Academic Advising Frequently Asked Questions

To declare a primary major during the change of major application period, students will:

1. Log into Hokie Spa
   
2. Select Change of Major Application (Undergraduate) at the top of the menu

*New students beginning at Virginia Tech must wait until final grades have posted to HokieSpa and they attain a GPA prior to being able to declare or change their primary major

If you wish to explore or declare a major in a different college than the College of Science, it will be helpful to speak with a transitional advisor.

Transitional Advising offers students the opportunity to work with an advisor one-on-one through the exploration, planning, and implementation process. Transitional advising is intended for students who are in transition out of a particular major for various reasons and/or need assistance when not accepted into their desired major.

Virginia Tech offers more than 150 majors from a variety of disciplines to choose from.

You can search through the list of undergraduate majors offered at Virginia Tech by clicking on the link and searching all majors, majors by your areas of interest, college, and more!

To add or drop a second major in the College of Science, students must complete the College of Science Change of Second Major/Minor/Option Form and submit the form to the academic department in which they wish to make the change for their approval.

*For example, if a student's primary major is Chemistry, but they are seeking to add Systems Biology as a second major, they must submit the form to the Academy of Integrated Science which Systems Biology is affiliated with.

Students will need to complete the change of major process for the college they seek to add  or drop a major in. 

If you are unsure of which college the new major is housed, please visit the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Majors website to find out and then use the list below to request a major change.

To add or drop a minor in the College of Science, students must complete the College of Science Change of Second Major/Minor/Option Form and submit the form to the academic department in which they wish to make the change for their approval.

*For example, if a student's primary major is Geosciences, but they are seeking to add Actuarial Science as a minor, they must submit the form to the Statistics Department.

Students will need to complete the change of minor process for the college they seek to add  or drop a minor in. 

If you are unsure of which college the new minor is housed, please visit the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Minors website to find out and then use the list below to request a minor change.

Undergraduate students will indicate if they are pursuing a second undergraduate degree when they apply for their degree in Hokie Spa.
 

Steps to Applying for a Degree

1. Log into Hokie Spa
2. Click on Degree Menu
3. Click on Undergraduate Degree Menu
   
4. Click on Application for Degree
5. Select your appropriate level and click Submit
6. Click on the Apply button next to the appropriate major
7. Review your name as it will appear on your diploma
8. Indicate your expected term of completion (graduation term)
9. Select which degree is this (students should indicate if their second major should be a second major or a second-degree here)
10. Indicate your mailing address (this is where your diploma(s) will be mailed)
    
11. Indicate which ceremony you will be attending
    
12. Click Submit

The Timetable of Classes is an interactive database accessed through Hokie Spa which can be used to search for courses according to campus, term, subject, course number, and section type.

After each search, the resulting list of courses indicates the Course Request Number (CRN), the department the course is associated with, course number, title, seats available, instructor, days taught, time taught, building location, and final exam time.

If a course or specific sections of a course have any restrictions such as academic level, major, declared in a specific college, etc., this can be seen by clicking on the 5-digit CRN.

The Historical Timetable of Classes database allows you to see if a class was taught in a previous semester.

For example, if you are planning your courses through Hokie GPS in DARS and you want to see if your planning is accurate, you will want to use the Historical Timetable of Classes to determine if those courses you planned have been offered in those particular semesters in the past.

Not every course is offered each semester. Some courses are offered fall only, spring only, or perhaps every other year. If you planned to take a course and you don't see it offered that particular semester on the Historical Timetable of Classes, you will want to change your plans.

*This database does take a minute to load as you search for courses offered in prior semesters.

Course request is a specific period in the fall and spring semesters when students request courses for the upcoming semester. Typically, course request for the spring semester begins in mid-October, and course request for fall semester begins in mid-May. Refer to the designated academic calendar for the most-up-to-date details on when course request begins. Once course request is complete, the Registrar's Office will register students for courses based on availability, restrictions, prerequisites, earned credits, etc.

Students will get their Course Request Results in Hokie Spa shortly before Web Drop/Add begins. Refer to the appropriate academic calendar for the most-up-to-date details on when Web Drop/Add begins.

