic environment. Must have administrative or supervisor certification and experience.

EDEL 6024 - Public School Budgeting

Policies, principles, and practices involved in the practice of public school budgeting.

EDEL 6034 - Planning Educational Facilities

Basic information needed by administrators to mount an effective planning effort within an organization; to plan, develop, and maintain satisfactory buildings to house modern educational programs; to supervise the work of other professionals and technicians in designing and constructing facilities; and to evaluate such efforts. Meets Virginia requirements for placement on the Eligible List of Division Superintendents.

EDEL 6044 - Governance and Policy in Education

Antecedents of public policy affecting education in the United States, and the relationships between policy making and implementation and educational administration.

EDEL 6104 - Literature Reviews in K-12 Educational Leadership

Literature reviews in educational leadership and related fields; analysis, critique and synthesis of literature representing research, theory, applicability, and commentary in current topic of interest; preparation of initial literature review; evaluative skills used to identify well-constructed research. Pre: Graduate standing.

EDEL 6124 - Advanced K-21 School Law

Influence of school law on PK-12 education; legal issues that pertain to the public schools, including in-depth analysis of accountability, employee relations, and parental and student rights, with emphasis on issues at central office level; rationale for a legally sound environment for students, faculty, and staff; Virginia and national education codes; school system policies and administrative regulations; legal research development. Pre: 5024 or equivalent.

Prerequisite(s): EDEL 5024

EDEL 6134 - Advanced Topics in Public School Finance

Education policy and practice pertaining to public school finance for educational leaders and policy makers. Equitable distribution of educational monies and resources to achieve desired student outcomes. Linking of availability of sufficient resources with a school division's ability to educate all students to the highest standards. Pre: EDEL 5034 or equivalent.

Prerequisite(s): EDEL 5034

EDEL 6254 - Legal Aspects of Special Education

Review and analysis of current case law and litigation related to special education. Focus on the legal system that assures children with disabilities free appropriate public education, with emphasis on due process procedures and other procedural safeguards, discipline, program accessibility, and application of the least restrictive alternative principle in special education programming.

EDEL 6914 - Problems in Education

Study of contemporary problems in various education settings such as administration, counseling, community college education, and adult and continuing education. (Maximum 3C per course).

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 3

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 3

EDEL 6924 - Professional Seminar

Critical review, presentation, and discussion of current data-based and issues-related literature, either published or presented at recent national meetings. Provides students an opportunity to amalgamate their prior course experiences to produce a draft dissertation prospectus. (Maximum 6C credit allowed toward program of study).

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6

EDEL 7704 - Field Studies in Education

Advanced applied research and/or evaluation study in one or more educational institutions or agencies. The student is graded on the basis of the design of the study and ability to conduct the study and report the results. (Maximum 12C).

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 12

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 12

EDEL 7714 - Internship in Education

Planned program of advanced clinical practice in education through assignment under direct supervision of outstanding practitioner for periods of up to two semesters. (Maximum 24C).

Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 24

Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 24

EDEL 7994 - Research and Dissertation

Edre 6605 - quantitative research methods in education i & ii.

This two-course sequence is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data. I,II.

Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404

EDRE 6606 - Quantitative Research Methods in Education I & II

Nationally recognized faculty.

Charles Lowery, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership

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Best Education Schools in Virginia

Ranked in 2023

A teacher must first be a student, and graduate education program rankings can help

A teacher must first be a student, and graduate education program rankings can help you find the right classroom. With the U.S. News rankings of the top education schools, narrow your search by location, tuition, school size and test scores. Read the methodology »

For full rankings, GRE scores and student debt data, sign up for the U.S. News Education School Compass .

Here are the Best Education Schools in Virginia

University of virginia, virginia commonwealth university, william & mary, george mason university, old dominion university (darden), virginia tech, liberty university, regent university, shenandoah university.

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Charlottesville , VA

• # 16 in Best Education Schools  (tie)

$28,380 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$599 per credit (part-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

445 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education and Human Development at University of Virginia has an application deadline of Jan. 2. The... Read More »

TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$28,380 per year (full-time)

$599 per credit (part-time)

ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

Average gre verbal (doctorate).

Richmond , VA

• # 27 in Best Education Schools  (tie)

$10,728 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$22,896 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

253 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University has an application deadline of Feb. 1. The application fee... Read More »

$10,728 per year (in-state, full-time)

$22,896 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Williamsburg , VA

• # 70 in Best Education Schools  (tie)

$10,516 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$28,305 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

270 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at William & Mary has an application deadline of Jan. 15. The application fee for the education... Read More »

$10,516 per year (in-state, full-time)

$28,305 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Fairfax , VA

• # 83 in Best Education Schools  (tie)

$559 per credit (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$759 per credit (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

333 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at George Mason University has a rolling application deadline. The application fee for the... Read More »

$559 per credit (in-state, full-time)

$759 per credit (out-of-state, full-time)

Norfolk , VA

$571 per credit (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$1,394 per credit (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

493 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Darden College of Education and Professional Studies at Old Dominion University (Darden) has a rolling application... Read More »

$571 per credit (in-state, full-time)

$1,394 per credit (out-of-state, full-time)

Blacksburg , VA

$14,506 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$29,238 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

236 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at Virginia Tech has a rolling application deadline. The application fee for the education... Read More »

$14,506 per year (in-state, full-time)

$29,238 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Lynchburg , VA

• # 213 in Best Education Schools

$595 per credit (full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$650 per credit (part-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

4,303 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at Liberty University has a rolling application deadline. The application fee for the education... Read More »

$595 per credit (full-time)

$650 per credit (part-time)

Virginia Beach , VA

• # 246-272 in Best Education Schools

$800 per credit (full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$800 per credit (part-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

371 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The School of Education at Regent University has a rolling application deadline. The application fee for the education... Read More »

$800 per credit (full-time)

$800 per credit (part-time)

Winchester , VA

$8,190 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

$7,280 per year (part-time) TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

9 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Division of Education and Leadership at Shenandoah University has a rolling application deadline. The application... Read More »

$8,190 per year (full-time)

$7,280 per year (part-time)

Hampton University

Hampton , VA

• Unranked in Best Education Schools

N/A TUITION AND FEES (DOCTORATE)

N/A ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The education school at Hampton University has a rolling application deadline. The application fee for the education... Read More »

U.S. News Grad Compass

See expanded profiles for more than 2,000 programs. Unlock entering class stats including MCAT, GMAT and GRE scores for business, medicine, engineering, education and nursing programs.

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This is the preliminary (or launch) version of the 2024-2025 VCU Bulletin. We may add courses that expose our students to cutting-edge content and transformative learning. We may also add content to the general education program that focuses on racial literacy and a racial literacy graduation requirement, and may receive notification of additional program approvals after the launch. The final edition and full PDF version will include these updates and will be available in August prior to the beginning of the fall semester.

Program goal

The educational psychology concentration is designed to train research-oriented doctoral students who want to promote the success of students in educational environments. Doctoral students will integrate theory and research in the areas of developmental psychology, cognition, social psychology, motivation, assessment and diversity to better study learning in schools or school-like settings. This doctoral program is ideal for students who want to specialize in scholarship related to cognitive, motivational, social and environmental factors that shape teaching and students’ learning.

Student learning outcomes

Education core outcomes.

• Knowledge of foundations of educational research and design:  Students will demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge of theoretical and social issues of scholarly inquiry, policy and ethics of educational research and will demonstrate an appropriate level of knowledge and skills essential to designing, conducting and interpreting qualitative and quantitative design research.
• Application of leadership, research and/or professional skills:  Graduates will engage in and practice leadership, research and/or professional skills in a professional placement in a school, agency or corporate setting (e.g., school, agency, corporation).
• Research design and implementation:  Graduates will design and conduct original educational research, including developing novel educational research questions, demonstrating proficiency in selecting the most appropriate study designs, demonstrating proficiency in data collection, analysis and synthesis within the identified theoretical/ conceptual framework of study.  
• Oral and written communication skills:  Students will demonstrate effective oral communication skills, framing questions appropriately and implementing active listening skills, developing effective presentations with respect to content, organization and appropriate use of language. Students will demonstrate proficiency in academic writing, including writing for publications and presentations.

Education psychology concentration-specific outcome

• Students will demonstrate general and applied knowledge of different theoretical/conceptual approaches that are used in educational psychology. Students will demonstrate the ability to critically analyze, synthesize, and critique (e.g., strengths and weaknesses in methodology, gaps in literature) educational psychology literature.

VCU Graduate Bulletin, VCU Graduate School and general academic policies and regulations for all graduate students in all graduate programs

The VCU Graduate Bulletin website documents the official admission and academic rules and regulations that govern graduate education for all graduate programs at the university. These policies are established by the graduate faculty of the university through their elected representatives to the University Graduate Council.

It is the responsibility of all graduate students, both on- and off-campus, to be familiar with the VCU Graduate Bulletin as well as the Graduate School website and academic regulations in individual school and department publications and on program websites. However, in all cases, the official policies and procedures of the University Graduate Council, as published on the VCU Graduate Bulletin and Graduate School websites, take precedence over individual program policies and guidelines.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on academic regulations for graduate students.

Degree candidacy requirements

A graduate student admitted to a program or concentration requiring a final research project, work of art, thesis or dissertation, must qualify for continuing master’s or doctoral status according to the degree candidacy requirements of the student’s graduate program. Admission to degree candidacy, if applicable, is a formal statement by the graduate student’s faculty regarding the student’s academic achievements and the student’s readiness to proceed to the final research phase of the degree program.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following degree candidacy policy as published in the VCU Graduate Bulletin for complete information and instructions.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on degree candidacy requirements.

