Credits

Of the 120 credits required for the degree, no fewer than 108 credits must be from courses taught inside the College of Arts and Sciences or College-equivalent courses from transfer or test credits. The remaining 12 credits may be College elective courses or elective courses from outside the College. “Outside the College” credits include courses taken in other schools at UVA including Architecture, Batten, Commerce, Data Science, Education, Engineering, and Nursing. College students may not take any courses from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and may not count any such courses toward their degree.

In addition to courses taught by other schools in the University, the following are considered non-College courses and may not count toward the 108 College credits of the 120 credits total needed for the B.A. or the B.S.: 

• all ELA and INST courses

• all KINE courses

• all KLPA courses
• all PLSK courses
• all ROTC courses–AIRS, MISC, NASC
• all SEMS courses
• all UNST courses 
• all USEM 1570 and 2570 courses

The following courses, which are taught in other schools, may count as College-equivalent credit: 

• all Computer Science (CS) courses
• all Architectural History (ARH) courses 
• ARCH 1010, 1020 and 2150
• MSE 2010
• USEM 1580 and 2580 
• STS 3500

The following courses may count as College-equivalent courses only when a student completes the requisite program of study: 

• Students who complete the minor in Urban and Environmental Planning may count PLAN courses below 5000 as College-equivalent.
• Students who complete the major in Global Studies with a concentration in Environments and Sustainability may count 12 credits of advisor-approved non-College electives as College-equivalent.
• Fourth-year College students who have been admitted to the Masters in Public Policy (M.P.P.) program in the Batten School of Public Policy and Leadership may count up to 12 credits of Batten School courses taken in the fourth year as College-equivalent.   
• Students in the Special Education track of the B.A.-M.T. Program are permitted to count the following additional six credits of Education School courses as College-equivalent: EDIS 3020 or EDIS 5000 and one of the following courses: EDIS 5100, 5110, 5120, or 5150.

A maximum of 60 credits may be earned prior to matriculation to the College by various means, including: Transfer credit (coursework taken at another institution); Advanced Placement (AP) exams; International College-level exams; and Dual enrollment courses taken while in high school. 

The University does not award credit or any exemption from requirements based on College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests.

There are additional limits on particular courses counting toward the degree. See below for the maximum number of credits that can count toward the degree: 

• 2 credits from Physical Education courses (KINE and KLPA)
• 12 credits from ROTC courses (AIRS, MISC, and NASC)
• 8 credits from USEM courses
• 2 credits of Language House courses
• 16 credits Music Performance credits (MUBD, MUEN, and MUPF)

Students may take up to two courses per semester using the Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading option. However, no course taken under the CR/NC option may count toward fulfilling general education, major, or minor requirements.  

Students who enter the College as first-year students are limited to earning a maximum of 24 credits using the Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grading option. 

Second-year transfer students are limited to a maximum of 18 CR/NC credits. 

Third-year transfer students are limited to a maximum of 12 CR/NC credits.

Courses taken under the Audit (AU) option do not carry any credit.