Written by Heather Priestley
Everyone knows Virginia Tech for its engineering departments. While Tech does have an excellent engineering program, there are other programs at the University that shouldn’t be overlooked. The Pamplin College of Business offers degrees in accounting, business information technology, economics, finance, and more. Business management is one of the most popular majors, along with engineering, biology, psychology, and computer science. Besides sciences and business, Tech offers many liberal arts majors. Virginia Tech students in all majors have the advantage of taking classes with professors who are active in their fields. Often, students will even take a class from a professor who wrote the textbook they use in class. Some students do worry that professors get more wrapped up in research than in teaching, and with many foreign professors and TAs, communication can often be a little difficult, but most students will admit that professors are willing to take time to meet with students on an individual basis to provide extra help and advice.
At the beginning of a student’s time at Tech, classes are large (often 300 students or more) and are often taught by graduate students. It is easy for freshmen to feel a little lost and overwhelmed, but classes do get smaller as students get more involved in their majors. With professors who are leading the way in research in their field, Tech students have the unique advantage of learning straight from the people who write the textbooks and even have the opportunity to get involved in their research. While the workload may seem a little overwhelming at times, all a student has to do is take the initiative to show he is interested, and most professors will go out of their way to offer whatever additional help they can.