Sweet Briar College and Virginia Tech have established a partnership to facilitate the transition of select students into graduate school.
The Direct to Tech (D2T) initiative will allow eligible Sweet Briar students to receive early admission offers to Virginia Tech’s Master of Engineering programs in computer science or computer engineering. This streamlined process aims to expedite the transition to graduate studies by reducing the traditional admissions timeline. The program, as outlined in a press release from Sweet Briar, targets students seeking to pursue advanced degrees at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech offers Master of Engineering programs in Northern Virginia, where the university is expanding its student capacity in preparation for the launch of the graduate-centered Innovation Campus in Alexandria in spring 2025, as well as in Blacksburg.
Under the D2T program, current Sweet Briar students, regardless of their major field of study, including non-engineering disciplines, can apply during their senior year. To qualify for admission, students must successfully complete specified prerequisite courses by the second semester of their junior year and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, as per the official announcement.
Prospective applicants will be required to submit their applications online along with official transcripts. Importantly, they will not incur any application fees or need to provide GRE scores during the application process.
Julie Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen dean of engineering at Virginia Tech, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, emphasizing its role in creating pathways for women to pursue graduate education in fields where they are traditionally underrepresented.
Sweet Briar President Mary Pope M. Hutson highlighted the institution’s commitment to empowering women through its acclaimed engineering program and leadership core curriculum. She emphasized the significance of the Direct to Tech program in expanding opportunities for female students to assume leadership roles in critical technological fields like computer engineering and computer science.
The partnership between Sweet Briar and Virginia Tech was established with the active involvement of faculty members from both institutions. These faculty members collaborated on reviewing the learning outcomes of degree programs to ensure alignment with the program’s objectives. Furthermore, they will conduct annual reviews to make any necessary adjustments to course offerings to keep them current and relevant, as stated in the press release.
The partnership agreement is effective immediately and is set to run for an initial five-year term, with automatic renewal for subsequent five-year periods, according to the official announcement.