Courses Offered by the Graduate School

Toward the goal of transforming graduate education at Virginia Tech, the Graduate School has created a series of graduate courses and experiences designed to better prepare and equip our graduate students with knowledge and skills for meaningful and relevant contributions as citizens in the 21st century. In addition, some typical graduate courses are offered.

Complete listing of courses offered by the Graduate School:

• GRAD 5004  GTA Workshop (1 credit hour)
• GRAD 5104  Preparing the Future Professoriate (3)
• GRAD 5114  Contemporary Pedagogy (3)
• GRAD 5124  Library Research Skills (3)
• GRAD 5134  Interdisciplinary Research in Science & Engineering (3)
• GRAD 5204  Citizen Scholar Seminar (3)
• GRAD 5304  Preparing the Future Career Professional (3)
• GRAD 5314  Future Industrial Professional in Science & Engineering (3) 
• GRAD 5516  Molecular Plant Science Laboratory Rotation (3)  
• GRAD 5954  Study Abroad - PFP: Global Perspectives (3)
• GRAD 5964  Field Study (v)
• GRAD 5974  Independent Study
• GRAD 5984  Special Study: Diversity and Inclusion for a Global Society
• GRAD 5xxx  Ethics and global impact of emerging technologies (3) (in process)      
• Oral Communication for International Graduate Teaching Assistants (ESL II)  

For the timetable of classes and availability of courses in a particular semester, please refer to the Registrar's website.

GRAD 5004   GTA Training Workshop          Fall semester only
Instructor: Dr. Anne McNabb
This course provides an overview of the role and responsibilities of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA's) at Virginia Tech. Experienced faculty and GTA's provide informational sessions on topics suchs 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. Pass/Fail only.

GRAD 5104   Preparing the Future Professoriate          Fall and spring semesters    
Instructor: Dr. Karen P. DePauw
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.

GRAD 5114   Contemporary Pedagogy         Fall and spring semesters
Instructor: Dr. Shelli Fowler
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.

GRAD 5124  Library Research Skills Graduate Study      Fall and spring semesters
Instructor: Library Faculty
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. On-line course.

GRAD 5134  Interdisciplinary Research in Science & Engineering       Fall and spring semesters
Instructors:  Selected faculty
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.   

GRAD 5204   Citizen Scholar Seminar          Spring semester only
Instructor:  Dr. Karen P. DePauw
This course is focused on understanding the value of being a citizen-scholar, elucidating the connection between scholarship & citizenship in contemporary global society, and encouraging engagement in “public scholarship” – scholarship in service to the community, the state, the nation and the world.

GRAD 5304  Career Development-Future Professional          Spring semester only
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.

GRAD 5314  Future Industrial Professional in Science & Engineering         Fall semester only
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.

GRAD 5516 Laboratory Rotation in Molecular Plant Sciences
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.

GRAD 5954  Study Abroad - PFP: Global Perspectives          Summer I
Instructor: Dr. Karen P. DePauw
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 will attend seminars and visit selected partner universities in Europe.  Graduate study abroad opportunities are also available beyond the PFP Global Perspectives.

GRAD 5984: Special Study: Diversity and Inclusion for a Global Society          Fall 2009
Instructor: Dr. MA Perez-Quinones
The course provides students with a broader perspective and the research around the topic of diversity and inclusion for a global society. Diversity is often equated with affirmative action and other points of view rooted in social justice. Yet, the research in diversity shows that it is not just a social justice point of view. Groups with more diversity perform better than other, less diverse groups. Companies with a diverse employee base tend to perform better financially. Overall, there are many strands of research that are discipline-specific that provide a strong case for why diversity matters. This course will explore diversity and inclusion from a multi- disciplinary perspective and examine popular misconceptions on the topic.

Oral Communication for International Graduate Teaching Assistants (ESL II) - ENGL 0014         Fall and spring semesters
Instructor: Dr. Donald McKeon
As a training course for international teaching assistants, this course consists of two main parts: (1) guidelines for teaching at the undergraduate level in the U.S., including (a) an orientation to classroom patterns and expectations and (b) an introduction to effective communication techniques in the class and laboratory; and (2) practice in presenting classroom material at the appropriate undergraduate level. In addition to giving short first-day segments of a course students will eventually teach, each student gives six 10-20 minute talks on material within the syllabus. Individual consultations with the instructor, including videotape playback, follow each presentation.