Graduation requirements

As graduate students approach the end of their academic programs and the final semester of matriculation, they must make formal application to graduate. No degrees will be conferred until the application to graduate has been finalized.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the following graduation requirements as published in the Graduate Bulletin for a complete list of instructions and a graduation checklist.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information on graduation requirements.

Apply online today.

Admission requirements

In addition to the  general admission requirements of the VCU Graduate School , the following represent the minimum requirements for admission:

• Baccalaureate or master’s degree in psychology, educational psychology or related discipline
• Three letters of recommendation addressing the student’s potential for graduate study in education
• Statement of intent
• Transcripts of all previous college work
• A personal interview and additional writing sample (may be requested)
• Professional vitae/resume

If an applicant chooses to submit a GRE score, it will be considered holistically with other application materials.   If   an applicant chooses   not to submit a GRE score, that decision will have no impact on the application review.

Please visit the  School of Education website  for further information.

Degree requirements

In addition to the VCU Graduate School graduation requirements , students are required to complete course work in core and elective courses.

• Credit hour requirements: Students are required to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours.
• Grade requirements: Receipt of a grade of C or below in three courses constitutes automatic dismissal from the program. Courses with a grade below C cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements.
• Externship requirement: Students must complete an approved externship.
• Examination requirements: Students must pass both a qualifying examination early in the program and a comprehensive examination near the end of the program.
• Dissertation requirements: Students must complete and defend a research dissertation.

Curriculum requirements

Students admitted with only a baccalaureate degree are required to take an additional 15 credits of 600 level didactic courses in EDUS, PSYC, SEDP, TEDU or another subject, selected in consultation with an adviser.

The minimum number of graduate credit hours required for this degree is 60.

Students who complete the requirements for this concentration will receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Education.

Contact Enrollment Management [email protected] (804) 828-3382

Additional contact Christine Lee Bae, Ph.D. Associate professor and graduate program director [email protected] (804) 828-1332

Program website:  soe.vcu.edu/academics/doctoral-programs/phd-educational-psychology

Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia 23284 Phone: (804) 828-0100 [email protected]

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Degrees and Programs

Our graduate programs, and the degrees each offers, are listed alphabetically below. We also list our non-degree granting interdisciplinary graduate education programs. All graduate students also must complete the graduate school's scholarly ethics and integrity requirement and the inclusion and diversity requirement. 

Degree-granting programs

Aerospace engineering (aoe).

The aerospace engineering curriculum includes the areas of aerodynamics, flight dynamics and controls, propulsion, and aerospace structures. The program culminates in a nationally recognized senior-level design sequence including analysis and design of aircraft, spacecraft, and their related technologies.

Home college: College of Engineering

Degrees: MS/ME, Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg, online

Graduate Catalog page

Program page

Agricultural and Applied Economics (AAEC)

The Department offers graduate studies leading to a M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics. Graduate students will find several economic areas of study to pursue. At the master’s level, students can select between an applied economics focus and a focus on agribusiness. At the Ph.D. level, students can dive deeper into the fields of applied econometrics, environmental and natural resource economics, international development and trade, food and health economics, and rural and regional development.

Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

(Ph.D. jointly with College of Science's Department of Economics)

Degrees: MS, Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg

Agricultural and Life Sciences (ALS)

This program offers concentrations in the areas of education, environmental science, food safety and biosecurity, leadership studies, and plant science and pest management for agriculture professionals seeking a master's degree.

Home college: Agriculture and Life Sciences

Location: Online

Program webpage

Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education (ALCE)

The Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education at Virginia Tech is committed to preparing students for success in professions that include formal and non-formal teaching and learning in agriculture, as well as skills for leading agricultural organizations and communities.

Degree: MS, Ph.D.

Program website

Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought (ASPT)

ASPECT is an innovative interdisciplinary and theoretical Ph.D. program located on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. ASPECT fosters a critical engagement between domains of inquiry in the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts.

Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Degree: Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary)

Animal and Poultry Sciences (APSC)

The Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech offers the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. Students may specialize in the areas of genetics, genomics, immunology, management, muscle biology, nutrition, physiology, and product quality assurance.

School: School of Animal Sciences

Architecture (ARCH)

Architecture enriches our lives by offering us environments that are sensibly compelling, thought provoking, and capable of lifting our spirits. In addition to being beautiful, architecture is, by ancient definition, functional and durable. Like art, architecture is permeated by dualities. It is stable and transitory, measurable and immeasurable, and capable of both being touched and touching us. Like science, architecture involves systematic study. Its methods are iterative, experimental, and rely on intense observation. 

Home college: College of Architecture, Arts, and Design

Degrees: MS, MArch

Locations: Blacksburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area

MArch program webpage , MS program webpage

Architecture and Design Research (ADR)

There are two major tracks within the Ph.D. in Architecture and Design Research degree program, each of which has topical areas. Both provide significant flexibility for each student to develop a plan of study consistent with his or her academic goals. The two tracks are  Architecture  and  Design Research . Home college: College of Architecture, Arts, and Design

Degree: Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area

Biochemistry (BCHM)

The Graduate Program in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech prepares students for careers as independent researchers in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, biotechnology, and related areas.

Degrees: MS, MSLFS, Ph.D.

Biological Sciences (BIOL)

Graduate students, in consultation with Major Advisors, design programs of study that include cutting edge research, courses that support their particular interests, and at least one semester of a teaching experience. Opportunities for research span the biological disciplines from molecular biology to ecosystems ecology and may include computational, experimental, empirical, theoretical, and/or applied approaches.

Home college: College of Science

Degrees offered: MS, Ph.D.

Biological Systems Engineering (BSE)

The mission of the Biological Systems Engineering Department is to develop and disseminate engineering knowledge and practices that protect natural resources and improve sustainable production, processing, and utilization of biological materials.

Home colleges: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Engineering

Biomedical Engineering (BMES)

The Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering & Sciences (SBES) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional graduate program that bridges engineering, science and medicine.

Home: College of Engineering

Locations: Blacksburg, Roanoke, Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences (BMVS)

The goal of our program is to provide the students with a sound background in the basic and clinical sciences and to cultivate the ability to apply rigorous scientific thinking to advanced biomedical and veterinary sciences.

A basic philosophy of graduate education in biomedical and veterinary sciences is flexibility. Programs of study - courses, laboratory and field research, clinical experiences, and teaching opportunities - are tailored to meet the individual student's needs, depending on academic background, professional experience and career goals.

Home college: Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

Locations: Blacksburg

Building Construction Science and Management (BC)

At the Master's degree level, the Building Construction curriculum prepares students with the professional capabilities to critically address present and evolving needs of the construction industry.

Business, Accounting and Information Systems (ACIS)

The Department offers a world class accounting and information systems education to our students.  Our Master of Accounting and Information Systems (MACIS) program prepares students for professional careers with specializations in accounting analytics, audit, financial services, information systems, and taxation. The Ph.D. in Business program with a major in Accounting and Information Systems helps the student prepare for a career in college and university teaching and research. 

Home college: Pamplin College of Business

Degrees: MACIS, PhD (business)

Business Administration (BUS)

Pamplin offers two MBA programs - Evening and Online MBA. Both are designed for working professionals. The college also offers a master of science in business administration degree with concentrations in business analytics, marketing, and hospitality and tourism management. In addition, there is an online master of information technology degree offered as an interdisciplinary degree program with the College of Engineering. 

Degree: MBA, MS

Locations: Richmond, Roanoke, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Virtual

Business, Executive Business Research (BUS)

This degree concentration is designed to serve experienced executives seeking the advanced knowledge and skills needed to conduct high quality research on emerging business issues. Tailored for working professionals, this three-year part-time program provides students with an in-depth understanding of the scholarly literature in their chosen business discipline, training in relevant analytical research techniques, and experience in conducting original research embodied in a dissertation addressing a complex business problem.

Locations: Greater Washington, D.C. metro area

Business, Information Technology (BIT)

The program offers specialized study in information technology, business analytics, decision support systems, and operations and supply chain management. The program emphasizes the study of technologies used in the creation, storage, exchange, analysis, and use of information in its various forms, and also emphasizes the related disciplines of mathematical optimization, stochastic processes, computer simulation, artificial intelligence, and statistics. Study of these topics requires that the student have a strong background in mathematics and computing.

Degrees: Ph.D.

Business, Finance (FIN)

The master's degree program is designed for students who wish to undertake specialized training in finance. The doctoral program in finance is research-oriented and designed to prepare students for successful academic careers in research and teaching. 

Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM)

The Ph.D. in Business with hospitality and tourism management focus emphasizes the research applications of business concepts and strategies to hospitality and tourism management, helping students develop the knowledge and research skills to address the critical challenges and problems faced by hospitality and tourism businesses.

The newly designed master of science in business administration, with a concentration in hospitality and tourism management is offered in the National Capital Region.

Degrees: MS, Ph.D. (business)

Location: Blacksburg, Greater Washington D.C. metro area

Business, Management (MGT)

The Ph.D. program in Business Administration with a major in Management dedicated to preparing students who will be among the next generation of research faculty at top academic institutions.

Our approach to doctoral education is unique. We emphasize preparation of students in ways that allow them to understand and address the whole organization, from the study of individuals and groups within organizations to how they operate strategically in the larger business environment.

Business, Marketing (MKTG)

We offer a focused Master of Science program with a concentration in advanced marketing research, and a Doctoral Program designed to develop graduates who assume positions as faculty members in research-oriented schools of business.

MS program webpage

Ph.D. program webpage

Chemical Engineering (CHE)

Graduate plans of study in chemical engineering are heavily oriented toward synthesis as well as analysis. There are strong threads of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, and microbiology in much of the research in the department. Active research areas include polymer chemistry, polymer science and engineering, colloid and surface chemistry, solid state chemistry and physics, nanotechnology, applied thermodynamics, molecular modeling, biochemical and tissue engineering, biomaterials, nanomedicine, catalysis and surface science, design for sustainability, green engineering, computer-aided design, and supercritical fluid science and technology.

