New Horizon Graduate Scholars (NHGS)

Bringing students, faculty, and key administrators together

By focusing on the university’s plan for the New Horizon – creativity, collaboration and innovation across disciplines – this community honors the contribution that diversity, broadly defined, brings to discovery.  The New Horizon Graduate Scholars program (NHGS), administered from the College of Engineering Dean’s Office, supports and enhances diversity among our graduate student population. The NHGS community is a collaborative research network of ambitious Engineering graduate students who are nominated by their departments. This community is provided with resources and opportunities that can strengthen one’s academic career while at Virginia Tech as well as preparing one for a successful future. 

Advantages of being a New Horizon Graduate Scholar:

• Monthly Professional Development workshops, covering topics such as “Preparing the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal,” “Utilizing the CoE Research Librarian,” and “Looking Towards the Future: The Job Search”
• Lunches and dinners with invited guest speakers from industry and academia
• Opportunities to participate in critical reading groups as well as writing groups
• Social activities 

Expectations of New Horizon Graduate Scholars:

• Participation with the NHGS Peer Mentor program during the first semester
• Active participation in at least one area of opportunities, including professional development sessions, reading or writing groups and social opportunities
• Completion of a yearly evaluation with your Faculty Advisor
• Submission of a research proposal to the VT Graduate School Association Research Symposium by the second year of coursework, and every year subsequent that funding is provided
• Maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0, or successfully obtain a Waiver of this requirement

Brochure

Potential candidates from outside of Virginia Tech must be nominated by Virginia Tech faculty advisors or departments, and candidates must have applied to the Graduate School through its standard online application here.

Become a Peer Mentor
Current New Horizon Graduate Scholars, would you like to assist incoming first-year graduate students with their transition to Virginia Tech?  New Horizon Graduate Scholars Peer Mentoring information here.

For more information about NHGS, please contact Dr. Kaiya Jennings at kaiyaj@vt.edu