Transfer Advice

This information has been provided in response to the questions typically asked by undergraduate students interested in transferring into the School of Architecture and specifically the programs in Architectural History, Architecture or Urban and Environmental Planning. Transfer applicants are classified into two groups, internal and external.

Internal applicants are those students who are currently enrolled in another department within the School of Architecture or students who are currently enrolled in another School or College within the University of Virginia.

External applicants are students who are currently enrolled in another University or College outside of the University of Virginia system.

EXTERNAL TRANSFERS

Application Process

Thank you for your interest in the University of Virginia. External applicants use the forms and follow the procedures available through the University of Virginia Office of Admission, (434) 982.3200. The number of applicants to be offered acceptances from each pool fluctuates each year depending on the academic strength of the applicant pool, available space within the school, and University guidelines on growth. Once accepted by the University Office of Admission, you will receive from the Architecture School an Advising Form filled out by the departmental Director of Undergraduate Studies. This form will show the UVa equivalent of all the courses we have accepted for transfer based on the transcripts supplied with the application.

Transfer Credit

Credit for courses fulfilling general requirements taken outside of this University is routinely given if they are determined to be equivalent to courses offered at UVa. There are core or specific courses geared directly for our curriculum for which there are no equivalents and therefore these courses must be taken at UVa. In some circumstances, courses from other schools of architecture may be determined upon review to satisfy our curricular requirements. Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture degree students will receive no credit for drafting or computer drafting courses taken.

INTERNAL TRANSFERS

Application Process

Internal transfer applicants must apply to transfer. The following materials should be dropped off at Campbell Hall Room 120B by the due date for consideration:

1. Transfer Application
2. Letter of intent describing your reasons for wishing to transfer.
3. Current VISTAA sheet which can be printed from ISIS online or a certified copy of your transcript, which can be obtained from the University’s Registrar’s Office.

Application Deadlines

December 1:
Application for Spring admission to Architectural History and Urban & Environmental Planning due.
April 1:
Application for Fall admission to Architecture due.
April 15:
Application for Fall admission to Architectural History and Urban & Environmental Planning due.

Notification

December 15 for Spring and May 15 for Fall.

Interviews

Interviews are handled by the undergraduate director of each department. The Architectural History and Urban and Environmental Planning undergraduate directors have advising times throughout the week. Please contact the appropriate undergraduate director to schedule an appointment. The undergraduate director for Architecture holds interviews once a year in the spring with applicants that have turned in their applications. After your application has been received, the admissions office at the School of Architecture will contact you to schedule this interview.

Contact Information

General Questions
School of Architecture Admission Office, Rm. 120B Campbell Hall (Architecture Building), arch-admissions@virginia.edu, (434) 924.6442

Architecture Non-Procedural Questions
Director of Architecture, Craig Barton, Rm. 305 Campbell Hall, ceb8x@virginia.edu

Architectural History Non-Procedural Questions
Daniel Bluestone, Rm. 226 Campbell Hall, dblues@virginia.edu

Urban Planning Non-Procedural Questions
Director of Undergraduate Studies in Urban & Environmental Planning, David Phillips, Rm. 128 Campbell Hall, dlp@virginia.edu

Recommended courses

It is recommended that students take courses in the respective department before transferring to the School of Architecture. Course recommendations are divided by department.

Architectural History

It is strongly recommended that students considering transferring into the Architectural History program enroll in the following courses:

Fall Semester

ARCH 101 Lessons of the Lawn
AR H 101 History of Architecture: Ancient to Medieval

Spring Semester

ARCH 102 Lessons in Making
AR H 102 History of Architecture: Renaissance to Modern

In addition to these foundational courses, potential transfere students are encouraged to complete other undergraduate degree requirements for the first year including:

1. An architectural history elective
2. Two semesters of consecutive foreign language
3. Two English courses, including ENWR 110
4. A math course—MATH 121 is recommended for those considering graduate architecture studies
5. A social science elective

Urban and Environmental Planning

PLAN 103 Introduction to Community and Environmental Planning

Architecture

Fall Semester First Year Students may be either testing an interest in Architecture or have decided to change their major. All UVa students, potential transfers in particular, are encouraged to take the following courses offered either in or by the School of Architecture.

1. ARCH 101 Lessons on the Lawn
2. AR H 101 History of Architecture: Ancient to Medieval
3. USEM [See Course Offering Directory for current listings.]

ARCH 101 and ARH 101 are part of the required curriculum for a degree in architecture. ARCH 101 counts toward the Minor in Architecture. All three courses may fulfill other non-architecture degree elective requirements.

Spring Semester First Year

Students are strongly advised to take the following courses:

1. ARCH 102 Lessons in Making
2. AR H 102 History of Architecture: Renaissance to Modern
3. Satisfy the Department’s Math requirement by taking MATH 121 [for students without High School Calculus experience] or MATH 131 [for students with High School Calculus credit.]

This course of action is often in conflict with the schedules of some students in other schools, Engineering in particular. Thus there is some element of risk involved in attempting to transfer into to the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. A student must assess the situation and determine the realistic possibility of successfully making a transfer. While the Department asks that transfer students have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA, realistically a 3.5 GPA, in addition to notable work in the courses designated above, is an effective minimum level of performance given the competition for the few available positions.

All three courses are part of the required curriculum for a degree in architecture. ARCH 102 counts toward the Minor in Architecture.

Fall Semester Second Year

Students deciding at this point to attempt to change their major to Architecture are given the same advice students in their first year first semester are given. See above as well as notes following this section. Places in ARCH 201 and 202 Design Studios are limited to Architecture students only.

Students who are considering a transfer at this time in the education sequence will be applying to enter the Department in the fall of their third year. Summer School is required [ARCH 201 and ARCH 202 Design Studios]. Students can choose to take AR H 112 during the same summer session if they have not taken the AR H 101/102 sequence. A student who might want or need to fulfill other elective requirements, such as Calculus or the PHYS Elective, has more room in their schedule so they take the Architectural History course over the summer. If you are interested in or have taken courses at another university please see the notes under Transfer Credit under the External Transfer section.

A student must make strategic choices at this point in order to ensure that they successfully fulfill the requirements of the Curriculum. It is advisable to take the Design Curriculum Advising Form and fill it out [using the Category of Electives form available through the School Registrar] noting what is left to be completed and the expected completion sequence. Note that in practice, Architecture Electives are often substituted for ARCH 101 and 102. Successful applicants will be provided a Design Curriculum Advising Form filled out by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in an advising meeting at the beginning of the fall semester. Advising for fall of the third year is very straightforward since all the courses on the advising sheet are required for this semester.

Spring Semester Second Year

This is the latest that a student can decide to attempt to transfer into the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture without adding an additional year to their course of study. Students deciding at this point to attempt to change their major to Architecture are often given the same advice students in their first year second semester are given. See above. They are also advised to take LAR 512 or LAR 513 History of Landscape Architecture and an Architectural History Elective if they have already taken AR H 101 and AR H 102 and if these courses can be worked successfully into their schedule. More often than not students transferring into third year will have to make-up some of our general requirements over at least one of the two remaining summers. While it is possible to overload during the regular academic semesters, it is highly discouraged.

Academic Success

Our outstanding undergraduate architecture students are sought by the highest ranked graduate programs in the country, including our own. Any student who intends on pursuing graduate studies in architecture or another related field should realize all of the best programs are highly competitive. Therefore a high GPA should be maintained. UVA students should note that one Open Elective per semester may be taken Credit/No Credit. Since there is no grade given, this means that there is no effect, positive or negative, on your GPA.