Graduate School Courses
The Graduate School, as part of the Transformative Graduate Education Experience, has developed a series of graduate courses and experiences designed to better prepare and equip our students with knowledge and skills for meaningful and relevant contributions as citizens in the 21st century.
The following is a list of the courses offered by the Graduate School. It includes a brief description of the course, who teaches it, and credit hours. For more information about when it is offered, location, capacity, and the schedule for the final exam, visit the university Timetable of Classes.
Instructor: Dr. Kevin Edgar
When offered: Fall and Spring semesters. Fall GTA workshop is always on Tuesday before classes begin; spring GTA workshop is always on Thursday before classes begin.
Description: This course provides an overview of the role and responsibilities of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA's) at Virginia Tech. Experienced faculty and GTAs provide informational sessions on topics such as principles and strategies for teaching and learning, effective use of technology, professional ethics, inclusivity in learning environments, effective classroom and laboratory communication and management, contemporary pedagogy, and more.
Credits: 1. Pass/Fail only.
Instructor: Dr. Homero Murzi Escobar
When offered: Fall and spring semesters, online course.
Description: This course is an advanced investigation of academic integrity, responsible scholarly conduct, and methods of citation, especially as they relate to the Virginia Tech Graduate Honor System. Theoretical and historical underpinnings of academic integrity are discussed, as are discipline-based citation practices.
Credits: 2
Instructor: Library Faculty
When offered: Spring semester
Description: Importance and benefits of data management including creating a data management plan. Data organization, policies, documentation, storage, ethics, access, security, analytical tools, grant requirements (proposal and post-award), proper attribution, archiving, other issues and topics related to data in scholarly communication.
Credit: 1 (pass/fail)
Instructor: Dr. Aimee Surprenant
When offered: Fall and spring semesters
Description: The purpose of the course is to provide graduate students with an understanding and contextual knowledge of the professoriate and issues facing higher education. These topics include faculty roles and responsibilities, changing demographics and nature of students/learners, the impact of technology upon higher education, diversity and inclusiveness, paradigm shifts in the academy, ethical issues and professional standards, global perspectives on higher education, and external forces influencing the college/university.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Selected Faculty
When offered: Fall and spring semesters
Description: This seminar engages participants in an interdisciplinary exploration of pedagogical practices for different courses taught in different contexts. The course examines teaching to diverse groups with inclusive pedagogy, integrating global contexts with innovative e-learning components, and using problem-based learning across the disciplines. Participants will discover ways to negotiate the changing demographics of contemporary teaching sites, and undertake an overview of the uses and benefits of electronic portfolios both as a teaching tool and as a professional development tool.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Library Faculty
When offered: Fall and spring semesters, online course
Description: This course helps graduate students understand the print and electronic library general and subject-specific information resources and enhances students' knowledge of information retrieval and management skills through database management and searching techniques. Participants create personal databases using commercial database-management programs; demonstrate and evaluate websites and demonstrate an understanding of electronic thesis and dissertations.
Credits: 1
Instructors: Selected faculty.
Offered: Fall and spring semesters.
Description: This course is taught by teams of faculty who provide in-depth coverage of significant research questions and research topics (e.g., Hurricane Katrina) that require interdisciplinary expertise, methodologies, and analysis. The application of concepts from multiple disciplines to interdisciplinary topics will be valuable to graduate students who will work in interdisciplinary teams. Several sections can be offered and the course can be repeated for credit.
Credits: 3
Instructors: Drs. CJ Kroehler and P Raun
When offered: Fall and spring semesters
Description: Practice-based pedagogy techniques for effective communication about scientific, technical, and health research. Application of communication techniques across public and professional audiences and a variety of oral and written communication contexts
Credits: 2
Instructor: Dr. William Huckle
When offered: Fall or Spring semester
This course is focused on understanding the value of being a citizen-scholar, elucidating the connection between scholarship and citizenship in contemporary global society, and encouraging engagement in public scholarship: scholarship in service to the community, the state, the nation and the world.
There are no prerequisites for participating in the program and all enrolled Virginia Tech graduate students are eligible to participate.
Credits: 3
In order for participants to become Citizen Scholars, each must complete an independent, self-designed community-based experience project aimed at helping the student put theory to practice. Students first conceptualize how their research can be utilized to create a successful partnership with the community and develop a project that will be challenging and educational. The experience can be composed of multiple small components or one large component. It is expected, however, that each student will complete at least 16 hours of "citizen-scholar" work. The needs of each participant will determine the length and type of their individual experiences.
Citizen Scholars will be formally recognized at a ceremony scheduled during Graduate Education Week.
Instructor: Dr. Catherine Cotrupi
When offered: Fall and spring semesters.
Description: Research on diversity and inclusion for a global society from a multidisciplinary perspective. Examination of popular misconceptions about diversity and inclusion, benefits of diverse and inclusive organizations, legal requirements, international perspectives on diversity and inclusion, and applications to research and professional practice.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Anna-Marion Bieri
When offered: Fall and spring semesters
Description: Comparative study of international intellectual property systems; international treaty arrangements for copyrights, patents, and trademarks: protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in foreign markets; policy analysis of globalized intellectual property system.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Selected Faculty
When offered: Spring semester
Description: The purpose of this course is to provide graduate students with an understanding of trends and issues for career professionals outside higher education. Topics include leadership, communication, team building and collaboration, ethics and professional standards, management strategies, and more.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Selected faculty
When offered: Fall semester
Description: This course is designed for students seeking industrial careers in the science and engineering fields. Personal evaluations, team projects, careers pathways and description and applications of widely used evaluation methods will be integrated in the practical aspects of the course.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Kevin Edgar
When offered: Spring semester
Framework and context in which international research is conducted. International aspects of intellectual property and copyright law, trade law, export control, research ethics, research funding, protection of human and animal subjects. Cultural dimensions of collaboration including work requirements, varying systems of higher education and research, and work-life expectations. Logistics for research abroad. Pre-requisite: Graduate Standing required.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Selected Faculty
When offered: Spring semester
Description:
Emerging interdisciplinary issues related to the chemistry, biology, and engineering of drinking water. Nutritional and aesthetic values of water and its role in controlling disease and promoting good health. Methods of converting poor quality water to drinking water standards; subsequent changes in chemical, biological, nutritional, and palatability characteristics; implications for food preparation, processing, and safety and other consumer uses of water. Comparison of tap and bottled water. Influences on consumer choices of beverages.
Credits: 1
Instructor: Selected Faculty
When offered: Fall and spring semesters
Description: Two 7-week laboratory rotations will be undertaken to help students learn about diverse research areas in the field of Molecular Plant Sciences and become familiar with the application of contemporary technologies to answer fundamental questions in areas such as plant-pathogen interactions, plant metabolic engineering, and plant growth and development. Rotation mentors will be selected from among the participating faculty of the Molecular Plant Sciences program. Enrollment is limited to students with graduate standing in the Molecular Plant Sciences program.
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Aimee Surprenant
When offered: Summer
This course provides Virginia Tech graduate students with an opportunity to explore trends and issues of global higher education, faculty roles and responsibilities in higher education from a global perspective, organization and structure of higher education, student demographics, academic programs, and more. Participants attend seminars and visit selected partner universities in Europe.
Credits: 3
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