The instructions below will help students to get an idea of what classes they may need to request in the following semester:

1. Locate and print your appropriate major(s) and/or minor(s) checksheet
2. Utilize your Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) in your Hokie Spa and document classes you completed on your checksheet(s) for your General Education Pathways Concepts and Major(s)/MInor(s)
   1. If you do not have a declared major or plan to change your major, you will want to conduct a What-If Analysis in your DARS so you can see how your classes will fit into place with an intended major (instructions for doing a what-if analysis can be found by clicking on the what-if analysis link)
3. Use the checksheet and DARS to create a Hokie GPS semester-by-semester planner
   1. Look at this video on how to create a Hokie GPS
   2. Look at this video to see how you can make your plan in Hokie GPS

Once you identify the courses you need to register, you can use the Timetable of Classes to identify what courses are offered in that semester. You will want to write down the CRN (5-digit number) for the course you seek to register for as this is what students input into the Course Request screen in Hokie Spa.

If students did not request courses during the designated course request period, they can register for courses during the designated Web Drop/Add period. Students will want to view the appropriate academic calendar to identify when Web Drop/Add begins for the upcoming semester/term.

Holds are placed on students accounts for a number of reasons. Students may have holds due to unpaid balances, parking tickets, library fines, failure to submit immunization records, the need to change their major, etc.

Some holds may prevent students from registering for courses and others may not. If a hold affects the transcript process, they will be prevented from viewing their unofficial transcript and from requesting official transcripts. Students and academic advisors are able to view what holds are placed on the students account, when the hold was first put on, and the appropriate office(s) the student needs to contact.

There are many ways for you to locate course descriptions and prerequisite information. We will highlight two most popular ways.

Use the Historical Timetable of Classes. This is a database that allows you to see if a class was taught in a previous semester.

For example, if you are planning your courses through Hokie GPS in DARS and you want to see if your planning is accurate, you will want to use the Historical Timetable of Classes to determine if those courses you planned have been offered in those particular semesters in the past.

Not every course is offered each semester. Some courses are offered fall only, spring only, or perhaps every other year. If you planned to take a course and you don't see it offered that particular semester on the Historical Timetable of Classes, you will want to change your plans.

*This database does take a minute to load as you search for courses offered in prior semesters.

Date of Entry is the term a student begins at Virginia Tech. This is important because the checksheet and curriculum requirements a student follows for graduation are based on the Date of Entry of their academic year. The academic year is defined as Summer through the end of Spring. Those requirements will remain in effect for a period of 7 years from the student’s entrance.

Students failing to graduate within 7 years of their date of entry catalog will be moved to the subsequent Date of Entry catalog. For example, if a student begins Virginia Tech in Fall 2022, they will follow the 2022-2023 checksheet requirements for a major/minor unless they don't graduate by 2029-2030. If they don't graduate by 2029-2030 ,then they will follow the 2023-2024 checksheet and so on until they graduate.

Every undergraduate student has the ability to enroll in a maximum of 19 credits each fall/spring semester, 6 credits each winter term, and 9 credits each summer session (Summer I/II). However, under special circumstances, a student can be granted permission to enroll in more than the maximum credits. Students need to show a record of academic success in order to do so.

*Approval of the overload request does not register a student for the requested courses.  It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the courses are added after the overload request is approved

Undergraduate student may request to add a course late after the published deadline only for extenuating circumstances and requires the permission of the instructor,  academic advisor or department head, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs.

College of Science students must complete the COS Request to Late Add/Drop/Change Grade Mode Form identifying the reason for the late add and have all of the required signatures before submitting it for final approval.

The policy is intended to assist undergraduate students who find themselves enrolled in undergraduate level courses for which they are insufficiently prepared, or for those who initially enroll in majors that they subsequently change.

This policy allows currently enrolled students to designate a grading option of "CW" to a course. Courses with this option are not gradable and do not calculate in the GPA but remain on the academic transcript with the letter grade of "W". 