Chemistry (CHEM)

The Chemistry Department is consistently top-ranked among its peers in terms of degree production and research expenditures. Our 30 faculty members and 170 graduate students generate over 100 peer-reviewed publications per year and have earned numerous prestigious awards for research, teaching, and outreach. In addition to the major areas of chemistry (analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical), our polymer chemistry program has been ranked among the top 5, and we have highly developed programs in several interdisciplinary areas, including drug discovery, computational and theoretical chemistry, surface science, renewable energy, and chemical biology.

Civil Engineering (CEE)

The Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which is ranked in the top 10 accredited civil and environmental engineering departments by the US News and World Report, is one of the largest programs in the United States.

For the civil engineering graduate degrees, students may emphasize one or more of 10 discipline areas within the Department: civil engineering materials, civil infrastructure engineering, construction engineering and management, environmental engineering, geospatial engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydrosystems engineering, structural engineering, and transportation engineering.

Locations: Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Roanoke, Richmond, Southwest Virginia, Online

Communication (COMM)

The M.A. in Communication prepares graduates to pursue communication doctoral studies, research positions in communication industries, and advanced teaching or professional careers. This thesis program blends social-scientific and humanistic research and communication theory in public advocacy (campaigns and strategic communication) and media effects, policy, and issues.

School: School of Communication

Degrees: MA

Computer Engineering (ECE)

As the fourth largest Electrical and Computer Engineering department in the United States, we offer strong education and research opportunities in diverse areas, including computers, control systems, communications, electronics, electromagnetics, and power. 

A collaborative atmosphere and interdisciplinary efforts are hallmarks of the department's research programs, and the 35+ research groups, centers, and laboratories grow in reputation each year.

Locations: Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Greater Washington D.C. metro area, Roanoke, Richmond, Southwest Virginia, Online

Computer Science & Applications (CSA)

The graduate program in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech is on its way to becoming one of the top programs in the country. The resources and facilities for research areas such as human-computer interaction, bioinformatics, and high-end computing are state of the art, and the growing list of specialized masters and doctoral degrees in a variety of areas provides opportunities for students to concentrate their research and study on the specific aspects of computer science in which they are most interested.

Degrees: MS, MEng, Ph.D.

Creative Technologies (CTEC)

The Master in Fine Arts in Creative Technologies is a terminal degree program that prepares students to use digital and new media technologies to create, present, communicate and shape information and imagery. The program addresses emerging trends in scientific and research arenas, art and design, and industrial/commercial contexts.

School: School of Visual Arts (SOVA)

Degrees: MFA

Creative Writing (CW)

The three-year MFA program offers tracks in poetry and fiction. We encourage cross-genre experimentation through workshops in new media creative writing, playwriting, and creative non-fiction. Students also gain extensive teaching experience. Home college College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences (CSS)

As a department with strong expertise in both environmental and agronomic (crops and soils) sciences, we are committed to improving present and future health and livelihoods through a deeper understanding of processes involving living organisms, soil, and water across a range of managed and degraded ecosystems. We focus strong expertise in agronomy, plant genetics and breeding, soil science, water quality, landscape restoration, and nutrient and waste management on the improvement of agroecosystem productivity, the discovery of important processes, the restoration of essential functions, and on improving management of ecosystem services in a wide variety of rural and urban landscapes.

Dairy Science (DASC)

Our graduate students have diverse backgrounds and research interests including genetics, reproduction, nutrition, immunology, management, and lactation. All have the opportunity to gain classroom teaching experience and to participate in extension education programs in addition to their involvement in research programs at the forefront of nutrition, management, physiology, infectious disease, immunology, and metabolic modeling.

Degrees:  MSLFS, Ph.D.

Data Analysis and Applied Statistics (DAAS)

The Master of Arts in Data Analysis and Applied Statistics is offered by Virginia Tech’s Department of Statistics. The degree is also sponsored by other programs and departments including the Education Research and Evaluation Program (EDRE), the Departments of Psychology, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Geography, Economics, Human Development, Sociology, Psychology, Biological Sciences, and the Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology program.

The curriculum provides a broad variety of applied statistical tools to students, without the emphasis on statistical theory steeped in mathematics. The M.A. DAAS degree is structured so that certain courses that emphasize the fundamentals of statistics, are required. Electives in specialized topics in statistics are then be chosen by the student. Thus, the degree offers sufficient depth in the fundamentals of contemporary applied statistical methods and gives students an understanding of how these methods are applied indifferent fields.

College: Statistics

P rogram page

Economics (ECON)

The Department of Economics at Virginia Tech focuses on teaching, research and outreach in regard to economic issues at the state, national and international levels.

Home College: College of Science

Education, Career and Technical Education (EDCT)

The Career and Technical Education program is among the top programs in the United States. The program is designed to prepare individuals for careers in career and technical education and to enhance the professional development of current career and technical educators.

School: School of Education

Degrees: MSED, Ed.S.

Education, Counselor Education (EDCO)

The Virginia Tech Counselor Education Program prepares professional counselors, counselor educators, and leaders in the counseling field with a professional identity that incorporates the intentional use of strength-based approaches, reflective practice, innovative and evidence-based strategies, and ongoing research to support and enhance our schools and communities.

Home college: College of Arts and Human Sciences

Degrees: MAED, EDS, EDD, Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg, Roanoke

Program webpage 

Education, Curriculum and Instruction (EDCI)

The Curriculum and Instruction graduate degrees are offered by 14 programs included in two departmental units in the School of Education. See below for links to the different programs.

Degrees: MAED, Ed.S., Ed.D., Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg, Online.

Program webpages:

Career and Technical Education (Ed.D., Ph.D.)

Educational Psychology   (M.A.Ed., Ed.S., Ph.D.)

Elementary Education   (M.A.Ed.,Ed.S., Ed.D., Ph.D.)

English Education   (M.A.Ed., Ed.S., Ed.D., Ph.D.)

Foundations of Education  ( Ph.D.) 

History and Social Science Education   (M.A.Ed., Ph.D.)

Instructional Design and Technology   (M.A.Ed., Ed.S., Ph.D.)

Integrative STEM Education   (Ph.D., Ed.D., M.A.)

Mathematics Education   (M.A.Ed., Ed.S.,Ph.D.)

Music Education   (M.A.Ed., Ed.D.)

Reading Specialist / Literacy  (M.A.Ed., Ed.S.)

Science Education   (M.A.Ed., Ed.D., Ph.D.)

Education, Education Leadership and Policy Studies (EDLPS)

This is a graduate program developed by Virginia Tech to prepare educational administrators for leadership roles in school systems and related agencies.

Degrees: MAED, Ed.S., Ph.D., Ed.D.

Location: Blacksburg; Hampton Roads; Greater Washington, D.C. metro area; Richmond; Roanoke; Southwest Virginia; Virtual

Education, Education Research, Evaluation (EDRE)

The Educational Research and Evaluation program offers doctoral preparation in the areas of measurement, program evaluation, qualitative research methods, and statistics as they are applied in educational and other behavioral sciences.

Graduates of the program are prepared for academic positions as research methodologists, corporate positions in research and testing agencies, or government positions as researchers, evaluators, or administrators of research programs in education or other areas of the behavioral sciences.

This program is not accepting new students for the 2021-22 or 2022-23 academic years.

Education, Higher Education (HGED)

The  Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate degree programs focus on preparing leaders for postsecondary education who use and produce high-impact research as part of their practice and who are committed to service in both professional and personal contexts

Degrees: MAED, Ph.D.

Electrical Engineering (EE)

From pervasive computing to smart power systems, Virginia Tech Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) faculty and students delve into all major areas of electrical and computer engineering. As one of the country's larger ECE departments, we offer strong education and research opportunities in diverse areas, including computers, control systems, communications, electronics, electromagnetics, and power. 

Location: Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Richmond, Roanoke, Southwest Virginia, and online

Engineering Education (ENGE)

We are one of the first departments in the country to offer graduate programs in Engineering Education. Our graduate program incorporates theory with real life application so our students are prepared to be teachers and scholars in the evolving field of Engineering Education.

Graduates of the program will be able to conduct and direct research in engineering education; develop, review, and critique effective research designs; effectively teach engineering subjects; design and assess engineering courses; and address critical issues facing engineering education.

Engineering Mechanics (ESM)

The Engineering Mechanics (EM) program provides a strong foundation and sturdy framework for the discovery, development, transfer, and implementation of new knowledge in the areas of mechanics of materials and material systems, fluid mechanics, dynamics and vibration, biomechanics, and computational and experimental methods.

English (ENGL)

The MA program is focused upon the theoretical and practical aspects of evaluating texts and analyzing language in all its aspects. Special attention is paid to the critique and production of digital discourse.

Entomology (ENT)

The Department of Entomology provides professional expertise concerning arthropods to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

The department has three major focus areas: Biomedical Research, with emphasis on insect genomics and urban/public health, including mosquito biology and vector control as they affect urban and public health, and human and animal disease; Natural/Agro Ecosystems Research, with emphasis on IPM/Biological Control of pest problems, and environmental monitoring and protection; and Urban Entomology and Pesticide Safety Education.

Degrees: MSLFS, Ph.D.

Environmental Design and Planning (EDP)

The Environmental Design and Planning program prepares students with the professional and academic skills to address the challenges of creating and maintaining tomorrow's built environment. The degree offers the opportunity for advanced study and research in specialized areas relating to building design, construction, operations, and end-of-life-cycle, providing the basis to contribute to the construction field from positions in either industry or academia. Home college: College of Engineering

School: Myers-Lawson School of Construction

Environmental Engineering (CEEN)

The Environmental Engineering program goals are to educate and prepare engineers for careers in the various fields of environmental engineering design, water supply management, site remediation, environmental modeling, pollution control engineering, water resources engineering, and public health protection.

Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESEN)

The Environmental Science and Engineering program is designed to prepare students with a science background to work with engineers in various fields, including water supply, wastewater management, public health, watershed management, stream protection, groundwater remediation, and air resource management

Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences (FIW)

The Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation offers one of the leading programs of its type. The comprehensive curriculum covers fisheries and wildlife biology and ecology, habitat analysis, and human dimensions of natural resource science and management.

Home college: College of Natural Resources and Environment

Food Science and Technology (FST)

Food science and technology is a fusion of chemistry, microbiology and engineering. Our researchers explore innovation in the areas of creating new, healthful food products, and ensuring a safe and tasty food supply.

Specific research emphases include: improving food nutrition, quality and flavor, developing novel functional food ingredients and products for promoting human health, packaging design and use of advanced technologies to identify and control food-borne disease causing organisms.

Individual graduate programs are customized with the advisor to emphasize food safety/microbiology, biochemistry, food chemistry, or packaging. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures (FLCL)

This program is designed to meet the needs of students seeking academic and other professional careers in contexts that require intercultural competency as well as a specialized knowledge of Spanish and/or French.

Program pages:

French and Francophone Studies

Hispanic Studies

Multilingual Studies

Forest Products (Sustainable Biomaterials) (SBIO)

We provide educational and research opportunities in the areas of sustainable biomaterials, spanning the range from nanotechnology and the basic science of wood and other renewable materials, through processing, manufacturing, marketing, management, and competitiveness aspects of the various biomaterials industries.

Some of our research is done in concert with our faculty-directed research centers and is supported by these Centers and their external cooperators. General areas of degree specialization within our graduate program include: Forest Products Marketing, Non-Timber Forest Products, Packaging Science, Pallet and Container Design, Wood Engineering, Wood Performance in Structures, Composites, Adhesion, Wood Formation, Cell Wall Architecture, Bio-Materials, Lumber Drying and Processing, Lean Manufacturing, Wood Industry Management, Packaging for Modern Supply Chains, Packaging and Unit Load Design

Degrees: MS/MF, Ph.D.

Forestry (FOR)

The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation is one of the leading programs in natural resource management in the United States. Our teaching and research focus on the latest applications to uncover the science needed to manage forests and other natural resources. Our programs are diverse and approach critical natural resource issues from many disciplinary perspectives.

Home college: Natural Resources and Environment

Degrees: MF/MS, Ph.D.

Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB)

The Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB) program was established in 2003. Its goal is to provide an educational environment that enables students to apply quantitative methods in computer science, mathematics, and statistics to all areas of the life sciences. To facilitate this experience, students choose one of the program tracks (life sciences, computer science, mathematics, statistics) as their primary track, with the other areas as secondary tracks.

Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program

Geography (GEOG)

The M.S. degree develops specialists for academic, agency, and industry positions through emphasis on geographic analysis, identifying debates and gaps in the current literature to define an original research question, and conducting research, collecting primary or secondary data, defending and presenting findings in publishable form. The interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis focuses on research involving Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, and imagery analysis. 

Geosciences (GEOS)

Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences focuses on research, education, and outreach dealing with the nature of the earth. Our students and faculty investigate earth processes at scales that range from atomic to planetary.

Geospatial and Environmental Analysis (GEA)

The interdisciplinary doctoral program in Geospatial and Environmental Analysis focuses on the application of geospatial analysis for improving the science, management, and conservation of natural resources and the environment. Based in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, the program draws upon the expertise of faculty from the Departments of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Geography, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, and Wood Science and Forest Products, as well as from those in departments in other colleges, including Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Biological Systems Engineering.

Government and International Affairs (GIA)

The analysis of government and international affairs during the 21st century clearly constitutes a complex and interdisciplinary set of challenges. To be effective, such study requires knowledge from all of the social sciences and humanities.

This program draws insights from these areas of learning into the multidimensional study of governance processes in all levels of society and international affairs.

School: School of Public and International Affairs

Degrees: MPIA

Location: Blacksburg; Greater Washington, D.C. metro area

History (HIST)

The program provides students with advanced training in the professional practice of historical research and pedagogy. The program serves three primary constituencies: students preparing for further graduate work at the doctoral level, those who wish to become secondary school educators, and those planning for careers in a range of public history fields.

Horticulture (HORT)

The Department of Horticulture has an active graduate program and also participates in multiple interdisciplinary graduate groups. Home college: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Human Development (HD)

All graduate programs in the Department of Human Development and Family Science integrate research-based knowledge with human-based values.

We promote the quality of life of our society's most basic elements—individuals, families, and communities. We value collaboration, inclusion, equity, empowerment, passion, and celebration in our work.

Program option pages:

Adult Development and Aging

Child and Adolescent Development

Family Studies

Marriage and Family Therapy (Ph.D.)

Marriage and Family Therapy (M.S., at the Northern Virginia Center) 

Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (HNFE)

We offer one of the few graduate programs in the country that combines nutrition, foods, and exercise and emphasizes translational research. Our mission is to discover, translate, and disseminate health-related advances in the nutrition, food, and exercise sciences.

The work of the faculty and graduate students in our department contributes significantly to scientific progress through molecular and clinical advances leading to prevention and improved treatment of obesity and chronic diseases; behavioral discoveries that lead to effective intervention programs for youth and adults; and interdisciplinary research teams who speed the translation of scientific discoveries to effective therapeutic and public health interventions that will benefit Virginians and the nation.

Degrees: MS, MSND, Ph.D.

Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. (IPHD)

The Individual Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program (iPhD) is designed to prepare exceptional graduate students who wish to pursue and attain an individually customized interdisciplinary doctoral degree. The purpose of the iPhD is to provide an option for highly qualified students whose educational goals are uniquely interdisciplinary and cannot be met by a single discipline from a degree granting academic unit at Virginia Tech. The iPhD offers a distinctive opportunity for students seeking a breadth of knowledge, in addition to disciplinary depth, not available within one discipline. The iPhD program is intended for doctoral training requiring participation, collaboration, and integration from two or more academic units representing different disciplines.

Home college: the Graduate School

Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE)

Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated work systems comprised of people, information and knowledge, equipment, energy, materials, and processes. The industrial and systems engineering department utilizes innovative and creative practices and technologies to achieve the highest quality of instruction and student learning.

Location: Blacksburg, Leesburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Roanoke, Southwest Virginia, online

Information Technology (IT)

Virginia Tech's Online Master of Information Technology program will put students in touch with the latest developments in information technology. This unique interdisciplinary program is offered jointly by the  Pamplin College of Business  and the  College of Engineering.  Designed for the working professional, the program’s flexible online format will help students juggle classes, professional, and family priorities.

Degrees: MIT

Location: online

Landscape Architecture (LAR)

The Landscape Architecture Program is committed to discovering, developing, and disseminating knowledge related to the discipline and profession of landscape architecture.

Our educational approach stresses discovery-based learning and research, wherein students assume a significant level of responsibility for directing and pursuing their own education and the development of their plan of study.

Degrees: MLA, Ph.D.

Life Sciences (LFSC)

This degree program has seven areas of concentration: 

• Location: Blacksburg, Virtual 

Home college : Agriculture and Life Sciences

Macromolecular Science and Engineering (MACR)

The Macromolecular Science and Engineering graduate programs are interdepartmental, intercollegiate graduate degrees focused on polymer science and engineering.

Material Culture & Public Humanities (MCP)

This cross-disciplinary degree with two interrelated emphases shares common intellectual issues and employment goals. Material culture is the study of material or physical objects, as well as the placement of those objects in critical, theoretical and historical perspectives as the products of distinct cultures. Public humanities bridges the divide between academia and the public by encouraging dialogue between scholars and communities on cultural and social issues. This program prepares graduates to interpret material culture and engage communities with humanities issues within informed historical/cultural frameworks, so they are prepared for a wide range of careers in museums, historical societies, and community and cultural organizations.

Material Science and Engineering (MSE)

The Materials Science and Engineering programs offer emphasize  teaching and research in metals, ceramics, polymers, electronic materials, biomaterials, and composites.

Mathematics (MATH)

The Department of Mathematics at Virginia Tech offers a range of degree programs intended to educate qualified students in the burgeoning world of advanced mathematics, and to prepare them for careers in its use and development. New mathematically related career paths continue to emerge as our technology-based economy evolves, while some traditional ones seem to be declining. Those pursuing careers in teaching will need to prepare their own students to meet the challenges of this changing world. We believe that the best way to prepare for the future is to develop a foundation from which graduates can build careers in many directions, gain some experience with how a specialty is built on those foundations, and learn to use the most up-to-date tools.

Program webpage  

Mechanical Engineering (ME)

The program seeks to engage outstanding graduate students and faculty researchers to expand the range of knowledge in the mechanical engineering discipline.

Location: Blacksburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Hampton Roads

Mining Engineering (MINE)

The Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering offers advanced graduate degrees designed to educate students for high-level challenges in industry, academia, and government. Graduate work may be pursued in several areas of specialization, including rock mechanics, ground control, systems analysis, health and safety, mineral and coal processing, applied surface and colloid chemistry, conservation and the environment, mining ventilation, computer modeling/simulation, automation and control, and reservoir/natural gas/shale gas engineering. Home college: College of Engineering

Natural Resources (NR)

The Master of Natural Resources degree programs prepare students for employment and career opportunities in environmental conservation and sustainability development, especially new jobs emerging in an increasingly global, urban, and interconnected world. Home college: College of Natural Resources and the Environment

Degrees: MNR

Location: Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, online

Neuroscience (NEUR)

Our Ph.D. students will apply the fundamentals of brain functioning in states of health and disease to new neuroscience discovery. We aim to provide students with a deep understanding of the structure and function of the brain and nervous system, the brain in healthy and diseased states across the lifespan, and the most relevant neurotechnology approaches and tools needed to investigate the brain and nervous system. Our students will learn how to conduct neuroscience research, how that research applies to healthy brain development and functioning, and how these processes go awry in neurological disorders.

