Transfer Credit

Please email the Undergraduate Program Coordinator to ensure that your selections are acceptable towards the major or minor. You may be asked to email the syllabus for the course. Once you have received email confirmation that your course(s) may transfer as major/minor credit, you can bring the appropriate forms to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator’s office in Monroe Hall, Room 209. Be sure to comply with any transfer credit procedures required by your School of enrollment at UVA.

The following rules apply to transferring courses towards the Economics major or minor requirements, after starting at UVA (post-matriculation):

Major

  • ECON 2010 and ECON 2020 may be transferred post-matriculation from another institution.
  • None of the courses that count as major prerequisite classes may be transferred post-matriculation: Statistics, Calculus II, and Intermediate Microeconomics.
  • Up to two courses, each of which must be at least 3 credits, may transfer post-matriculation. These courses can be ECON 3020, ECON 3720, or the major electives. For purposes of this rule, any direct credit courses will be treated as transfer courses.
  • Permission to count a course taken elsewhere towards the major must be obtained in advance, and you should be prepared to submit the syllabus and the instructor's qualifications (CV) for any course you wish to have considered.
  • Because ECON 3020 and ECON 3720 are considered core courses, these will be considered with more scrutiny and on a case-by-case basis.

Minor

  • ECON 2010 and ECON 2020 may be transferred post-matriculation from another institution.
  • None of the courses that count as minor prerequisite classes may be transferred post-matriculation: Statistics, Calculus (in order to satisfy the minimum grade requirement) and Intermediate Microeconomics.
  • Up to one course, which must be at least 3 credits, may be transferred to the minor electives. This restriction applies regardless of whether the transfer course was taken pre-matriculation or post-matriculation. For purposes of this rule, any direct credit course will be treated as transfer course.

Other restrictions and information

  • Online courses will not be approved for transfer credit. 
  • Potential post-matriculation transfer courses that are taught online must be reported to Undergraduate Program Coordinator for approval and will be reviewed on a case by case basis. The Economics department will considered it an Honor offense if a student does not disclose that a post-matriculation transfer course is an online course.
  • Students may not receive Economics elective credit for both a course taken elsewhere and also its ECON equivalent.
  • A course is not automatically an Economics course simply because it has the words “Economics” or “Economy” in its title. Some courses in “Political Economy”, for example, are ones we would consider politics courses.
  • Only one course numbered below 3000 can be used to satisfy the economics electives requirement. If you have already taken ECON 2060, a second course that transfers at the ECON 2000 level will not help you to complete your economics major.

Non ECON courses within the University of Virginia

Occasionally, a course offered outside the College of Arts and Sciences covers material similar to that offered by a course in the Economics Department. Our policy is to allow economics elective credit for such courses as if they were transfer courses, with the following qualifications.

  • Courses offered in other schools at the University, such as Commerce or Engineering, may only be transferred by students from these schools. College of Arts and Sciences students may not obtain transfer elective credit from other Schools at UVA.
  • We treat courses from other departments/schools within UVA as if they were transfer courses. Like other transfer credits, no elective credit towards the major or minor will be awarded unless the student achieves at least a C. Such courses count towards the maximum six hours (or three hours for the minor) of elective transfer credits allowed by the department. In addition, the level of transfer credit is set by the Economics Department based on, among other things, the prerequisites of the class.
  • Students may not receive Economics elective credit for both a course taken elsewhere and also its ECON equivalent. For example, we consider COMM 3720 equivalent to ECON 4350- students may not receive elective credit for both classes.

Study Abroad

  • Students interested in studying abroad should consult the with the International Studies Office. Keep in mind that any course(s) you would like to transfer and apply toward the Economics major or minor must be pre-approved by the Department of Economics.
  • Students seeking departmental approval for courses you want applied to the major or minor must provide the following information:
    • Syllabus
    • Name of instructor teaching the course in the semester you plan to take it, including the professor’s CV.
    • Total number of contact hours (how many times does the class meet per week, for how long, and for how many weeks?)
    • Total number of U.S. credits earned for successful completion of the course (must be at least 3 to transfer)
  • Students should follow the directions on the Study Abroad Checklist and use it as a coversheet for each course you would the department to consider for transfer.
  • The Study Abroad Transfer Credit Equivalency Website (http://ascs8.eservices.virginia.edu/studyAbroad) is a resource for what study abroad courses have transferred as in the past. However, any post-matriculation transfer credits towards the major or minor still requires approval from the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.
  • If you go abroad and are forced to change your course selection, you should contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator to ensure that your Economics course selection(s) will be acceptable.