Undergraduate students are allotted a maximum of three (3) course withdrawals beyond the normal six-week drop deadline date during a student's undergraduate academic career at Virginia Tech until the last day of class. Students should view the appropriate academic calendar for the published deadline for the last day to use a course withdrawal and apply for a W grade policy.

No reason is indicated on the official transcript as to why a student has used a course withdrawal. That is at the student's own discretion.

Students whose primary major is in the College of Science will need to complete the Course Withdrawal Form from the COS Student Forms website by the last day of classes for the particular term they wish to withdraw from a course.

Students can see when their course withdrawal processes in their Hokie Spa > Classic Student Schedule > select the appropriate semester > Grade Option will show Course Withdrawal.

It is strongly recommended that students should meet with their academic advisor before submitting the Course Withdrawal Form.

A student must use all three (3) of their course withdrawals first. Only once they have used all three (3) course withdrawals, can a College of Science undergraduate student request to drop a course late after the published deadline only for extenuating circumstances. This request requires the permission of the instructor,  academic advisor or department head, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs.

Students whose primary major is in the College of Science must complete the COS Request to Late Add/Drop/Change Grade Mode Form identifying the reason for the late drop and have all of the required signatures before submitting it for final approval.

Beginning Fall 2016, students may only attempt a course three (3) times. An attempt is when a student is enrolled in a course on the last day to add courses during each semester. Courses designated as repeatable credit (to the limit allowed) are excluded from this policy (i.e., independent studies, internship, etc.)

All course repeats should be done in consultation with a student's academic advisor. Any student who enrolls for a fourth (4) attempt will be dropped from the course. If a student's extenuating circumstances prevent successful completion of the course on a third attempt, the student may appeal (petition) to repeat the course again. College of Science students can appeal to cosadvising@vt.edu.

All courses repeated count in the calculation of the grade point average unless changed to Pass/Fail per policy.

Students may not repeat courses in order to improve their grade average where a grade of C or higher has been earned. An assigned grade of A-D for the second occurrence will be changed to a grade of Pass (P) whenever a graduation analysis (DARS report) detects a repeated course with a C or better grade. Repeating a course where the course is C- or below will result in both instances of the graded course being computed in the grade point average.

Repeating a course subsequent times may affect financial aid and eligibility for certain programs. Students receiving financial aid should check with the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid to determine what, if any, financial aid implications there are for repeating courses.

Veterans, athletes, and international students may have additional rules associated with course repeats. These students should check with their appropriate departments for additional information.

The Pass/Fail (P/F) grading system is available to encourage students to enrich their academic programs and explore more challenging courses outside their majors, without the pressures and demands of the regular grading system.

None of the restrictions below apply to a course if it is only offered on a Pass/Fail (P/F) basis.
Courses that are being utilized as Free Elective courses can be changed to Pass/Fail.

If students meet the criteria, they can change the course to a Pass/Fail basis by completing the Request to Change Course to Pass/Fail or A-F Form from the COS Student Forms website.

Undergraduate students have the opportunity to take courses at another US institution if they wish to do so.

A student whose primary major is in the College of Science must receive approval PRIOR to enrollment at the other institution. Failure to secure prior approval may result in the coursework being deemed unacceptable for transfer.  

College of Science students must complete the Authorization to Take Courses Elsewhere (US) Form from the COS Student Forms website and submit it to their academic advisor for approval. The academic advisor will submit the form to the College of Science Dean's Office for processing. Allow a MINIMUM OF 3 WEEKS for the approval process. You will receive an email when the request form has been reviewed notifying you if the course(s) is approved, denied, or additional information is required.

When intending to transfer courses to Virginia Tech, students must use the appropriate database to determine course equivalency. The databases can be found at https://transferguide.registrar.vt.edu/.

Credit may be allowed by special examination where command of a subject can be demonstrated in place of formal course work. Credit by Exam is not available to students who have previously audited or enrolled in the course or have previously attempted credit by examination for the course. Only currently enrolled undergraduate students are eligible for special examinations.

If credit by examination is approved, the offering department shall have full responsibility for determining the type of examination to be given and what constitutes a passing grade.

A maximum of 12 credits may be awarded. Approval must be obtained from the head of the academic department offering the course.

