The guide for enrolled transfer students contains advice on requirements and deadlines which are critical to completing your degree on time.
All students need to complete degree requirements in order to graduate. Transfer students must pay particular attention to these requirements as time is of the essence, such as:
The number of full-time semesters you are allotted will be noted on the advising sheet you receive. Permission to enroll for an additional full-time semester is not automatic. Summer session is not counted in your allotted full-time semesters.
Degree requirements: The College has a series of competency and area requirements that all students must fulfill.
You will have some or all of these requirements filled with courses from your previous institution. Check your VISTAA form to determine requirements you have completed or still need to take.
Make a list of those requirements you have not completed and keep them in mind as you browse through the COD (Course Offering Directory) to select classes.
If you have not finished the first-writing and foreign language requirements, be sure to take an ENWR class (usually ENWR 210) and foreign language class.
If you wish to submit a portfolio for review, see University of Virginia Writing Program: Placement to learn what the deadlines are for submission. Reviews are conducted only twice a year. If you miss a deadline, you may have to wait several months for another opportunity for review.
Declare a major when you complete four semesters of work in order to remain in good academic standing.
To defer declaring a major until the end of their fifth semester, they must obtain written permission by September 30 from Mr. Papovich. No student may enroll for a sixth semester without a major.
If you are certain about the major you plan to declare, be sure you have the proper prerequisites. If you are not sure of your field of concentration, continue to explore different areas of potential interest. You will have ample opportunity to discuss your plans with your faculty advisor during fall orientation.
Declare a major during Summer OR Fall Orientation. At that time, you will be assigned an advisor in your major. Third-year students must declare a major or defer by September 30 to avoid access to SIS being blocked and loss of course enrollment priority for the spring term. Please note that marking an intended major on your admission application does not constitute declaring a major.
Select two required courses to take this fall to fulfill necessary prerequisites for your major.
During fall orientation, if your faculty advisor suggests courses other than those you have chosen during summer orientation, you may revise your course schedule through the first two weeks of the semester.
See Dean Papovich if you are a third-year student and are unable to declare your major within the first two weeks of the fall semester.
Course selection is a critical part of fulfilling your degree and major requirements and is a process at the beginning of each semester. Refer to the course selection webpage as it includes the steps required to successfully sign up for courses:
If you attend Summer Orientation, you will select courses while you are here. Students who are unable to attend Summer Orientation may access SIS (Student Information System) on July 31st, the day before it re-opens to all students. When selecting your courses for this fall semester only, you will not need an advisor access number.
You will have time to adjust your schedule between August 1 and the end of the ADD deadline on September 12.
Be sure not to repeat a course for which you already received transfer credit. Repeat courses will not count toward graduation credits and will not count toward your grade point average.
Don’t try to take on too much during your first semester here. Most transfer students find their first semester at UVA requires significant adjustments.
In order to graduate on schedule, you must carry an average of 15 credit-hours for each of your semesters here unless you enter with more than 30 credit-hours as a second-year transfer OR enroll in summer school to earn additional credits
If you think you will need an extra full-time semester, you should meet with Mr. Papovich early in the fall. You must always carry at least 12 credits, and, if you attempt more than 17 (recommended only in rare cases and never in the first semester), you must have special permission from Mr. Papovich.
You may take up to 18 credit-hours of "non-College" courses. Such courses are noted on your VISTAA evaluation. If you take more than 120 credits for the degree, correspondingly more may be taken outside the College.