Why AAD?

You find your calling. We give you the tools.

We’re not just a top-ranked college nestled in a picturesque mountain town in Southwest Virginia. We’re your stepping stone to an impactful life as a maker, an artist, a designer, a performer, a doer.

Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Design is where you come to figure out how your unique vision can build resilient, thriving communities – and design spaces and places that allow people to live better lives. And we give you the know-how to make it happen.

OUR FOCUS

Students and Dean Liu in the costume shop

Experiential

Learning Beyond Textbooks

Much of the learning takes place outside of a traditional classroom. Expect field trips to visit project sites with faculty, campus sketch walks, and opportunities to work out of our labs or studios. You’ll round out the comprehensive instruction you receive from our 200 faculty members through learning by making and doing.

Student building a structure to scale outside

Interdisciplinary

Preparing Well-Rounded Students

In addition to a depth of focused disciplinary work, our central position at the university ensures you’ll gain cross-disciplinary exposure — equipping you to collaborate with others on diverse, interdisciplinary teams and solve complex, evolving, real-world problems. Students in our college have built the house of the future alongside engineers, business students, and industry partners, have studied creative technology to design innovative sculptures, and have taken part in projects, clubs, and competitions alongside students of all majors throughout Virginia Tech.

International

Solve Global Challenges

In our increasingly connected world, developing global literacy is crucial for solving humanity’s most pressing problems. That’s why in AAD, we offer a number of international experiences, including studying abroad at Virginia Tech’s Switzerland campus, faculty-led programs, exchange programs with partner institutions, and direct enrollment opportunities.