Frequently Asked Questions

Governor’s School for Agriculture is an academically rigorous, summer residential educational program for future scientists and leaders of Virginia, the United States, and the world. GSA students interact with and learn directly from internationally known teachers, scientists, and researchers from Virginia Tech, a leading research university. Students attending the Virginia Summer Residential Governor's School for Agriculture at Virginia Tech will be selected from the most able rising juniors and seniors from the Commonwealth's public, private, and home schools.

The Governor’s School for Agriculture is a summer residential educational program that is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and operated by the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education at Virginia Tech. The 2024 session will be the 23rd year that GSA has been held at Virginia Tech. The GSA instructors are faculty members and graduate students from Virginia Tech and the Virginia‐Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. These faculty members and graduate students are selected for their participation in the program based on their research and academic specialty, as well as a history of positive teaching evaluations.

The dates for the 2024 session are June 23, 2024 - July 20, 2024.

The Governor’s School curriculum is designed to develop a greater knowledge of the broad nature of agriculture and natural resource systems on a global level. Students will experience instruction and activities that provide exposure and insight into the real‐world challenges involved in the feeding, clothing, and housing of the world’s population of over 8 billion people.

Students will be involved in a series of courses, career awareness activities, seminars, extracurricular activities, and a group project called Global Seminar. The courses consist of foundational classes, elective classes, and courses in a major assigned to each student. Courses include both classroom instruction and experiential activities that take place in the lab and in the field.

In addition to academic activities, GSA provides participants time to socialize and spend time in non-academic settings. GSA staff often facilitate a variety of activities and clubs each week according to the needs and interests of participants. Past staff-led activities have included trips to the Blacksburg Farmers Market, movie nights, 4th of July fireworks, sporting events and tournaments, walking to off-campus restaurants and shops, and nightly clubs.

Students in the past have also participated in drive-in movies, blueberry picking, bowling, and hiking to Cascades Falls. To wrap up GSA each student visits Claytor Lake and has the opportunity to swim and participate in other activities.

In one simple word: busy! The day generally begins with class at 9:00am with a variety of activities scheduled until 5:00pm. Often, GSA staff plan evening activities that might include cooking classes, college prep seminars, sporting events, meditation and yoga, nature walks, game nights, or movie nights. Of course this will vary based on the finalized courses and activities. We also plan non-academic activities and outings during the weekend, along with some downtime for students to explore campus and build friendships. Regardless of how busy the day is, the schedule is always built around making sure that students have the opportunity to eat in the dining facilities. 

Yes. GSA participants will be required, and have optional opportunities, to be outside. The outdoor conditions will vary depending on the activities in which the students are participating. In past years students have visited farms, forests, outdoor research centers, exploring streams and waterways, among many other activities. Some of these outdoor activities include being around or handling farm animals. We encourage all participants to be prepared to be outdoors in a variety of weather conditions. GSA staff inform participants of the requirements for activities and regularly remind students to wear sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, use insect repellent, and drink water during outdoor activities.

Ensuring the safety of all GSA participants is important to Virginia Tech and the Governor’s School for Agriculture. Here are a few ways that we promote and ensure the safety of all participants:

• The campus of Virginia Tech is very safe. Virginia Tech police have general responsibility for dormitory security and make routine, unscheduled visits around and throughout the public portion of all dorms. 

• All students, GSA staff, instructors, and other camp participants commit to abiding by the Virginia Tech Principles of Community. Violations of these principles by anyone are reported to the university and taken seriously with appropriate consequences quickly implemented.

• The Virginia Tech Office of Youth Protection works closely with GSA to make sure that all programming and staff are prepared to work with the GSA participants. All GSA staff members are CPR/first aid certified, Revive/narcan certified, are required to pass background checks and diving checks, and each staff member is a mandatory reporter.

• Participants will have access to the local urgent care clinics or other medical facilities if there is a medical emergency. In the event that a participant isn’t feeling well and needs to visit an urgent care clinic for non-emergency medical care, participants will need to communicate with parents/guardians before receiving any medical care. GSA staff will transport participants to receive medical care as needs arise.

• Any concerns that are reported to GSA staff are taken seriously and promptly addressed to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all participants.

