Transferring into UVA Engineering
Transfer students are an integral part of our undergraduate student community. As an UVA Engineering student, you’ll have access to wrap-around student support services designed to help you succeed on your academic journey and build a network to support your career success.
The UVA Engineering Student Experience
UVA Engineering is invested in each student’s success and wellbeing. We are committed to creating a community of care and support our students at every step of their academic journey.
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Experiential Learning
Experiential learning opportunities allow students to participate in hands-on design, build and competition teams that span multiple engineering disciplines and give them real-world experience in applying knowledge to solve problems.
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Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research opportunities allow students them gain not just technical knowledge, but also higher-level skills in communication, collaboration, analysis, problem-solving and ethical decision-making. Undergraduate researchers frequently get opportunities to travel to conferences and publish and present their work.
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Center for Engineering Career Development
The Center for Engineering Career Development prepares students to make smart, strategic career decisions throughout their professional lives through professional advising and counseling.
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The Center for Connection in Engineering (The Connect)
The Connect is UVA Engineering’s hub for student belonging, support, and community-focused programming. It is a warm, affirming environment that links students to resources, offers study space, and hosts student organizations and events.
Our Embedded Student Support Resources
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Care and Support Services
UVA’s Office of Care and Support Services has an embedded assistant dean of students in the Engineering School, specializing in supporting students in crisis and illness as well as connecting students with University resources.
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Counseling & Psychological Services
UVA Engineering hosts two counselors from UVA’s Counseling and Psychological Services team to support students with anxiety, depression, relationship and family concerns, healthy living and positive body image, multicultural issues, trauma and grief.
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Student Disability Access Center
UVA Engineering has an embedded accessibility specialist from the UVA Student Disability Access Center, which provides academic accommodations, support services, and advocacy throughout the UVA community.
Engineering Student Council Transfer Committee
The ESC Transfer Committee advocates for transfer students in the engineering school by organizing and hosting events centered around introducing transfer students to resources and tools to assign in their academic journeys, creating a community of shared experience, and actively working towards making the transition to life as a UVA engineering student smooth, enjoyable, and well supported.
Stories of Success
UVA Engineering’s rigorous academic programs, research and experiential learning opportunities, and comprehensive support services help ensure that our transfer students are prepared for modern engineering careers or graduate education.
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Liam Agnew (B.S., Mechanical Engineering)
Liam Agnew, a transfer from Piedmon Virginia Community College, majored in mechanical engineering and worked as an undergradute researrcher. He started his career at Luna Labs USA and now works as a data engineer at Elder Research.
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Anne Katherine Brooks, Ph.D. (B..S., Chemical Engineering)
Piedmont Virginia Community College transfer Anne Katherine Brooks started her research career as an undergraduate at UVA Engineering. She completed her Ph.D. at Virginia Commonwealth University and is now a senior scientist at AbbVie.
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Mary Katherine Lawrence (B.S., Civil Engineering)
Mary Katherine Lawrence transferred to UVA Engineering from Western Virginia Community College and worked as a senior field engineering at Whiting Turner before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a project engineer.
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Malcolm O’ Malley (B.S., Biomedical Engineering)
Malcolm O’ Malley transferred to UVA from Piedmont Virginia Community College. He worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Saucerman Lab and is currently working towards his Ph.D. at UVA Engineering, researching computational medicine and drug discovery. He is a winner of the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
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Jonathon Tanks, Ph.D. (B.S., M.S., Civil Engineering)
A transfer from Northern Virginia Community College, Jonathon Tanks completed both his B.S. and M.S. degrees at UVA. He earned his Ph.D. at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and works as a senior researcher at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science.
Internal Transfer Students
UVA Engineering will have two transfer application deadlines per year, in December and June. In order to be eligible for intra-University transfer (IUT), applicants must demonstrate a history of success in a technical curriculum, as described below. Students without a demonstrated history of success and progress toward an engineering degree will not be accepted for transfer. Students will declare their major on their transfer application. There are no “caps” on majors and no separate process to apply into a major. All students accepted for transfer are placed into their major of choice.
- The intra-university transfer process is for internal applicants only (current UVA students).
- Before applying, we encourage you to email the Engineering Office of Undergraduate Programs at engineering-undgrad@virginia.edu to learn more about the engineering curricula, transfer criteria, and other engineering-specific information.
- Applicants must complete ALL core engineering courses (see below) prior to their application for transfer. For May-June applicants (fall admission), if one to two of the pre-requisite course requirements are not completed, but you plan to complete them over the summer, please make a note in your application. In these cases, your application status will be “pending” until we receive confirmation that the course requirement is complete.
- In addition to completing the core courses, 3rd and 4th-year students will need support from their desired major to internally transfer to engineering. This is to ensure satisfactory academic progress and that this change of major does not result in any added time to complete the degree
- Application cycles are November 15 - December 15 (spring admission) and May 1 - June 1 (fall admission).
- Evaluation of applicants for entrance into the Engineering School happens during the months of December and June, after semester grades become available.
- Notification of offers of acceptance into the Engineering School are made on or around January 5th and July 1st.
You must be in good standing with the University, including a CUM GPA above 2.0, and must NOT be on academic probation/warning (in your home school) at the time of the transfer application.
