Roanoke College - Virginia Tech Collaborative Partnership

Master of Engineering (MEng) in Computer SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS (CSA)

The Virginia Tech College of Engineering is partnering with Roanoke College to help position students for mid-level and advanced positions in industries related to computing technology. By establishing an accelerated pathway of foundational courses at partner universities, currently enrolled students can be prepared for early admission to Virginia Tech’s MEng degree in computer science and computer engineering as early as spring of their junior year.  Once accepted these students during their fourth year can begin taking up to 12 credits of courses from an approved set of courses that can be applied beyond the 120 required credit hours required for Roanoke College undergraduate degree towards their MEng degree.

By outlining a clear pathway and course equivalencies, both the engineering and liberal arts student are able to participate in Virginia’s Tech Talent Pipeline.  Many students will find that they can complete their MEng degree in just one extra year. 

How to apply

The accelerated undergraduate/graduate program application is based on your intended graduation date.

The deadline for applications is May 1st each spring semester and December 1st each fall semester.
Students should apply in the semester one year before they will complete the BS. For example, a student intending to graduate from the BS program in May 2024 should apply in the semester ending in May 2023. If accepted into the program, this will allow participation in double-counted courses for the final two semesters of your undergraduate degree.

If you are unable to apply one year before completing your BS, you can still apply during your final year, in your second-to-final semester. If you apply at that time and are accepted, you will only be able to double-count courses taken in your final undergraduate semester, but are still permitted the same maximum of 12 credits of double-counted courses.

Third-year Roanoke College students can apply to the MEng in computer science and applications or computer engineering in their second semester. They can also apply for a fee waiver and are not required to submit GRE scores.

• Students must complete one of the approved Pathways below:
  

Pathways

Pathway for Roanoke College engineering science major students to the RC/VT Accelerated UG/G CSA Meng

Roanoke College engineering science undergraduate majors naturally meet the basic course requirements to apply for the RC/VT Accelerated UG/G CSA MEng or CPE Meng and undertake the process detailed above to apply for admission into the program.

Pathway for Roanoke College non-computer science major students to the RC/VT Accelerated UG/G CSA Meng or CPE Meng

Roanoke College non-computer science majors may also be eligible to apply in their junior year and be accepted into the RC/VT Accelerated UG/G CSA MEng or CPE MEng program by completing a set of introductory computer science courses. To be successful for admission, Roanoke College and Virginia Tech recommend that Roanoke College non-computer science major undergraduate students complete the following courses by the second semester of their junior year and maintain an overall minimum GPA of 3.3. These course pathways include the following scenarios:

For questions or more information regarding the agreement, contact techtalent@vt.edu.

AS SOON AS YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION PLEASE READ AND DO THE FOLLOWING:

You should immediately complete and submit the Collaborative UG/G Degree and Course Designation Form. You will indicate on this form the courses that you intend to take during the Collaborative UG/G period. This form will be reviewed and signed by the Virginia Tech graduate program director and an appropriate authority at Roanoke College. The signed Collaborative UG/G Status and Course Designation form will be sent to the Virginia Tech Graduate School for processing. This completed form and the computer science and applications department admission recommendation with review from an appropriate authority at Roanoke College are required before an admission decision can be finalized by the Virginia Tech Graduate School.

Once accepted, the student should take up to 12 credit hours of graduate coursework during the last academic year (senior status equivalent) and earn a “B” from the following list of eligible courses for transfer to the MEng program. Note that a maximum of 6 credit hours can be taken at the 4XX level (excluding independent study and special topic courses. The Virginia Tech-approved courses for the MEng in computer science and applications are noted below.   

RC CPSC 4XX Eligible for Transfer to the RC/VT Accelerated UG/G CSA MEng Degree

Roanoke College undergraduate students accepted to the Virginia Tech computer science and applications graduate program and approved for the Accelerated UG/G Masters of Engineering may take up to 12 credits of Roanoke College graduate courses designated below during their senior year.

For questions or more information regarding what courses to take at Roanoke College to be prepared for admission into the Virginia Tech MEng degree program, please contact Roanoke College computer science graduate program director and department head, Dr. Anil Shende, at shende@roanoke.edu.

To learn more about the MEng computer science and applications program, click here.