The residence halls used for GSA are air‐conditioned, suite‐style dormitories, with either two or three rooms sharing a common living room and bathroom. Each suite living room is furnished with a coffee table, sofa, side chair, and rocker. In addition, the residence halls feature study lounges and a kitchen. Each room in the suite houses two students of the same gender. Females and males will live in the same residence hall; however, they will be placed in separate areas of the building and supervised by GSA staff. Information regarding the specific residence hall will be provided at a later date.

During the duration of GSA participants will eat the majority of their meals at D2, the large cafeteria-style dining hall located near the residence halls. Virginia Tech Dining Services is nationally ranked and consistently in the top 5 for Best College Food in America. With this, Virginia Tech Dining Services takes into careful consideration the dietary needs and restrictions of their students. Parents and potential participants can access the D2 Menu and explore the allergen/ingredient filter to explore how dietary accommodations are met while on campus. Keep in mind that the summer menu will be considerably different than the current menu, with options potentially being limited. 

GSA participants will have the opportunity to visit local shopping centers such as Walmart, Kroger, Target, CVS, etc. during a scheduled time each week. Specific parameters and guidelines for these visits will be established once participants are on campus. We encourage participants to carefully review the suggested packing list prior to the start of the program and thoughtfully consider what they might need for the duration of the program.

In addition to these weekly shopping trips, GSA staff (at their discretion) may volunteer to take students to restaurants or local shops in Blacksburg during the week or on weekends. Students may also wish to have items delivered from Walmart, Kroger, CVS, or food through services such as DoorDash and GrubHub. Restrictions on deliveries will be communicated at the beginning of the program.

In order to receive a certification of completion from the Governor’s School for Agriculture (GSA) at Virginia Tech, students must be in residence from the first day of the school through the closing ceremony. Participants are expected to attend all activities set forth by the GSA at Virginia Tech. These activities include but are not limited to scheduled classes, meetings, and field trips. Participants are not allowed to leave the GSA unless special permission is obtained from the GSA On‐site Director and GSA Director. Special permission is granted in cases of emergency only. These guidelines are in place to ensure the participants are safe and receive the maximum number of benefits that the school has to offer. 

We ask potential participants to thoughtfully and thoroughly consider family vacations, sports camps, and other recreational and academic activities that might conflict with their time at GSA prior to applying, and accepting, a place in GSA.

Although we appreciate the support that parents, guardians, family, and friends provide, absolutely no visitors are allowed for the duration of the program - the only exception to this is for emergency situations. This rule is in place to help the school to achieve a cohesive, self‐contained environment in which students can study and come to know one another with minimum external distractions. If it comes to our attention that students receive unauthorized visitors (parents, guardians, family, or friends), they will be asked to leave GSA. 

We do ask that parents and guardians keep in contact with their child while they are at GSA. Students will have access to their personal cell phone outside of scheduled activities. We encourage parents, guardians, family, and friends to send mail and packages (a mailing/shipping address will be provided at a later date). Keeping in touch and expressing interest in what is happening at GSA is an important part of helping each participant overcome any feelings of homesickness and to have a positive experience.

A wide range of recreational facilities are available on the Virginia Tech campus. Some of these facilities are free while others have an entrance fee that is not covered by the GSA. Some of these facilities also have an age requirement. Facilities accessible to participants may include Squires Student Center BreakZone, sports courts, music rooms, and fishing. However, GSA cannot guarantee that facilities will be in operation for the duration of the program. Students who wish to participate in recreational activities must bring their own equipment and students are solely responsible for safely storing such equipment. There are no equipment rental options available.

Please note, GSA participants DO NOT have access to other recreational facilities including War Memorial Gym, McComas Gym, or Rec Sports Field House - this includes any equipment, programs, or services housed in these facilities. Additionally, no students participating in GSA will be permitted to meet with, alone or otherwise, student athletes, coaching staff, mentors, or others connected with Virginia Tech athletics. No exceptions will be granted.

The application process for the Governor’s School for Agriculture is entirely overseen by the Virginia Department of Education. You may access their webpage by clicking HERE. 

Each prospective participant is strongly encouraged to reach out to their school counselor or school/county gifted and talented coordinator to get additional information about the application process. Each school/county has different timelines for application submission and all applications must be submitted to the Virginia Department of Education via the prospective participant’s school or county. The deadline for application submission to the Virginia Department of Education regardless of school or county is February 25, 2024.

At this time Virginia Tech, the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, and the Governor’s School of Agriculture have no role in the application submission and review, or participant selection process. All questions about the application submission process can be directed to school counselors and school/county gifted and talented coordinators.