New Students Guide

•  Create your Personal Identifier (PID). A PID will give you access to Virginia Tech online services such as:
• • HokieSPA (Course registration and student records management system)
  • Canvas (Course management and communication system)
  • OneCampus (The university's portal system)
  • University library databases
• Contact your academic department for information about advising, funding, class registration, and orientation requirements. Program advisors for each department are listed at the bottom of this page.
• Register for classes and pay tuition on Hokie SPA.
• Keep track of important academic deadlines (exams, commencement, thesis or dissertation).
• Login to OneCampus to setup your email, network, and 2-factor accounts.
• Order your textbooks from the Online Bookstore.
  

International Students please also see the Orientation & Arrival page.

More information for new students can be found on the Graduate School website.

The Hokie One Stop (2nd floor of ICAB1) handles the processing of Hokie Passports. Students have to be currently enrolled and in our database for us to make the ID. 

Please bring photo identification. We will take your photo and print the ID while you wait.

The Graduate School - D.C. metro area serves as a coordinating and governing body to all the Virginia Tech graduate programs and their students. Some of the services they provide include:

• Processing of all Graduate Student Forms
  
• Updates to your Student Record
• Student Advising Appointments

On-campus employment in the D.C. metro area is extremely limited. When we become aware of employment opportunities, they are posted in the D.C. Area Weekly newsletter or via Handshake.

Student employment on campus generally takes two forms:

• Graduate Assistantships (GA, GTA, GRA) provide students with a stipend for living expenses, tuition, and an insurance subsidy if eligibility requirements are met.  Students may be expected to teach, grade homework assignments/exams, assist faculty with research, or provide administrative support to academic programs. Assistantships can be full-time (20 hours per week) or part-time (typically 10 or 5 hours per week), and the amount of financial assistance varies widely. For more information about GAs, visit the Graduate School’s page on this topic.
• Wage employees receive hourly pay on a semi-monthly schedule from the university (based on the hours worked each week) but do not receive any additional benefits.

For international students, visa status affects the employment opportunities available. Please check with your immigration advisor for specific details. 

On-campus employment in the D.C. metro area is extremely limited. When we become aware of employment opportunities, they are posted in the D.C. Area Weekly newsletter or via Handshake.

Student employment on campus generally takes two forms:

• Graduate Assistantships (GA, GTA, GRA) provide students with a stipend for living expenses, tuition, and an insurance subsidy if eligibility requirements are met.  Students may be expected to teach, grade homework assignments/exams, assist faculty with research, or provide administrative support to academic programs. Assistantships can be full-time (20 hours per week) or part-time (typically 10 or 5 hours per week), and the amount of financial assistance varies widely. For more information about GAs, visit the Graduate School’s page on this topic.
• Wage employees receive hourly pay on a semi-monthly schedule from the university (based on the hours worked each week) but do not receive any additional benefits.

For international students, visa status affects the employment opportunities available. Please check with your immigration advisor for specific details. 

The greater Washington, D.C., area Graduate Student Assembly seeks to nurture graduate student community across departments by providing social events that foster inter-department, interdisciplinary conversation. The representatives liaise with the VT-GPSS (Graduate and Professional Student Senate) in Blacksburg to improve scholarly development and graduate community by creating and implementing goals based on the issues and concerns of graduate students across the university.