Computer Science & Applications

The graduate program at the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech is poised to become one of the top programs in the country.  #40 in the US News and World Report 2018 rankings for graduate CS programs, additional accolades include being ranked in the top 20 CS departments in US Colleges of Engineering by number of Ph.D. degrees awarded.

There are several possible sources of funding with or near the University for qualified graduate students. Well over half of CS graduate students are typically funded through departmental fellowships, teaching, or research assistantships. Others were supported elsewhere within the University, or at the nearby Corporate Research Center. The vast majority of students seeking support will find it in one of the following ways:

• Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA): The number of GTAs awarded in a given year is difficult to predict and is driven by undergraduate (not graduate) enrollments. A fraction of the GTAs (approximately one-third) are offered to new students. Students on assistantships are exempt from tuition and a significant fraction of the costs for a University sponsored healthcare plan are covered.
• Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA): Many faculty have active research programs that include funds for research assistants. Note that GRAs are most commonly awarded to students who have been in the Department for at least one semester. GRAs receive the same stipends, tuition exemption, and healthcare benefits as GTAs.
• Computer Science Scholars and Pratt Fellowships: a limited number of exceptional applicants are admitted as CS Scholars or Pratt Fellows, which guarantees them multiple years of support. These positions may include summer support for research as well.
• University/College-level Fellowships: Our applicants are eligible to compete for University- and College-level fellowships including the Cunningham Fellowship and Dean's Fellowships. These fellowships typically include multiple-year support guarantees, summer research support, and possibly travel or discretionary funds. Some are only available to US citizens and permanent residents.
• Minority Scholarships: Virginia Tech provides a number of scholarships for minority students who are US citizens. Contact the CS Department at [email protected] for further information about applying to these programs.

MS Thesis and PhD Students who received Departmental support in their first year can normally expect to receive continued support during the remainder of their course of study (typically 2 years for MS, 4 or 5 years for PhD), so long as their job performance and degree progress is good. PhD students whose job performance is good are normally guaranteed three years of funding once they have passed their PhD Qualifier process.

What You'll Need

Transcripts

Include a scanned copy of your college transcripts with your online application, then arrange for an official copy to be sent to us after you receive an offer of admission.

Letters of Recommendation

Check to see whether your department requires letters of recommendation from references. If so, you can include the letter writers' email addresses in your online application, or have the people you ask to write those lettes send paper copies directly to your program’s department.

Graduate School Testing Requirements

The Graduate School does not require entrance tests, but check to see whether your department requires you to submit GRE, GMAT, or subject test scores with your application. If so, have the testing agency send official scores to Virginia Tech Graduate School, code 5859. 

International students may be required to submit TOEFL scores. 

Application Fees

Degree-seeking students must include a $75 fee with their application, though check to see if you qualify for a waiver or reduced fee. All application fees are non-refundable.

Refund procedure

All application fees are non-refundable.