Welcome to SPIA at Virginia Tech

The School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), one of four schools in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies (CAUS), is comprised of three dynamic academic programs: Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP), Government and International Affairs (GIA), and Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP). Each program consists of a robust cohort of faculty and researchers, led by a program chair who oversees the degree offerings across our three Virginia locations, Blacksburg, Alexandria, and Richmond. Many SPIA courses take advantage of distance learning technologies in order to make classes available in multiple locations. Many of the graduate degree programs, especially in the National Capital Region, are designed to accommodate the busy schedule of the working professional.

It is the obligation of SPIA, in keeping with the public land-grant mission, to model the practice of good governance that we expect of government more generally, to offer insight and support for the most pressing policy questions of our time, and to be a voice for public service and the importance of research and knowledge in the policy-making process.

Message from the Director

Welcome to Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. We are a vibrant community of scholars, students and professional practitioners working together in support of outstanding scholarship and fostering the skills and knowledge needed to engage and lead on the pressing problems of our time.

Our faculty represent multiple disciplines, and bring distinctive expertise to the challenges of government administration, peacekeeping, policy, leadership, planning, sustainability, and developing and maintaining civil society, among others.  We share a common commitment to understanding the deep complexities of public problems and identifying the collaborative and interdisciplinary skills and knowledge required to effectively engage these problems. SPIA faculty lead a number of dynamic centers that enrich and extend the impact of research and foster collaborative engagement of public problems:  The Metropolitan Institute, the Institute for Policy and Governance, and the Virginia Center for Housing Research.

Potential students visiting our site can learn about the undergraduate programs in public and urban affairs, and environmental planning and policy, and the graduate programs in public administration and policy, government and international affairs, and urban affairs and planning  You will also learn about the research and teaching interests of our faculty, and the interests and accomplishments of our students and alumni.  Potential research partners and peer institutions visiting our site can learn about the breadth and quality of faculty research and successful partnerships.  And alumni and friends can learn more about our plans for the continued development and advancement of the SPIA mission to explore, prepare, engage and lead through scholarship and practice.

Anne Khademian,
Director