Nuclear Engineering (NE)

The nuclear engineering program at Virginia Tech is a multi-disciplinary program with activities in nuclear power, nuclear nonproliferation and security, radiation therapy and diagnostics, and nuclear policy. The program utilizes its main campus in Blacksburg, and campuses at the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington, Virginia, and the Center for Advanced Engineering in Lynchburg, Virginia, for offering education, research and outreach activities.

Location: Blacksburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Southwest Virginia

Ocean Engineering (OE)

Ocean engineering deals with the design of ships of all types. The field is often called naval architecture. It involves fluid mechanics, propulsion, structures, vehicle dynamics, and marine engineering. The curriculum culminates in an international award-winning design sequence in which students design a complete ship.

Philosophy (PHIL)

The Department of Philosophy's program is one of the top terminal master of arts degree programs in philosophy in the United States. We offer core graduate training in philosophy in the broadly analytic tradition, with particular strengths in the history and philosophy of science and in ethics, social and political philosophy. Home college: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Physics (PHYS)

The Department of Physics offers program coursework and research leading to M.S. (thesis optional) and Ph.D. degrees. The Department has internationally recognized excellence in experimental and/or theoretical aspects of astronomical, biological, condensed matter, nuclear, and particle physics. 

Planning, Governance, and Globalization (PGG)

This doctoral program draws insights from the social sciences and humanities into the multidimensional study of governance processes in all levels of society and international affairs. The faculty and students work jointly to cultivate their experience, knowledge, and skill with regard to the governance practices, political institutions, social dynamics, cultural values, workplace conditions, spatial formations, historical trends, and ethical conflicts that intersect in the workings of government, business, and not-for-profit organizations.

Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science (PPWS)

The core mission of Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science is to optimize plant productivity and quality by limiting the impact of biotic and abiotic stresses on the profitability of crops and other plant enterprises, as well as the impact of these stresses on natural and agricultural ecosystems.

Political Science (PSCI)

We prepare students to understand domestic and international affairs. Our areas of focus include national security and foreign policy, legal studies, environmental affairs, world politics and policy, global development, and international business.

We offer an online or residential master's degree program, which provides students with a firm foundation in the discipline and research methods. We offer graduate certificates in environmental politics and policy, foundations of political analysis, security studies, and information, policy, and society. 

Psychology (PSYC)

Our department is dedicated to excellence, discovery, diversity of ideas and people, and the university’s motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). Our outstanding faculty engage in interdisciplinary research collaborations that advance knowledge in several key areas, such as clinical science, developmental science, industrial and organizational psychology, and biological psychology. Our students immerse themselves in hands-on learning and research alongside our faculty to address a wide range of human behavior, mental processes, and societal challenges.

Public Administration and Public Affairs (PAPA)

This program prepares scholars for university faculty careers, and prepares scholars and administrators for policy-making and senior management positions and it engages practitioners and graduate students in research in a range of fields.

Degrees: MPA, Ph.D.

Location: Blacksburg, Greater Washington, D.C. metro area, Richmond

Public Health (PH)

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a professional degree that prepares graduates to practice public health in local, state, regional, national, and global settings.

Degrees: MPH

Rhetoric and Writing (RW)

Our program focuses on rhetoric in society. We study language use and rhetorical activity in public, academic, corporate, and governmental settings in a collective effort to engage pressing social and cultural issues from the perspective of rhetoric and writing studies.

Science and Technology Studies (STS)

Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a growing field that draws on the full range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities to examine the ways that science and technology shape, and are shaped by, our society, politics, and culture. We study contemporary controversies, historical transformations, policy dilemmas, and broad philosophical questions.

Science and Technology Studies  (Ph.D.)

Science and Technology in Society  (M.S.)

Sociology (SOC)

We focus on critical issues in the United States and the increasingly inter-connected world. A solid grounding in theory and methods constitute the core of our graduate programs. Under our broad umbrella of interests having to do with quality of life, inequality, and work and technology, students specialize in such areas as health, crime/deviance, gender, race, aging, sexuality, and culture. In addition, students may specialize in interdisciplinary Africana Studies or Women's and Gender Studies.

Africana Studies  (M.S.)

Africana Studies  (Ph.D.)

Sociology  (M.S.)

Sociology  (Ph.D.)

Women's and Gender Studies  (M.S.)

Women's and Gender Studies  (Ph.D.)

Statistics (STAT)

Our graduate programs specialize in training students in statistical theory balanced with extensive applications including practical experience via our collaboration and consulting program. The 18-month master's degree program is a model of the time-efficient education of statisticians while the doctoral program allows candidates to specialize in General Statistical Methodology and Theory; Statistics for Business, Government, and Industry; Biostatistics; Computational Statistics; or Environmental Statistics.

Theatre Arts (TA)

Grounded in artistic curiosity and experimentation, our Master of Fine Arts in Theatre is a three-year program providing professional training through a personalized tutorial-based curriculum. All accepted students receive an assistantship and a full tuition waiver.

School: School of Performing Arts)

Degree: MFA

Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health (TBMH)

Our research-intensive, multidisciplinary Ph.D. program in the biomedical and health sciences emphasizes the concept of “translational science” across multiple levels of inquiry. We bring together students from the life, behavioral, physical, engineering, and computational sciences to consider today’s major health challenges.

Through an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum, this program will prepare the next generation of scientific leaders to make and translate discoveries into preventions, diagnostics, treatments, cures and healthier behaviors. Interdisciplinary Academic Program

Urban and Regional Planning (URPL)

This program has a dual objective of training graduates for their first planning job, and more importantly instilling conceptual and critical thinking necessary for lifelong learning and career development.

Degrees: MURP

Non-degree granting interdisciplinary graduate education research programs (IGEPS)

The following interdisciplinary programs promote and sustain interdisciplinary graduate education and research across programs and colleges. More than 300 graduate students participate in the programs annually. To learn more, visit the Interdisciplinary Graduate Education programs webpages .

Bio-inspired Buildings (BBD)

Also known as BioBuild, this doctoral interdisciplinary research program answers the pressing societal need for professionals with the interdisciplinary expertise necessary to develop buildings and communities that are, in fact, bio-inspired.

Students earn Ph.D. degrees in their home departments

Biological Transport

The Biological Transport program aims to prepare future leaders of industrial and academic research to think, collaborate, and solve problems at the intersection of the engineering and biological sciences.

The program is based on a systematic process of increasingly interdisciplinary coursework, student interaction, community development, and cross-disciplinary research experience, including ethics and professional development training.

Interdisicplinary Graduate Education Program

Computational Tissue Engineering (CTE)

The goal of this program is to define the field of Computational Tissue Engineering, wherein seamlessly intertwined computational and experimental models will drive the next generation of advances in tissue engineering. Our vision is that predictive computational models will drive novel experimental analyses of engineered tissues, while the demands of tissue engineering will inspire novel analysis frameworks in computational science.

Disaster Resilience (DRM)

The primary goal of our collaborative effort is to prepare graduate students to become thought leaders in promoting resilience concerns in a wide variety of disciplines.

Focusing on the trans-disciplinary paradigm, our effort leverages the strengths of several world-class academic units at Virginia Tech to produce a well-rounded understanding of the full complexity of disaster risk, resilience, and mitigation.

Our approach concentrates on investigating the main drivers of vulnerabilities, recognizing their complex interactions, and generating informed risk minimization strategies.

Students earn Ph.D. degrees in their home departments, which must be core participating departments for this program

Human Centered Design (HCD)

Human Centered Design is an approach to design charged with understanding the needs, wants, and limitations of end-users. This is accomplished through methodologies and practices where these considerations are integrated at every stage of the design process.

Our program creates novel learning and discovery opportunities that are needed to train the future professoriate, workforce, professionals and civic leaders.

Infectious Disease

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP) in Infectious Disease (ID), in collaboration with academic departments and programs, trains graduate students with a broad scientific perspective in infectious disease. 

Interfaces of Global Change (IGC)

The five greatest anthropogenic threats to global health and biodiversity include habitat loss, pollution, climate change, disease, and the introduction of non-native species.

The Interfaces of Global Change program addresses the multidimensional aspects of global change. Our goal is for each program Fellow to gain depth in their specific scientific area of expertise, while simultaneously gaining breadth in the multifaceted realm of global change and the science-policy interface.

Students receive their Ph.D. degree from their home department, but they focus on global change and the science-policy interface.

Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)

The Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) program is an interdisciplinary program with faculty from six departments across the Virginia Tech campus as well as from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Incoming students may choose research projects from four research areas: Cell Signaling and Cancer, Inflammation and Immunity, Microbiology, and Neurobiology. The vision of the MCB program is to develop and cultivate an inclusive environment that advances scientific curiosity, learning, and creativity; that values ethical conduct; that encourages community outreach and involvement; and that emboldens independent thinking and collaborations alike. Students earn Ph.D. degrees in their home departments

Regenerative Medicine (RM)

Regenerative medicine is a medical approach that seeks to restore both structure and function of tissues lost to injury, disease or congenital defects. This field incorporates use of stem cells, proteins that stimulate healing, and engineered biomaterials to help cure diseases from diabetes to osteoarthritis.

