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ABOUT VT HONORS

The Honors College seeks to inspire and facilitate an extraordinary undergraduate education for a diverse student body of exceptional motivation. Utilizing a flexible curricular framework with a strategic array of experiences, opportunities, and facilities, the College pioneers progressive, innovative approaches to undergraduate education that can be scaled up across the university.

COLLABORATION • DISCOVERY • INNOVATION

Students at the 2023 CHDP expo talk with a stakeholder.

Our distinctive approach to education fosters transdisciplinary innovation, bringing together students and faculty from various disciplines to address complex real-world problems. VT Honors College students gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of different fields, harness the power of collective disciplinary differences, and develop the skills needed to address the most pressing challenges of our time.

A CHDP student works on a project in the Hillcrest studio.

We prioritize experiential learning, providing students with opportunities to apply what they have learned in practical, real-world settings. Through our immersive courses and studios, students work alongside nonprofit, industry, university, and community partners to explore and respond to complex issues, whether conducting quantitative and qualitative research or engaging in hands-on projects.

SuperStudio presentations in the HCS.

In the VT Honors College, we value the collective process of discovery, where students and faculty engage in collaborative inquiry to push the boundaries of knowledge. Through critical questioning, thoughtful discussion, and the development of well-informed perspectives, students contribute to a rich network of ideas and illuminate new avenues of exploration. By embracing diverse viewpoints on complex problems, Honors students generate critical solutions and make significant contributions as 21st century workers and citizens.

MEET OUR TEAM

Whether teaching Honors College classes, mentoring students, or handling the behind-the-scenes
administration of the college, we work each day to facilitate an extraordinary undergraduate education
for Honors students at Virginia Tech.

OUR PROGRAMS

All Virginia Tech Honors College students work toward the completion of the Honors Laureate Diploma (HLD), which is the certification earned by completing Honors academic requirements. By completing the HLD, you will have engaged in a variety of unique and transformational learning opportunities that emphasize collaborative discovery and experiential learning. HLD requirements are highly flexible and allow students to customize their Honors experience.

The Honors Minor in Collaborative Discovery is an optional minor that offers a curated approach to your Honors education. Pursuing the Honors Minor in Collaborative Discovery will help you stand out from the crowd and prepare you for “what’s next” in settings both beyond the classroom and after graduation. By completing the Honors Minor, you will automatically also complete the Honors Laureate Diploma, adding considerable value beyond your disciplinary education.

Current Calhoun Honors Discovery Program students are working toward the Honors Collaborative Discovery Diploma. The Calhoun Honors Discovery Program is no longer accepting new students.


LEARN MORE ABOUT US

Ready to learn more about the Honors College?
Here are some quick links to some information that you may be interested in.

Land Acknowledgement and Labor Recognition

Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland, and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands in California and other areas in the West.
Virginia Tech acknowledges that its Blacksburg campus sits partly on land that was previously the site of the Smithfield and Solitude Plantations, owned by members of the Preston family. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, the Prestons and other local White families that owned parcels of what became Virginia Tech also owned hundreds of enslaved people. Enslaved Black people generated resources that financed Virginia Tech’s predecessor institution, the Preston and Olin Institute, and they also worked on the construction of its building.
The exterior of Hillcrest Hall in the spring
Hillcrest Hall at Virginia Tech.

OUR LOCATION

Hillcrest Hall
385 W Campus Dr
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Main office: Suite 122

CONTACT US

Email us at honors@vt.edu or call 540-231-4591. To reach someone specific, visit our Contact page for further information.