Doctoral Scholars
A note from the institute: Beginning the 2024-25 academic year, ICTAS will no longer be accepting applications for new doctoral scholars, as the institute is in the process of sunsetting the doctoral scholars program.
Support from the director for scholarship and research initiatives, Pamela VandeVord, and our administrative and business teams will continue for remaining scholars until they graduate from the program. We value your participation in the program and are committed to the success of the current students.
Please contact Dr. VandeVord (pvord@vt.edu) if you have questions or concerns.
About the Program
The doctoral scholars program helps attract top graduate students to Virginia Tech, strengthening the university’s research programs and increasing the diversity of educational, research, and experiential backgrounds represented on campus. This program offers faculty and departments in partnering colleges an opportunity to nominate exceptional Ph.D. applicants for a competitive four-year fellowship. The overall aim of the program is to support the advancement of the Virginia Tech academic, research, teaching, and service missions through inclusive excellence.
This collaborative program is led by ICTAS and jointly supported by significant contributions from the Graduate School, ICTAS, each scholar’s college, and the scholar’s department/advisor. The program is a targeted recruitment tool for use by faculty and departments in five Virginia Tech colleges for attracting top Ph.D. candidates from outside Virginia Tech. We strongly encourage nomination of students from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines.
Colleges represented include:
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- College of Engineering
- College of Natural Resources and Environment
- College of Science
- Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Since the Doctoral Scholars program was established in 2007, it has supported 136 doctoral candidates from programs within five Virginia Tech colleges. Past graduates have gone on to careers in academia and with employers including Apple, Inc., Weyerhaeuser, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of Alabama, among others.
Benefits
- Full graduate tuition support and some fees
- Competitive stipend and associated benefits for the period of Ph.D. pursuit, to a maximum of four years
- Partial travel support for professional development and external presentations
- Value-Added short workshops and events to support professional leadership success
- Community-building activities