Regenerative strategies are modeled on mechanisms drawn from embryonic development and naturally-occurring examples of regeneration. This field represents a paradigm shift in biology, medicine and biomedical engineering.

Remote Sensing (RSS)

In today’s changing world, Earth system research, ranging from terrestrial ecosystem processes to ionosphere dynamics, requires an integrative and broad-scale perspective. We address this need through a Remote Sensing graduate program that prepares students not only in the science of the Earth system, but also in the engineering, data analytics, and social science perspectives required for the next generation of Ph.D. scientists to work at the cutting edge of scientific inquiry.

Sustainable Nanotechnology (SUN)

Sustainable Nanotechnology, or VT SuN, is a multi-department, interdisciplinary research center focused on advancing nanoscale science and engineering research and education with an emphasis on sustainability. We develop nanoscale technologies and leverage these technologies to help remedy global sustainability challenges in areas such as clean air and water, waste minimization, environmental remediation, food safety, and renewable energy.

Translational Obesity Research (TOR)

The Translational Obesity Research program brings together faculty and students from diverse disciplines to work together to address one of today’s most pressing public health problems: obesity prevention and treatment.

Our overarching goal is to train the next generation of obesity researchers to conduct innovative research that integrates and translates knowledge of the etiology, pathophysiology and management of obesity with behavioral, environmental, economic, and social contextual information to improve the health and well-being of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation.

Translational Plant Science (TPS)

Translational Plant Science is the process through which knowledge from basic research on plant genetics and genomics is used to improve agricultural productivity. The central goals of this program are to create a new training model to prepare molecular plant scientists to function along the bench-to-marketplace pipeline, and to catalyze interdisciplinary research to address challenges in food security, plants as biofactories, and biomass.

Water INTERface (WI)

This interdisciplinary group of faculty and graduate students is united by a central focus of "Water for Health", spanning from "pipes to people." Clean water is a common topic discussed in many classrooms and research laboratories, yet the complexity of societal issues related to water shortages, purity, and quality, which influence water consumption and its role in human health, highlights the need for increased interdisciplinary dialog and problem-solving capabilities. This program unites graduate students and faculty in addressing technical and societal challenges of transforming low-quality water resources into clean water for healthy living.

Location: Blacksburg, National Capital Region

Follow Virginia Tech Graduate School

College of Applied Human Sciences: School of Education

Educational Theory and Practice, -->PhD -->

The PhD in Educational Theory and Practice meets the interests and professional needs of future scholars in the areas of teaching and learning (across various subjects, in- and out-of-school contexts and ages/grades); teacher education and development (across various subjects and professional levels); and social, cultural and critical studies in education.

This is a primarily full-time, 60-credit, in-person program (part-time study options available).

Your Degree Plan

The program serves as a source of preparation for students toward careers as higher education faculty, educational researchers, policy analysts, and those who conduct work in a range of educational agencies and organizations.

• Plan of Study

The program includes the following course components:

• Core program coursework focused on theoretical, philosophical and sociological foundations of education research and practice.
• A research core that provides the methodological competencies to produce original research as well as the ability to critically evaluate published scholarship.
• Program electives that align with students’ interests and deepen their focus in core areas of educational research and practice.
• Mentored research and teaching experiences that promote students’ pedagogical and empirical skills.

Upon completion of the PhD in Educational Theory and Practice, graduates will be prepared to:

• Understand and interpret scholarship on theory, policy and practice in education as the basis for growth over a professional career.
• Critically evaluate scholarship, policy and practice in order to promote equity, access and social justice in educational settings.
• Plan for, conduct and report on original research that advances the field of education.
• Demonstrate skills as educators—including designing, implementing, evaluating and revising educational experiences.

Take advantage of special options related to this major:

Expand your curiosity — and enhance your curriculum — through the WVU Honors College. Two programs are offered: Honors Foundations for first- and second-year students and Honors EXCEL for third- and fourth-year students.

The WVU Difference

What sets this program apart from its competitors?

• We offer several graduate assistantships to competitive applicants to support their doctoral work. Assurance of funding is provided to selected applicants for the first two years of study, with opportunities for continuation of funding.
• The EDTP program utilizes a professional mentorship model, wherein faculty work closely with doctoral students to support their progress through key milestones, including dissemination of pedagogical and empirical work and completion of the dissertation.
• The plan of study includes apprenticed research and teaching experiences that provide students with a breadth of perspectives and practices as they develop their pedagogical and empirical skills.

Learn by Doing

Learning happens outside the classroom. Get involved.

Research and Academic Opportunities

Students have opportunities to develop applied, authentic experiences teaching in college settings and conducting meaningful research. Through practicum and other structured learning experiences, students examine the theoretical, philosophical, historical, and critical foundations of educational research and practice.

What Skills You'll Take Away With You

Attending college will prepare you for many things. The Educational Theory and Practice major will give you the following skills:

The Educational Theory and Practice program will equip you with the analytical, empirical, and pedagogical skills to address practical and theoretical problems in teaching and learning, teacher education and development, and societal, cultural, and critical studies in education.

What you learn outside of the classroom is just as important as what you learn during class. We’ll help you follow your curiosity.

Careers and Outcomes

How does this degree prepare students for a career?

• Career Profiles
• How We Prepare You

Education Administrators, Postsecondary

Plan, direct or coordinate research, instructional, student administration and services and other educational activities at postsecondary institutions, including universities, colleges and junior and community colleges.

May require a Graduate Degree

Median Salary: $99,940

Possible job titles include: Academic Dean, Dean, Provost, Registrar.

Education Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses pertaining to education, such as counseling, curriculum, guidance, instruction, teacher education and teaching English as a second language. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Has a Bright Outlook , May require a Graduate Degree

Median Salary: $66,930

Possible job titles include: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Education Professor, Professor.

Career pathways

Our graduates have obtained positions in a range of areas, including at colleges and universities, educational agencies, and research centers. Jobs obtained by recent graduates include teaching-based faculty positions, service-oriented faculty positions, and positions as research associates, postdoctoral scholars, and educational consultants.

Sample employers/job titles of graduates

• Carlow University, Assistant Professor, Department of Education and Liberal Studies
• UNC Charlotte, Associate Director, Undergraduate Research
• West Virginia University, Teaching Assistant Professor, School of Math and Data Science

Meet Your Community

The Educational Theory and Practice family will inspire and support you.

• Future Classmates
• Program Faculty
• Alumni Network

Johnna Bolyard

Professional highlights:

• Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Human Resources and Education, WVU, 2021
• Mathematics Teacher of the Year - College Level, West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2015
• Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Human Resources and Education, WVU, 2010

Matthew Campbell

• Research emphasis on teacher education, teacher recruitment and retention, and teacher leadership
• Principal Investigator, Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T)
• President, West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (WVCTM), 2022-2024
• Associate Vice President, AMTE STaR Fundraising Committee, 2023-2026
• Editorial Panel Chair, Mathematics Teacher Educator, 2021-2022

Jeffrey Carver

• 20 years' experience in the educational field
• Directs STEM Education Initiatives at the College of Applied Human Services
• Research interests focus on the improvement of teaching and learning in the STEM disciplines at all levels (p-20)

Allison Swan Dagen

• Co-Editor, Best Practices of Literacy Leaders: Keys to School Improvement, 2020
• Lead Writer, International Literacy Association Standards, 2017
• WVU Provost's Academic Fellow, 2018-2021
• WVU Assistant Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs, 2021-2023

D. Jake Follmer

• Research interests include self- and socially-regulated learning, statistics education, first-generation student success, reading comprehension, and instructional inquiry and revision in STEM
• CEHS Outstanding Teaching Award, 2022
• Teaching MVP Award, 2020, WVU, Office of the Provost
• AERA Deeper Learning Research Fellow, 2022

Sharon Hayes

• Coordinator of Action Research Faculty, 2008-2020
• WVU National Writing Project, 2008-2011
• Program Coordinator, 5 Year Teacher Education Program, 2020-2021
• Program Coordinator, Elementary Math Specialist Master’s, 2021-2023
• Licensed teacher in New Jersey: Elementary Education, Middle School
• 10 years public school experience (K-8)
• Former preschool teacher and childcare provider

Melissa Luna

• Journal of the Learning Sciences Reviewer of the Year, 2022-2023
• CAHS Associate Dean for Research and Engagement, 2022-2023
• CEHS Associate Dean for Research, 2019-2022
• WVU CEHS Outstanding Researcher Award, 2018
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2016

Erin McHenry-Sorber

• Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Applied Human Sciences, WVU, 2023
• National Rural Education Achievement Award, 2022
• National Rural Education Association Best Research Paper Award, 2022
• Howard A. Dawson Best Research Paper Award, National Rural Education Association, 2019
• Mary Catharine Buswell Award, Council for Women’s Concerns, WVU, 2019
• Editor, The Rural Educator

Aimee Morewood

• Research interests include effective professional development for literacy educators, word study instruction for elementary students, systemic change through teacher leadership and emergent literacy practices
• Certified in Elementary Education (K-12) and as a Reading Specialist (K-12)
• Former learning support teacher

Sarah Selmer

• Research emphasis: responsive noticing of student mathematical thinking
• Completed a Fulbright specialist program in Lesotho, Africa (Summer 2023)
• Department Editor for Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12

Melissa Sherfinski

• Chair, American Educational Research Association (AERA) Early Education and Child Development Special Interest Group
• Board Member, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education and Journal of Research in Childhood Education
• Licensed teacher in West Virginia and Wisconsin, areas: Elementary Education, Early Childhood-PK-K Special Needs, Intellectual Disabilities, Autism
• 6 years public school experience (K-5)

Courtney Shimek

• Research interests: confluence between play and literacy, multimodal responses to literature, use of nonfiction in elementary classrooms and literacy teacher preparation

Nathan Sorber

• Director, School of Education West Virginia University
• Author of multiple books on Higher Education in the United States
• Editor, Perspectives on the History of Higher Education

• Outstanding Teacher Award, College of Human Resources and Education, 1995-1996
• Barbara J. Howe Award for Excellent Scholarship on New Deal Homesteads, 2004
• Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Human Resources and Education, 2004-2005
• Laddie R. Bell Distinguished Service Award, College of Human Resources and Education, 2006-2007
• American Educational Studies Critics Choice Book Award, 2012. Doug Simpson and Sam F. Stack Jr., Teachers, Leaders, and Schools Essays by John Dewey (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2011), 258 pages.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission into a graduate program at WVU an applicant must submit official, bachelor's degree transcripts from a regionally accredited institution and hold a GPA of at least 2.75. WVU operates decentralized admissions. Decentralized admissions allows each graduate program to set its own application requirements in addition to the University requirements.

