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Change of Major Policies and Deadlines

To become eligible for entry into one of the restricted engineering majors, students must meet the below course, hour, and GPA requirements. Please also review the list Frequently Asked Questions regarding the entry process and familiarize yourself with the graduation requirements.

Course Requirements

  1. ENGE 1215~: Foundations of Engineering
  2. ENGE 1216~: Foundations of Engineering
  3. MATH 1225: Calculus of a Single Variable
  4. MATH 1226: Calculus of a Single Variable
  5. ENGL 1105: First-Year Writing

~ These courses may be substituted with ENGE 1414: Foundations of Engineering Practice. ENGE 1414 is typically taught in the fall semester only. Only College of Engineering students are permitted to take this course (Pre-Requisite: ENGL 1105; MATH 1225; MATH 1226; 19 earned transfer hours)

CHEM 1035, CHEM 1045, ENGL 1106, and PHYS 2305 were removed as change of major requirements, effective for the May 2023 (end of spring) change of major period. However, for students that started at VT in spring 2023 or prior, those courses will still be required as part of the degree requirements and will be necessary for degree progression and completion. Removing them from the change of major requirements may offer more scheduling flexibility to you prior to declaring a restricted engineering degree. If you have concerns, please consult with your academic advisor to ensure you will be on track for your desired degree.  

Hour Requirements

  • Minimum: 12 GPA Hours - includes any A-F graded courses taken at Virginia Tech.
  • Maximum: 72 Attempted Hours (for General Engineering students only) - includes all transfer credits, courses attempted at Virginia Tech, and course withdrawals.

GPA Requirements

  • Minimum: 2.0 Overall VT GPA
  • Guarantee: 3.0 Overall VT GPA (for engineering students)
  • Guarantee: 3.5 Overall VT GPA (for non-engineering students)

Entry to all restricted engineering majors is determined by space-availability and each eligible student's overall VT GPA. The overall GPA includes all courses taken at Virginia Tech. In previous years, only Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science (as well as Data-Centric Computing and Secure Computing which are under the CS degree) were not able to admit students below the GPA guarantees.


Application Details

There are three application review periods per year: end of spring , end of summer, end of fall. Specific dates for upcoming review periods can be located below. For primary major change applications, students can select up to three engineering major choices. Directions for selecting more than one engineering major can be found on pages 10 and 11. For secondary major applications, students can select only one choice. There are no limits to the number of application review periods students can submit. 

Newly admitted students will not be able to access the change of major application on Hokie Spa until final grades are available for their first term of enrollment. Final grades are typically not available by the application open dates, but they will be available prior to the application closing. Grade availability dates are listed below.

Application Links

End of Spring 2024 Application Dates and Deadlines

  • Application Open: May 2, 2024 - May 17, 2024
  • Transfer Credit Survey Available: May 2, 2024 - May 19, 2024
  • Final Grades Available: May 12, 2024
  • Decision Notification Sent: May 20, 2024
  • Appeals Accepted: May 20, 2024 - May 23, 2024
  • Appeals Notification Sent: May 24, 2024

End of Summer 2024 Application Dates and Deadlines

  • Application Open: TBA
  • Transfer Credit Survey Available: TBA
  • Final Grades Available: TBA
  • Decision Notification Sent: TBA
  • Appeals Accepted: TBA
  • Appeals Notification Sent: TBA

End of Fall 2024 Application Dates and Deadlines

  • Application Open: TBA
  • Transfer Credit Survey Available: TBA
  • Final Grades Available: TBA
  • Decision Notification Sent: TBA
  • Appeals Accepted: TBA
  • Appeals Notification Sent: TBA

Appeals Process

Change of major decisions may be appealed using the Engineering Change of Major Appeals Petition. Appeals can only be submitted if you completed the change of major application, and are intended to address unusual and extenuating circumstances that occurred while at Virginia Tech which caused you to be denied admission to an engineering major. Students wishing to appeal their decision must submit the appeal petition according to the deadlines above.

Submit an change of major decision appeal: Engineering Change of Major Appeals Petition