Welcome to the University of Virginia!  We are delighted that you are interested in majoring in Sociology.  

Students who transfer from another college or university who have transferred credit for two sociology courses completed with grades of C or higher at their previous institution may declare a Sociology major if the Director of Undergraduate Programs approves those courses as prerequisites to declaring. To obtain approval, students should submit the “Transfer Student Petition for Approval of Courses Taken at Previous Institution” form (available on the Department website under “Program Forms and Links”) together with the course syllabi. Students entering their fifth semester in college should submit this petition as soon as possible at the beginning of the semester.

Transfer students who have transferred credit for only one sociology course or no sociology courses from their previous institution have not met the prerequisites for declaring. Students entering their fifth semester in college must officially defer their declaration of the major for one semester while they complete the prerequisites. Students may only defer their declaration for one semester. The College requires all students to declare a major by the beginning of the sixth semester. Students who have transferred credit for one sociology course from their previous institution should seek approval of that course from the Director of Undergraduate Programs by submitting the “Transfer Student Petition for Approval of Courses Taken at Previous Institution” form (available on the Department website under “Program Forms and Links”) together with the course syllabus. Students entering their fifth semester in college should submit this petition as soon as possible at the beginning of the semester.

Any transferred sociology course may serve as a prerequisite to declaring the major. However, not all transferred sociology courses will count toward completing the major requirements.

• A course in introductory sociology taken at a previous institution may serve as a prerequisite to declaring the major. Transfer students who have taken introductory sociology at a previous institution are not required to take SOC 1010 – Introductory Sociology at the University of Virginia. However, they must substitute one additional sociology course at any level.
• The Department’s required courses in social theory (SOC 3020), social research methods (SOC 3120) and social statistics (SOC 3130) must be taken at the University of Virginia. Comparable courses taken at a previous institution may serve as prerequisites to declaring the major but cannot count toward completion of the major.
• Both 4000-level electives must be taken at the University of Virginia. A 4000-level course taken at a previous institution may serve as a prerequisite to declaring the major but cannot be used to meet the 4000-level elective requirement.

Students entering their fifth semester in college in the fall semester are strongly encouraged to enroll in SOC 3120 – Sociology Research Workshop immediately rather than waiting until the fourth year.