Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 329 Virginia St, Side, Blacksburg, VA 24060, US

Located in Blacksburg, Va., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly known as Virginia Tech, is a comprehensive university of national and international prominence. Since its beginning in October 1872, it has become one of Virginia s largest universities, and one of the top 50 research institutes in the nation. Virginia Polytechnic Institutes contains eight colleges: Agriculture & Life Sciences, Architecture & Urban Studies, Pamplin College of Business, Engineering, Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, Natural Resources, Science, and Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Graduate School. The university offers 60 bachelor degree programs and 110 master s and doctoral degree programs. The university's faculty and students are involved in more than 3,700 research projects in fields that include biotechnology, materials, energy, food and health, transportation and computing information. Virginia Tech consistently ranks among the top 15 schools in the nation in number of patents received.