Health and Wellness
Supporting student wellness is a priority. A consolidated website provides direct links the many different health and wellness resources at Virginia Tech. Below you'll find some highlights all graduate students should be aware of.
Insurance (Student Medical)
The Graduate School encourages you to purchase medical insurance for yourself and your family. International students in F-1 or J-1 status are required to purchase insurance for themselves and any accompanying dependents for the duration of their stay.
University-Sponsored Insurance Program
If you are a full-time graduate student, you have the option to enroll in the university-sponsored insurance program through Aetna. The university-sponsored program is managed by the Student Medical Insurance Office. This office can provide detailed information about the insurance plan, coverage costs, effective dates, and other relevant information. You may purchase the university health care plan online or in person at the Student Medical Insurance Office.
Graduate Assistant Insurance Benefit
With a graduate assistantship of at least 10 hours per week (50%), you are eligible for a subsidy on the premium of the university-sponsored plan. Please visit the Graduate School's health insurance benefits.
Student Health Services
The Schiffert Health Center provides student medical services that are equivalent to those provided by a general family physician. These services are included in the cost of your comprehensive fees. The center also manages immunization and health-history requirements for students enrolled at the Blacksburg campus.
Counseling Services
The Cook Counseling Center provides individual, group, and couples counseling, assessment, consultation, and campus outreach services to currently enrolled students. These services are included in the cost of your comprehensive fees.
Students have free, 24/7 access to virtual care services with TimelyCare – the virtual health and well-being platform from TimelyMD, designed for college students. With TimelyCare, students have access to:
- unlimited on-demand mental health support 24/7, available to all Virginia Tech students, through TalkNow,
- unlimited access to health coaching, available to all Virginia Tech students,
- and scheduled counseling sessions, limited to 12 sessions per academic year, available to all Virginia Tech students throughout the United States.
Register for TimelyCare online or download the app. It only takes a few minutes to register. Visit the Cook Counseling Center TimelyCare webpage to learn more.
Fitness Facilities
The Graduate School encourages you to take advantage of the two fitness facilities available to students on campus, McComas Hall and War Memorial Hall. You can learn more about these facilities, their hours, and their policies at the Recreational Sports webpage. Students' dependents may use the facilities at War Memorial Hall.
Recreational Sports
Virginia Tech provides a wealth of activities to help you stay active and fit. Recreational Sports offers non-credit instruction, fitness activities, wellness education and assessment, intramural sports, and extramural sports competition for students, faculty, staff, and their families. Check out all of the offerings provided by Recreational Sports.