Credit established by examination may NOT be used to satisfy the in-residence requirements for graduation. No grades or quality credits will be assigned. Credit by exam is graded on a Pass/Fail (P/F) basis only.

There is a $10.00 per credit fee for the examination and fees are subject to change at the beginning of an academic year.

*https://www.registrar.vt.edu/registration-enrollment.html

Audit hours will not be used in establishing minimum full-time enrollment. Neither the payment of full fees nor compliance with maximums established as a condition of employment or appointment is the basis for deviation from the definition above.

Financial Aid

Students must be registered a minimum of Six (6) credits per semester to be eligible for prorated federal financial aid.
Students must be registered a minimum of Twelve (12) credits per semester to be eligible for full federal financial aid.
Students should contact the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid to determine the minimum number of enrollment credits per semester to be eligible for state and institutional aid.

Dropping Hours After Drop/Add
If a student drops credits after the end of the add period, their financial aid may be adjusted based on their course load and date they drop a course.

An important fact to keep in mind, if they are a current or previous Federal Direct Loan (subsidized/unsubsidized loan) borrower with an in-school deferment status and drop to below half-time (five (5) credit hours or below) as an undergraduate student, they will go into the six-month grace period to repay the Federal Direct Loan(s).

If students have further questions, they should be directed to speak with:

International Students

International students at Virginia Tech must be enrolled in 12-credits for undergraduate students to be considered full-time to maintain legal status.  International students are not allowed to drop below full-time without prior authorization from the Cranwell International Center and only under very limited circumstances.

If students have further questions, they should be directed to speak with:

The student will need permission to drop below full-time status by completing and submitting a reduced course load request online through IntlHokies.

IntlHokies is an abbreviation for International Hokies, Virginia Tech’s online immigration services portal for international students. Through IntlHokies, international students are able to access a wide range of immigration resources and services from Cranwell International Center. More specifically, IntlHokies enables international students who are advised by Cranwell International Center to submit immigration-related requests, upload related documents, and track the status of the request.

IntlHokies can be found at https://international.vt.edu/immigration_services/IntlHokies.html.

On-Campus Residence

To qualify for on-campus housing, undergraduate students must be currently enrolled, full-time (12 or more credit hours), and have paid all applicable charges related to campus housing.  If the student falls below full-time status, they will not be automatically released from their contractual obligations and may be permitted to remain in the residence hall as long as the student is not in violation of any University policies and/or regulations.

If students have further questions, they should be directed to speak with:

Student-Athletes

Student-athletes must be enrolled "full time" (12 credits for undergraduates) each semester to maintain NCAA eligibility for practice and competition. If student-athlete wishes to drop below 12 credits, permission must be obtained from the University Registrar and consultation with a Student Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS) counselor.

Unless a student is enrolled in the final credits needed during the term of graduation, a drop below "full time" status will immediately render them ineligible to compete and practice and may have financial aid consequences.

Please note that a student's use of VT's Course Withdrawal policy does not affect full-time status.

Study Abroad

All students studying abroad for a semester are required to be enrolled in at least the equivalent of 12 or more Virginia Tech credit hours to maintain full-time status.  Students will also need to follow the minimum full-time enrollment requirement for their host university/program which in many cases will be more than 12 credits.

If students have further questions, they should be directed to speak with:

Veterans

All beneficiaries withdrawing or resigning from a semester or reducing their course load must notify, in writing, the Office of Veteran Services. This may have an adverse impact on their eligibility for benefits.

Tuition & Refund

Tuition is the primary charge for educational services leading to degree credit. Tuition is determined by a number of factors, including the student’s residency status (in-state/out-of-state resident), the number of credit hours for which the student is registered, the student’s course of study, and the student’s classification level.

The Bursar's Office provides a refund schedule for withdrawals, resignations, and reduced course load for the fall/spring semesters. These are published on the Bursar’s website under Refund Policy. Students considering reducing their course load or resigning should always review examples of the calculation of any refund before actually dropping the course or resigning.

