Undergraduate Program

Program Options

We offer a deliberately structured program with three academic options to give students maximum flexibility while ensuring they are prepared for whatever career they choose to pursue:
 

Dairy Enterprise Management Option

Gain knowledge and training in dairy farm business management to optimize dairy cattle performance and well-being, utilize electronic data, manage farm finances and land resources and implement environmental planning.
 

Dual Emphasis Option

Combine your interest in dairy science with another companion major that allows you to diversity and gain additional knowledge in such areas as agribusiness, agricultural education, communications, and livestock management.
 

Biotechnology and Pre-Vet Option

Prepare for advanced training for careers in animal research or veterinary medicine to improve animal and human nutrition, genetics, and biosecurity.
 

Entrance Requirements | High School Preparation

Before being admitted as a freshman to Virginia Tech, you must have graduated from an accredited high school or private preparatory school with a minimum of 18 units. Fourteen of the eighteen required units must be academic or college preparatory units. The following are considered minimum for any curriculum with at least a grade of C in all academic courses:

Foreign Language Requirement

All undergraduates must meet a language study requirement in one of the following ways:

1. successfully completing two (2) units of a single foreign language during high school, or
2. earning six (6) credit hours of a single college level foreign or classical language before graduation, such credits being in addition to the number normally required for graduation, or
3. receiving credit by exam for a foreign or classical language.

Freshman Application

Consideration for admission is based on high school grades and class standing as well as SAT scores. Freshmen applicants are required to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and achievement tests in English and mathematics of the College Entrance Examination Board.

If you are planning to enter fall semester, you must apply before January 15th of your senior year in high school. Students must apply at the following address:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Virginia Tech
925 Prices Fork Road
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Students are encouraged to apply online at the following address: http://www.admiss.vt.edu

Each year the competition for admission increases, thus raising the admission standards. If you are interested in attending Virginia Tech in dairy science, we recommend that you work at getting good high school grades and that you and your parents visit with us. We can discuss your high school records and point out any deficiencies that may exist which, if corrected, could increase your chances of gaining admission to Virginia Tech.

The Dairy Science Department has no voice in deciding who is admitted. If you are not accepted for admission into the freshman class, do not give up. Instead, apply for admission to a community college, junior college, or another accredited four-year college in your area. The Virginia Tech Admissions Office is very willing to accept transfer students if they have performed well at another college or university and have completed two semesters of Biology, Chemistry, English and Math courses.

Transfer Application

Transfer students must apply at least 60 days before the beginning of the semester for which the student wishes to enroll. Therefore, students should submit applications by March 1st for fall admission and by October 1st for spring admission. Students in accredited colleges or universities who wish to transfer to Virginia Tech should request application forms from the Dairy Science Department or the University Admissions Office.
 

To be accepted at Virginia Tech, you must have a minimum previous college average of better than "C" quality (preferably at least a 3.0 grade point average) and be in good standing with all colleges and universities previously attended. Grades of "C-"or below from another college are not acceptable for transfer credit.
 

Students planning to major in dairy science at Virginia Tech can usually transfer 1 to 2 years of credit from any accredited junior college, college, or university. Transfer students from junior, community colleges or two-year technical programs, however, must complete one-half (60 credits) of their graduation requirements at Virginia Tech. Students should select their courses from the following list.

 Required Courses at Virginia Tech
 

In addition to the specifically required courses, other courses not specified are acceptable as elective credit. Highly recommended are microbiology, computer science, communications (writing and/or speech), statistics, business or finance, and accounting.