***For intra-university transfer applicants, courses taken for CR/NC during the Spring 2020 semester will not count for, or against, your application to transfer. Essentially, we will accept CR/NC as if it was transfer or AP credit. As always, we will be considerate of any challenges applicants have faced that impacted their GPA, including Covid-19.***
Core Engineering Courses:
| Core Engineering Course | Courses Accepted for Credit |
|---|---|
| Calculus I* | APMA 1090, MATH 1310 |
| Calculus II | APMA 1110, MATH 1320 |
| Calculus III | APMA 2120, MATH 2310 |
| Chemistry I Lecture ** | CHEM 1410, CHEM 1610, CHEM 1810 |
| Chemistry I Lab ** | CHEM 1411, CHEM 1611, CHEM 1811 |
| Introduction to Programming | CS 1110, CS 1111, CS 1112, CS 1113 |
| Physics I Lecture | PHYS 1420, PHYS 1425, PHYS 1710 |
| Physics I Lab | PHYS 1429, PHYS 2030 |
*Calculus I is required for students starting Fall 2025
**Chemistry I Lecture and Lab are only offered at UVA in the fall semester
Find department contacts for individual majors on our Majors and Minors website.
Receive information concerning our transfer policy and deadlines by joining the Intra-University Transfer Mailing List.
ENGR 1010 and ENGR 1020 General Education Requirements: Guidance for Transfer and Dual Enrollment Students
All students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science are expected to complete the Engineering Foundations sequence—ENGR 1010 (typically taken in the fall) and ENGR 1020 (typically taken in the spring). This sequence is not considered optional for first-time, first-year students, as it provides essential technical and non-technical preparation for success in engineering. However, transfer students and students entering with dual enrollment credit may have alternative pathways to fulfill these requirements.
ENGR 1010 Requirement
Students may satisfy the ENGR 1010 requirement in one of the following ways:
- Take ENGR 1010 during the fall semester.
- Substitute ENGR 1010 with 4 credits of technical engineering coursework not otherwise required for their major.
- Acceptable substitutes include disciplinary engineering courses that are technical in nature.
- Courses with the following mnemonics do not qualify: STS, APMA, EBUS, science electives, or courses fulfilling the engineering business minor.
VCCS Credit
- Students who completed both EGR 121 and EGR 122 in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) will receive 4 credits for ENGR 1010.
- These students are encouraged to take ENGR 1020 in the spring, since their previous coursework typically does not include a client-facing design experience.
ENGR 1020 Requirement
Students may satisfy the ENGR 1020 requirement in one of the following ways:
- Take ENGR 1020 during the spring semester.
- Substitute ENGR 1020 with 3 credits that reflect the course’s non-technical emphasis, such as:
- An additional STS elective (recommended).
- A course fulfilling the 1st or 2nd Writing Requirement in the College of Arts & Sciences.
- A course in sociotechnical studies, ethics beyond STS 2600 or 4600, or technical communication
VCCS Dual Enrollment Credit
- Students who completed EGR 121, EGR 122, and ENG 113 through VCCS will receive credit for both ENGR 1010 and ENGR 1020.
Other Transfer Credit (Intra-university or External)
- Students transferring from other schools or from within UVA may be advised to take ENGR 1010 or ENGR 1020 based on their background and preparation.
- Non-VCCS dual enrollment or transfer coursework may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis through the appeals process.
Appeals Process
Students who wish to substitute a course for ENGR 1010 or ENGR 1020 must submit an appeal by email to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs. The appeal should include:
- A clear rationale for the substitution request.
- A syllabus for the course, if it was taken outside of UVA Engineering.
Need Help?
Please contact the Engineering Office of Undergraduate Programs at engineering-undgrad@virginia.edu with any questions or to receive assistance selecting appropriate substitutions.
How to Apply:
You can access the UVA Engineering School Intra-University Transfer application below beginning on November 15th to be admitted for the spring semester (due December 15th) and May 1st to be admitted for the fall semester (due June 1st). The link is below.If you are applying for the December transfer window, please be sure that you have completed ALL Engineering core first year requirements, and have continued to make progress toward an engineering degree. NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
External Transfers
Studying at another higher education institution and would like to study engineering at UVA?
If you wish to earn your undergraduate bachelor of science degree in engineering or computer science from UVA, apply for engineering transfer admission through the Common Application system. As you are completing the application questions, you will be prompted to indicate which school within UVA you are applying to. Be sure to specify that you intend to transfer to the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The most important criteria for admission is your performance in technical classes, i.e., how you performed in your math, science and engineering courses. UVA Admissions currently only admit students to engineering in the fall.
March 1: UVA Engineering accepts external transfer applications one time each year.
April 1: Applications for financial aid are due.
May 1: Admissions decisions are announced (admitted, waitlisted or denied admission).
June 1 - July 1: Some waitlisted students may receive admission offers if they have sent in an updated, official transcript to UVA Admissions following the spring semester.
Transferring from a Virginia Community College? Check out our guaranteed admission. You declare your major when admitted.
Helpful Links for External Transfers
Cooperative Academic Agreement
If you wish to earn your undergraduate degree at one of the institutions with which UVA has a cooperative academic agreement while also preparing for graduate studies in engineering, consider applying via our cooperative academic agreement (CAA) process. The CAA program is intended for students currently studying math or science at a four year institution. Good student candidates for the CAA program have an interest in developing the foundations of their engineering education before applying for graduate studies in engineering.
April 30: UVA Engineering accepts CAA applications until this date each year.
CAA students accepted through this application are expected to begin UVA classes within twelve months of acceptance.
CAA students who believe they will qualify for financial aid while taking classes at UVA through this program must request financial aid through the aid office of their undergraduate home institution, not through UVA.
CAA students at UVA are not yet accepted for graduate studies at UVA. To be considered for graduate studies, students must make a separate, later application. Read more about UVA’s graduate engineering programs.