If students have further questions, they should be directed to speak with:

All majors require a minimum number of credits required to graduate. All majors in the College of Science require a student to achieve a minimum of 120 credits. There may be times that courses for the major and general education are less than 120 credits. In this case, students would have to take free elective courses that will help the student accumulate credits that count towards degree requirements to ensure they earn the minimum 120 credits. Other majors in different colleges may have different minimum credit requirements.

If a student is pursuing a minor that is not required for the major, those credits from the minor can be used as free electives.

Before taking a course for free electives, students should check with their academic advisor as there are some courses they will not count for degree requirements.

A course substitution allows one course to count for another course and is reflected in the DARS report.

Students must have an acceptable reason for not completing the required course and must go through an approval process to request a substitution. Students should contact their academic advisor to discuss a course substitution.

The Timetable of Classes will indicate the day and time of your final exam for your course(s).

You can search for a particular course and the last column on the right will indicate Exam (Click on Exam Code).

If students have conflicting final exams or have three or more exams in a 24-hour period, they can request to change a final examination by completing the Request to Change Final Examination Form from the College of Science Student Forms website, obtain the instructor's signature, and follow the instructions on the website to submit the form for processing.

Exam change requests due to travel, business, or family plan will not be approved.

Requesting to reschedule final examinations must be completed by the deadline available on the academic calendar. Students who are unable to take an examination because of illness or circumstances beyond the student’s control may reschedule the examination.

Progress Towards Degree (Policy 91) is designed to make sure students stay on track for their chosen major and continue to make progress during their time at Virginia Tech. Students are responsible for ensuring that they are on pace to meet all major, degree, college, and graduation requirements needed to complete their degree. If student’s don’t meet progress towards degree, they will be required to change majors.

In order to ensure students are on track for completion of their degree, students may refer to the corresponding Checksheet(s) and Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) for their degree requirements.

Majors may indicate students must earn a minimum grade in a required course for the major, maximum number of course attempts, or must have completed specific courses by a certain number of attempted credits.

If you have questions regarding the 125% Rule after reviewing the Registrar's website, please contact registrar@vt.edu.

Students are not able to drop their only class on their own through Hokie Spa and will need to complete the Student Withdrawal/Resignation Form from the COS Student Forms website.

Visit the Bursar's Resignations & Reduced Course Load Policy website > Policy Details by Year and Term for more information about how a resignation will affect tuition reimbursement.

Note: This will not stop their enrollment at Virginia Tech and wll also not count as one of their three course withdrawals.

Students are not able to drop their only class on their own through Hokie Spa and will need to complete the Student Withdrawal/Resignation Form from the COS Student Forms website.

Visit the Bursar's Resignations & Reduced Course Load Policy website > Policy Details by Year and Term for more information about how a resignation will affect tuition reimbursement.

Note: This will not stop their enrollment at Virginia Tech and wll also not count as one of their three course withdrawals.

Students are not able to drop their only class on their own through Hokie Spa and will need to complete the Student Withdrawal/Resignation Form from the COS Student Forms website.

Note: This will not stop their enrollment at Virginia Tech. It will just drop them from all or their only course for the winter term. This wll also not count as one of their three course withdrawals.

Undergraduate students who attempt at least 12 credit hours graded on the A-F grade option and who earn a 3.4 GPA for either spring or fall semester are included on the Dean's List for that term. Deans' Lists are not compiled for summer sessions.  

College of Science students will receive an electronic certificate to their Virginia Tech email address within six weeks of the start of the subsequent semester the student was on the Dean's List.

If there are any questions about not receiving an electronic certificate, please contact cosadvising@vt.edu.

Since diplomas are no longer given at the Fall/Spring commencement ceremony, it is important you apply for your degree as soon as your junior year so your diploma can be mailed to your appropriate mailing address.

This is also where you state your intent to walk at the Fall or Spring graduation ceremony.

To apply for graduation:

1. Log into Hokie Spa
2. Click on Degree Menu
3. Click on Undergraduate Degree Menu
4. Click on Application for Degree

If you are unable to indicate on your Application for Degree in Hokie Spa your intent to walk in the Fall ceremony, you will need to notify the College of Science Dean's Office Advising Team of your intent to walk in the fall ceremony.