To be eligible for admission into the Educational Theory and Practice graduate program an applicant must submit the following documentation:

• Statement of Purpose
• Letters of Recommendation - Three
• Essay/Writing Sample (Contact a Graduate Program Representative for a Prompt)
• A baccalaureate degree with coursework in appropriate areas related to education
• A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.80
• A completed graduate application
• A curriculum vitae (CV)
• A personal statement describing your specific goals for and interests in the program. The statement should clearly articulate the connections between our program and your interests as well as the expertise of program faculty.
• An academic writing sample showcasing your academic interests and ability to engage in research.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation addressing your potential as a doctoral student in education.

Additional Application Considerations

• Only completed applications can be reviewed. An application is considered complete when all associated materials, including letters of recommendation, are submitted and received by the program. Please ensure you’ve allotted enough time to have your application materials received before the deadline.
• Following the application deadline, program faculty will evaluate each application based on the quality of the materials submitted, the quality of the applicant’s academic record, and the connections between students’ expressed interests and those of the faculty.
• International applicants should also submit required materials as described in Graduate Admissions' information for international students .
• Complete admissions information for the Educational Theory and Practice program can be found in the WVU Catalog .

Application Deadline

• The priority deadline for admission is December 15. Applicants interested in funding through graduate assistantships and related opportunities should ensure all application materials are received by this deadline.
• The final deadline for admission is March 1.

Program Contact

If you have questions about the Educational Theory and Practice PhD program, please contact Dr. Jake Follmer, Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator, at [email protected] .

Application Deadlines

Each graduate program sets their own terms for admission and application deadlines. Applicants can only apply for admission for the terms displayed below. Any questions regarding the application deadline should be directed to the graduate program representative.

• Fall: March 1
• Fall (Priority): December 15

Ready to take the next step?

Learn how to join the WVU family.

Request Info

Want to know more about Educational Theory and Practice at WVU? Fill out our request form to receive more information.

​​Experiencing campus is the best way to see if WVU is the right fit. Choose from in-person and virtual options.

Your first step to becoming a Mountaineer is applying for admission using our convenient online application.

• Medical and Health Professions Education, PhD
• Medical and Health Professions Education

Earn your doctoral degree and become an educator, leader and scholar.

Learn more about the program., meet with a program representative..

You should receive a confirmation email shortly with your submission information. Thank you for your interest.

Explore Medical and Health Professions Education, PhD

• MHPE Programs
• Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes
• Admission Requirements
• Application Process
• Tuition & Fees (DMHPE)
• Computer Standards
• Faculty and Staff

Concentrations

Higher Education

Become an education researcher and leader, designing, managing, and evaluating health professions education programs. Gain the practical knowledge and skills necessary to tackle major issues facing higher-education leaders.

Contemporary Human Anatomy Education

Be part of the next generation of anatomy educators with skills related to contemporary needs, issues and best practices in diverse academic settings. Gain experience in modern anatomy teaching modalities, anatomy lab management, and course directing.

Simulation Education

Educate the next generation of healthcare professionals using relevant models and simulations as instructional and assessment tools. Gain knowledge of the business principles and organizational structures required for successful simulation center management, as you train to become a leader in simulation education.

Engage in student research

MHPE students and faculty engage in research that enhances our understanding of health professions education and the diverse backgrounds and perceptions of learners. MHPE students can partner with faculty on long-term research projects related to:

• Diversity, equity and inclusion in the health professions curriculum
• Pathways to health professions degree
• Researcher and educator competencies
• Asynchronous learning communities
• Burnout, belonging, and resilience of health professions students and educators
• AI and technology in anatomy education

Program benefits

Individual mentoring.

Develop an academic plan and timeline for completion based on your needs and program offerings.

Fully online PhD

Complete all coursework online in 3.5 to 4 years following a structured course schedule.

Choose your pace

Follow a standard pace (3.5 to 4 years) or extended pace (4.5 to 5 years) course schedule.

Meet our students

Jeremy Amayo

Jeremy is a DMHPE student interested in studying student self-regulation following academic failure. He serves as director of ultrasound education and is an assistant professor and critical care PA at Emory University School of Medicine. In his teaching role, he has implemented several novel active learning strategies to improve PA student competency in the basic sciences. Outside of his professional life, Jeremy loves to spend time with his wife and 3 children, play music and train Brazillian Jiujitsu. You'll usually find him with an ultrasound probe in one hand and a coffee in the other.

Demetra Castillo

Demetra is a certified Medical Laboratory Scientist with almost 20 years of experience as an educator in both public and private universities. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati. Demetra has a Masters in Adult Education and is currently enrolled as a DMHPE student in the Higher Education concentration. Her research interests include spatial analysis, students with developmental and intellectual disabilities, and medical laboratory workforce shortages. In her spare time, Demetra loves to spend time with her family, swim, read books, and travel.

Lauri Nemetz

Lauri is a dissector, author, educator, and movement therapist focusing on fascial anatomy. She has taught and lectured all over the world. Currently a DMHPE student with the Contemporary Human Anatomy Concentration, Lauri plans to further her work in art, anatomy, and perception. She serves as an Adjunct Professor at Pace University (Pleasantville, NY) and a Visiting Associate Professor at Rush Medical (Chicago), in addition to other work based in New York and with KNMLabs and Anatomic Excellence. She spends almost every day outdoors on several local trails and is often kayak guiding in the summer months. 

Melanie Nohrer

Melanie has worked in higher education for 11 years at a variety of administrative levels and departments including admissions, academic affairs, administration and graduate medical education. She has a Master of Education in Higher Education, Educational Leadership degree from Liberty University, and is currently pursuing a DMPHE degree at EVMS. Melanie works as an Educational Specialist for EVMS Obstetrics & Gynecology, managing all three fellowship programs. Her top priority within the program is a fellow’s success, achievement and overall experience!

Muhammad Owais Aziz

Owais is a clinician, educator, researcher, equity, diversity & inclusion advocate, and disaster relief planner. Currently, he is a DMHPE student and Professor of Sciences at St. Lawrence College, Ontario. Owais is actively engaged in multiple local and international organizations. As a result, he was nominated for an Innovation Award, and designated as a Change Agent for initiating and managing organizational change. As a member of an EDI+ Belonging task force, he was nominated for the leadership excellence award at CICan, which represents 141 publicly funded colleges and universities across Canada. Owais loves traveling, playing games, and doing new experiments with his family.

Alyssa L. Ransom

Alyssa is an Instructor of Gross Anatomy in the nursing school at LSUHSC in New Orleans, LA . She hopes to research the inclusion of race and ethnicity in the basic science course curriculum and how that impacts students. And, she admits to being one of those people that likes to do organized runs on holidays!

Mila Shah-Bruce

Mila is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Louisiana State University-HSC Shreveport. She serves as the OBGYN clerkship director for third and fourth-year medical students. Mila is active in committees such as the academic success counsel for medical students, residency clinical competency committees, medical curriculum committee, and the hospital medical executive committee. She is passionate about education and empowering students, faculty and support staff. In her free time, Mila likes to get outside and enjoy nature with her family and furbabies.

757.446.0365

[email protected]

MHPE Masters Brochure  for more information about this program.

This website reflects current program information, including admission criteria and curricula. Information is subject to change.

Virginia sex assault case raises questions about school responsibility

The woman, who filed the lawsuit and recently testified in the trial, alleges that fairfax county school officials failed to provide a safe learning environment.

The 24-year-old sat on the witness stand in an Alexandria federal courtroom and began to detail events that happened more than a decade ago when she was in middle school.

At points, she struggled, like when lawyers asked what time she arrived home from school on particular afternoons in the fall of 2011. It was then, as she tells it, students began bullying and sexually harassing her at Rachel Carson Middle School. At 12, she alleges the harassment eventually escalated into repeated rape.

After more than three days of testimony, the woman pressed her forehead into her palm, her long dark hair falling into her face as she began to cry.

“I don’t remember,” she said at one point. “This is very difficult for me.”

In 2019, seven years after her parents pulled her out of the school, the woman filed a lawsuit alleging that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) failed to provide her with a safe learning environment — a violation of her rights under Title IX, the law that forbids sex discrimination in federally funded schools. On the first day of court, the lawyers on both sides of the case outlined key questions they planned to address in a trial that would span weeks: What happened at the middle school more than a decade ago? What did school officials know? And what did they do in response?

Regardless of the jury’s decision, which is expected in April, the case in Fairfax County raises critical questions about the extent to which schools can be held legally accountable for what transpires both on campus and after school among students. The woman is seeking compensatory damages for mental and physical health challenges she attributes to post-traumatic stress disorder from the events that she says played out during her seventh grade year. The woman is identified as B.R. in court records. The Post does not name those who allege they are victims of sexual assault without their consent.

