Frequently Asked Questions about Admissions

You are here: Information for Prospective Students -> Frequently Asked Questions about Admissions

Am I qualified for admission to PPWS?

Admission to the graduate school and our department is competitive and usually dependent on available funding for assistantships, which means that students who meet minimum admission requirements are not necessarily guaranteed acceptance; acceptance depends on space available, and where an applicant ranks compared to other applicants. We expect applicants to have a minimum total score of 1,000 for the combined verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE. A minimum total TOEFL score should be 550 (paper-based version), 213 (computer-based), or 80 (internet-based). However, the TOEFL requirement can be waived if your education has been conducted in English.

Does the department provide financial support?

We try to provide financial support for all students that we accept. This support is primarily in the form of research assistantships, which cover tuition and provide a stipend that allows students to live comfortably in Blacksburg. We evaluate student applications and make decisions on acceptance and support based on our available funds.

Back to Top

Will my application be denied if there are no funds to support me?

Yes, in most cases. We want all of our students to succeed, so we will only accept those whose studies can be financially supported by the department or other source of funding. This means that the number of available positions for new students is directly linked to the research funding of our faculty.

In certain cases students may bring their own funding (for example, through scholarships or support from their home governments). These students may be accepted purely on the basis of academic merit and space availability.

Back to Top

How do I increase my chances of being accepted?

Students are accepted into PPWS based on willingness of specific faculty members to advise and support them. Therefore, student-faculty interaction is very important and applicants are encouraged to contact specific faculty members to discuss mutual research interests and explore potential openings in their programs. Review faculty profiles and research interests on the department homepage to learn more about them.

Back to Top

How should I apply?

You can be admitted to our department by either of two routes. In either case you should visit the Virginia Tech Graduate School web site (http://www.grads.vt.edu/) to find application forms and instructions. Near the front of the application, where you are asked to "Specify the abbreviation of the major desired," put either PPWS (the abbreviation for Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science) or MPS (the Molecular Plant Sciences interdisciplinary recruiting program). Select PPWS if you have a specific professor that you want to work with or if you are interested in non-molecular biology aspects of plants, weeds, or pathogens. Highly qualified students with interests in molecular biology should indicate the MPS program, which provides students with a special first year of study in which they conduct research in several different laboratories and ultimately have the opportunity to choose their research advisor from a pool of faculty spanning several departments.

Regardless of which program you choose to enter, the Graduate School will require you to submit the following documents:

  • Formal application
  • Statement of goals for graduate study
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Test scores: GRE (Our department requires a minimum total from the combined verbal and quantitative sections of 1,000) and TOEFL for students who have not had their education conducted in English.

Back to Top

I applied weeks ago, so why haven't I heard from Virginia Tech about whether I have been accepted?

First, it can take some time for all the application materials to reach Virginia Tech and form a complete application package. Incomplete applications is the most common reason for delay and applicants are encouraged to follow up with their references and with Virginia Tech to make sure that everything has been sent and received.

Once the Graduate School has a complete application, it notifies the department. The department then initiates a review of the applicant.

The second major reason for delay in notifying applicants is due to lack of immediately available funding for student support. If an applicant is well qualified, we will retain the application awaiting news of new funding availability. Because research funding awards are announced intermittently throughout the year, it is not easy to predict whether or when funds will become available. The best course of action for an applicant in this situation is to maintain regular contact with faculty to keep abreast of emerging possibilities for support.

Back to Top