About

As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and a leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers about 280 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students across the commonwealth and manages a research portfolio of more than $531 million. The university fulfills its role as a land-grant institution by fostering a collaborative environment that integrates technology into all disciplines, so that the Virginia Tech community can serve as a force for positive change around the commonwealth, the country, and the world. Virginia Tech has a 2,600-acre main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia; a significant presence across the commonwealth, including the Innovation Campus in Northern Virginia, the Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke, and sites in Newport News and Richmond; educational and research facilities across the state; a study-abroad site in Switzerland; and a 1,800-acre agriculture research farm near the main campus. The campus proper is located in the New River Valley and is 38 miles southwest of Roanoke. Department’s Mission Statement – The Department of Political Science, as an integral unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, is responsible for creative scholarship and for the teaching of graduate and undergraduate students in the discipline of political studies. Research interests include both theoretical and empirical concerns and are directed toward both U.S. politics and politics abroad. Undergraduate teaching is provided for students who major in the study of politics and for students throughout the university who take occasional politics courses. For all of them, the Department wishes to instil an appreciation of the values and obligations of productive citizenship and the responsibilities of leadership while promoting personal and intellectual development. Instruction at the graduate level is more oriented toward professional development.