Fairfax School Board lawyers have fought the allegations, maintaining that school administrators responded properly to the complaints that were made at the time. They say that no rape was ever reported to the school, and they have aggressively questioned the woman’s credibility, telling the jury that her story changed over the years and that the school board had “serious doubt” that her allegations were real.

“They didn’t believe her then and they don’t believe her now,” Andrew Brenner, the woman’s attorney, said to the jury during his opening arguments. “That’s why they didn’t do what they were supposed to do.”

In a statement, an FCPS spokesperson said: “More than a decade ago, dedicated administrators, counselors, teachers, and staff helped this former student and addressed her concerns.”

In Northern Virginia, the issue of how schools handle sexual assault has been an especially prominent topic after a special grand jury found that the school district in nearby Loudoun County mishandled two sexual assaults. Officials transferred a student who had committed one sexual assault to a second campus, where the student committed a second assault. The family of one of the girls filed a lawsuit late last year against the school district for its handling of the case.

Each year, thousands of sexual harassment and assault cases are reported by school districts to the Virginia Department of Education. That is probably a fraction of the number of incidents happening in schools, as experts say many cases of sexual assault and harassment go unreported. According to the Fairfax Youth Survey , in 2022, more than 16 percent of female students in grades eight through 12 reported that they had been sexually harassed in the past year at least once.

In the courtroom, sexual-assault-survivor advocates, parents and B.R.’s friends showed up each day to watch the proceedings. Alex Prout, co-founder of the organization I Have The Right To and the father of a sexual assault survivor, held a small rally outside the courthouse in support of B.R. on the first day she took the stand.

“One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they graduate high school. This is unacceptable,” he said. “But what is more unacceptable is that our schools or institutions spend millions of dollars to silence victims of sexual violence. It is so important for survivors to be able to use their voice.”

Elizabeth Tang, senior counsel for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, said in an interview that she has fielded hundreds of complaints about students experiencing sexual harassment, assault and other sex discrimination in schools across the country. Those complaints frequently contain concerns that schools are mishandling these reports, though very few cases make it to trial.

“The standards for bringing a Title IX lawsuit against a school is very burdensome on plaintiffs, on victims, and so it’s very difficult to clear those hurdles,” Tang said.

Over the past week and a half, lawyers have meticulously examined every aspect of the middle school experience for the eight-person civil jury. They presented maps of the school, debated the size and location of lockers, looked at a school slide show on bullying, and reviewed the district’s policies. With each witness, they reviewed the details of meetings that B.R., her family and other students had with school administrators that year. What did they write in statements? What could they remember saying verbally? Many of the witnesses struggled to recall the details, frequently reminding the court that this had all taken place more than 12 years ago, when some of them were still children.

B.R. took the stand on the fourth day of trial, beginning her multiday testimony laying out the details she remembered of how her first date to a pumpkin patch evolved into rumors at the school that she participated in sexual activities that she said she did not do. She testified that she was sexually harassed and called graphic names both at school and online. She said that other kids routinely surrounded her and groped her on school grounds at her locker — something, she claimed, she reported to school officials.

She testified that an eighth-grade boy began regularly raping her at the bus stop and in some nearby woods after school. As she described her memories of the assaults, her brow furrowed and her eyes filled with tears.

“I felt like I lost my voice when I was 12 years old,” she testified. “I felt like no one believed me.”

B.R.’s case has been legally complex with hundreds of docket entries since she initially filed the lawsuit in 2019. She has been represented by multiple sets of lawyers, and the school district has asked a judge to throw out the case on multiple occasions.

While complex, the case is just one example of the kinds of lawsuits filed against Fairfax County Public Schools in recent years. The district spends millions on outside legal counsel every year in part to fight these types of cases, according to public records of district legal fees. Fairfax Schools paid Hunton Andrews Kurth, one of the law firms defending the school district in the B.R. case, more than $14 million between July 2019 and July 2023. The district has paid all outside attorneys more than $23 million over the same period.

“Many claims involve complicated issues of fact and law and require experienced litigators with a background in education,” an FCPS spokesperson said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have several law firms with those qualifications, and virtually all school systems our size rely on experienced outside litigation counsel in such cases.”

The Fairfax school system recently fought a similar case in which the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, alleged that she was sexually assaulted on the bus during a band trip in 2017. She alleged that the school leaders failed to properly respond to her complaints. The school board, however, argued that the encounter “was not a sexual assault” and that school personnel “took meaningful and appropriate action” to address the incident.

In 2019, a jury panel found that Doe had been sexually harassed and that the incident, and the school’s response, deprived Doe of her rightful access to education. But the panel ultimately ruled in Fairfax’s favor, finding that the school board was not liable for the sexual harassment because it did not have “actual knowledge” of what occurred on the bus trip. Doe requested a new trial and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit granted her request. The school district settled in the case last year after the Supreme Court declined to hear the school district’s appeal.

B.R. and her family filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in 2012. In 2014, the school system agreed to change its policies for handling sexual harassment allegations between students, establish the role of a Title IX coordinator and create a centralized database for reports of harassment.

Though FCPS did not admit any wrongdoing at the time, OCR wrote that its investigation “found that the Division did immediately conduct an inquiry into most allegations of sexual harassment brought by the student and her parent. However, OCR identified some possible concerns with the adequacy of the Division’s investigation, its analysis of the information collected, and the Division’s apparent treatment of the incidents of alleged harassment as discrete, isolated occurrences rather than addressing the broader issue of a potentially hostile environment at the School.”

In the courtroom, lawyers reviewed the type of harassment and bullying that students at school testified to at the time. They also focused on social media, particularly Facebook, and its central role in the case. At times, witnesses read hurtful, profane and sexually explicit messages they sent when they were preteens. On the stand, B.R. herself testified about creating a fake Facebook page that she used to bully herself. She said she was not proud of the action, but she did it at the time hoping that if other students saw the account and reported it to the school, administrators might take further action.

Prout, the father who held the rally for B.R., said he knows her and told her before the trial began that her victory wasn’t dependent on the verdict.

Her victory, he said, was getting to this point, sitting in front of a jury — something many survivors would never get to do.

March 27, 2024

Path to employment was rewarding work for VCU program graduate with a disability

Kelly mccown was part of the ace-it in college initiative through the rehabilitation research and training center and the school of education., share this story.

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By Lucian Friel

For many teenagers, independence starts with a job and money in their pockets. At 14, Kelly McCown began working around her neighborhood – watering plants, caring for pets and doing household chores for neighbors.

“Kelly’s had a number of jobs since she was in high school,” said her mother, Lucy. “With each job, she’s gained a new set of skills. I’ve seen greater self-assurance, and she seems to have a nice command of the job once she gets it, which is usually fairly quickly. What I really liked seeing is the people around her understanding that she is enthusiastic, generally pleasant – and that she can do the job, enjoys doing the job and doing it well.”

In 2018, McCown graduated from  ACE-IT in College , a program that began in 2010 through Virginia Commonwealth University’s  Rehabilitation Research and Training Center  and the  School of Education . The program is a 20-plus-credit certificate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

ACE-IT students take VCU classes and participate in campus activities and work opportunities that align with career goals and interests. McCown’s experiences and internships included working at VCU’s  Child Development Center  and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

“One of the best internships she had was at the VMFA,” Lucy said. “She started with small tasks, but by the end of the semester, she could walk a group, with assistance, through an art exhibit and explain it. It showed the growth over the course of the semester. It was kind of my model of what an internship should be, helping someone start small and end big.”

After graduating from ACE-IT, McCown was employed as a teacher’s assistant at a child care center until mid-2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted that role. But then she joined the VCU RRTC’s  Business Connections  program.

Business Connections, primarily funded by the  Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services  and the  Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired , is a supported employment service provider for people with disabilities in Richmond and surrounding areas. Employment specialists assist clients in finding competitive, integrated employment in the community and provide ongoing support – and for McCown, it meant a transition from child care to customer service.

Rachael Rounds , the program manager of Business Connections, said McCown had a second stint as a teacher’s assistant at a different child care center, but when that role was redefined, “the employment specialist used Kelly’s outstanding social skills to land her a customer service role.” In summer 2023, McCown began working at a national clothing store in the Richmond area.

“I like my co-workers and my manager,” McCown said. “I like helping people and asking people how their day is – and I like getting a paycheck.”

Noah Whibley, a supported employment specialist with Business Connections, praised McCown for being “super social; she’s very outgoing. She loves working with people.” Whibley, who had a connection to the retailer through another client, praised the retailer, too.

“They’ve just been a super accommodating, flexible employer for Kelly,” Whibley said. “The employer allowed me to be there to support her during the interview, and we worked together to walk through the onboarding and training process for Kelly.”

One of McCown’s basic responsibilities is checking the fitting rooms. A stoplight timer will cue her to inspect the spaces for occupancy, as well to recover clothing and hangers. She has a written schedule, a binder and a chart that help her account for various sizes and tags.

But McCown’s expanded tasks include engaging with customers and fielding their questions. She ensures that patrons adhere to clothing limits for the fitting rooms, and as she collects unwanted items, she arranges them and restores them to the sales area.

As McCown continues to excel, Lucy applauded how the ACE-IT program helped her daughter through its structure, which helps teach time-management skills, and its encouragement of internships that build job skills outside the classroom.

Lucy also has advice for families seeking employment for a loved one with disabilities.

“Start with chores at home, then gravitate toward the neighborhood, then look for volunteer opportunities,” she said. “It’s another way to build those job skills, whether it’s at a church or around the community. I think that’s a good way to see what your child likes or doesn’t like. Where are their strengths? Do they like working with people? Would they rather sit in the back room and put library books away? You know, whatever it is.”

And McCown, thinking of others who also have disabilities, added some advice of her own: “Ask for help when you need it.”

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