You can send an email to cosadvising@vt.edu

If you are unable to indicate on your Application for Degree in Hokie Spa your intent to walk in the Spring ceremony, you will need to notify the College of Science Dean's Office Advising Team of your intent to walk in the Spring ceremony.

You can send an email to cosadvising@vt.edu

The College of Science does not provide graduation chords.

If students are graduating with honors distinction, students will purchase the honor sash from the University Bookstore. To qualify for an honors sash, students must have completed the following:

• 3.40 or better overall GPA
• Completed at least 60 credits at Virginia Tech
  

Please allow 10-12 weeks after commencement to receive your printed diploma. Certified Electronic Diplomas (CeDiploma) may be available prior to receiving your printed diploma. You will be notified via email when your CeDiploma is available to order with instructions on how to order it.  

If you need verification immediately following graduation, you may request a certified letter or order your official transcripts through Hokie Spa.

As long as students graduate from Virginia Tech, the Virginia Tech email address will remain active indefinitely.

Students that graduate will lose their paid account access to Zoom. However, they will still have a free zoom account with their VT email address. This allows graduates to host meetings up to 45 minutes but have no cloud recording capabilities.

If graduates want to purchase a Zoom account like they had while a student at VT they can but they can not use their VT email address to do so.

To be eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid, all students are required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP.)  The regulations provided by the U.S Department of Education are geared toward improving program integrity.  Virginia Tech has established its own policy to adhere to these guidelines while ensuring student success.

If a student drops credits after the end of the add period, their financial aid may be adjusted based on their course load and date they drop a course.

Students should be directed to speak with:

In the early stages of thinking about study abroad, you should meet with the following team:

A college education does more than train students for a career. It helps students develop intellectual skills that will enhance their professional, civic, and personal lives for years to come. Students will learn how to analyze the world around them from different perspectives, how to communicate their ideas and understand the ideas of others, how to solve problems and how to apply their knowledge to real-world projects.

Pathways Concept courses are Virginia Tech's general education program and is about one-third of the courses students take during their college years. Students are required to complete the general education program as part of their degree requirements.

When choosing courses for this program, students should not just choose courses because they believe it is an easy A. This defeats the purpose of the program. Students should choose courses that they believe will challenge them to expand their knowledge, develop additional skills, and view perspectives from a different lens to anticipate challenges and develop solutions to challenges in their field.

The Pathways Concepts program consists of seven (7) key concepts students must fulfill for their general education requirements.

Students can view the Pathways Guide by Concept to get an idea of what courses will apply to specific concepts.
Students can view the Pathways Guide by Alphabet to get an idea if the courses they are interested in will apply to specific concepts.

The  Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) is a computer-generated report for undergraduate and associate level students that facilitates monitoring of a student's academic progress toward degree completion.

DARS allows academic advisors and students to see how coursework is applied to a curriculum, check degree progress, create a plan for future courses, review course history, monitor overall and in-major GPA, and more.

Accessing a DARS Report as a Student

1. Log into HokieSpa
2. Click on DARS & Hokie GPS
3. Click Run Audit
4. Click Run Declared Programs
5. Click View Audit

Reviewing your major(s) checksheet will help you determine if any of your major courses can count for your Pathways Concepts.

Checksheets can be found on the University Registrar’s website at https://www.registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/checksheets.html. To find the appropriate Checksheet, you can search by majors alphabetically or by college.

Students should choose the checksheet for the year they began at Virginia Tech as this will be the curriculum requirements they complete in order to graduate.

To get an idea of what courses from the major will count for Pathways Concepts, you will need to look at the Pathways to General Education Requirements on the checksheet and if any Pathways Concepts have specific courses listed in them, that means they are required for your major and will also count towards Pathways Concepts.

From the Date of Entry 2022-2023 Clinical Neuroscience checksheet example below, the following courses are required for the major and will count for Pathways Concepts:
Concept 4: BIOL 1105 and BIOL 1106
Concept 5F: MATH 1025 and MATH 1026
Concept 5A: STAT 3615