The University of Virginia (locally referred to as “Virginia” or “UVA”) is a four-year non-profit research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819, UVA is one of the oldest universities and higher education institutions in the United States. The institution was designed by Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States. The original members of the Board of Visitors for University of Virginia include James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe. The university was build on land that was originally owned by James Monroe. In fact, Brown College at Monroe Hill (one UVA’s academic colleges) resides on the original site of Monroe’s farmhouse and law office. Another very unique characteristic of UVA is that it is the only university campus in the nation that has has been recognized by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a World Heritage Site.
Academics
In contrast to many major universities, the University of Virginia does not offer honorary degrees. All degrees awarded by the university must be earned academically (a policy instituted by the institution’s founder Thomas Jefferson). UVA offers bachelor’s degrees in nearly 50 fields of study, master’s degrees in 94 subject areas and doctoral degrees in 55 academic and professional disciplines. The university also offers first-professional degrees in Law and Medicine and 6 specialist degrees in education.
The University of Virginia produces more Rhodes Scholars than any other state sponsored university in the nation. The university’s most recent Rhodes Scholar (No. 48) was selected in 2012. The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate scholarship awarded to qualifying foreign students to study at the University of Oxford in England. Many individuals within and outside of academia, including The McGill Reporter, Associated Press, Yale University Press and Time, consider the Rhodes Scholarship to be one of the most prestigious scholastic awards in the world. Rhodes Scholars receive free tuition, college fees are paid in full and they receive a monthly stipend to cover other expenses such as lodging and food. They also are provided unrestricted access to Rhodes House, named after Cecil John Rhodes who set up the original provision for the Rhodes Scholarship.
Even though UVA isn’t as prestigious as the other top higher education institutions such as Princeton, Cornell and Duke, many gifted students turn down offers from these private schools because they feel the University of Virginia offers a comparable academic program at a much better value. For both in-state and out-of-state students, tuition is going to be lower at UVA than at most other comparable education institutions. In fact, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity has recognized UVA as offering the “top value” among all national public higher education institutions throughout the United States. Both Princeton Review and USA TODAY also recognized UVA as the “Number One Best Value” among public universities in the U.S.
Academic Colleges and Schools
University of Virginia undergraduate, graduate and first-professional degree programs are offered through one of the institution’s 12 academic colleges and schools, which include:
- School of Architecture
- College of Arts & Sciences
- Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
- McIntire School of Commerce
- School of Continuing and Professional Studies
- Curry School of Education
- School of Engineering and Applied Science
- School of Law
- School of Medicine
- School of Nursing
- Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
- College at Wise
UVA also offers higher education programs and opportunities through one of several learning centers including the Center for Chemistry, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Rare Book School, Miller Center of Public Affairs, and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. UVA’s Art Museum, while not technically a college, or learning center, is setup to help students, as well as the general public, learn from and study works of art that they display.
College Rankings
UVA was ranked No. 2 among public national universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report in both 2009 and 2010. During the same period it ranked one hundred and thirtieth among the top universities in the world. The undergraduate program at UVA was ranked second in the nation among public universities in 2011, and it tied with University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, and Wake Forest University for 25th place among all undergraduate programs (both public and private). In over 25 years, UVA has always been ranked among the top universities nationwide and No.1 or No.2 among public universities. For the last thirty years, UVA’s undergraduate program has been the number one ranked program, among both public and private schools, in Virginia. In 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked the University of Virginia forty-fourth on its list all U.S. universities and No.1 public universities. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked UVA seventy-second in the world in 2011 and during the same year QS World University Rankings ranked UVA No. 126 out of all universities worldwide. GQ Magazine has even thrown in their two cents, commenting in their publication that the University of Virginia has a high percentage of student athletes that attend class and perform well academically.
Not only does the University of Virginia fair well in general undergraduate rankings, its individual graduate programs rank competitively as well. UVA’s general Law, International Law, Tax Law and Architecture programs all rank among the top 10 in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report. Other graduate and professional programs including UVA’s Developmental Psychology, Adult/Medical-Surgical Nursing, Political Theory, Secondary Teacher Education, U.S. History, English Literature, Psychiatric Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Business Management, Special Education, American Literature, Creative Writing, and Elementary Education programs all rank in the top 20 within their respective fields.
Among public universities, the University of Virginia has received national recognition for graduating the highest number of African Americans of any public university in the nation. Eight-seven percent of African American students at UVA graduate, compared to the next runners up, UCLA, that has a black student graduation rate of 73%, University of California Berkeley, at 70%, and University of Michigan, at 68%. University of Virginia also has a much higher black student undergraduate enrollment rate (8.7%) than any of these schools. Not is UVA more popular among African American students, but it graduates at a lot higher rate from the university, when compared with comparable public higher education institutions.
Graduate Placements
According to a study produced by The Wall Street Journal the University of Virginia has about a 3% placement rate of its undergraduate students into “elite” graduate and advanced degree programs following completion of their bachelor’s degrees. While this may not seem like a high number, UVA placed 33rd in graduate placements among all universities (public and private) nationwide and 3rd in the nation among public universities. Along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, no other state university came close to the number of graduate placements as UVA.
Faculty and Staff
One of the marks of a truly good university, is a distinguished faculty-and that is exactly what the University of Virginia has. Faculty at UVA include 3 Packard foundation Award winners, the winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology, 6 National Endowment for the Humanities fellows, 26 Fulbright Scholars, 25 Guggenheim fellows, 3 Sloan award winners, 2 Presidential Young Investigator Award winners, a U.S. poet laureate, and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Historically, UVA faculty lived on-campus with the students, serving not only as academic instructors but also as advisers. However, today most UVA faculty live off campus and there are resident advisers (RAs) that live on campus and advise undergraduate students. There are a few select faculty that still continue the old tradition, live on-campus and function as both instructor and advisor to their students.
General Information
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Admission Office Box 400160 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4160 (434) 982-3200 Fax: (434) 924-3587 [email protected] Contact: Gregory Roberts Dean of Admission |
Main Address PO Box 400160 Charlottesville, VA 22904-4160 (434) 924-0311 www.virginia.edu |
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Size Total undergrads: 15,208 First-time degree-seeking freshmen: 3,256 Degree-seeking undergrads: 13,869 Graduate enrollment: 7,608 Setting | Degrees offered: |
Tuition & Fees
| Estimated Expenses for Academic Year | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| Tuition and fees | $8,690 | $9,490 | $9,872 | $10,828 | +9.68% |
| Books and Supplies | $1,100 | $1,150 | $1,150 | $1,167 | +1.48% |
| Living Arrangement – On Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $7,325 | $7,709 | $8,220 | $8,590 | +4.50% |
| Other | $2,100 | $2,139 | $1,900 | $1,950 | +2.63% |
| Living Arrangement – Off Campus | |||||
| Room and Board | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total Expenses | 2008-’09 | 2009-’10 | 2010-’11 | 2011-’12 | % change 2010-’12 |
| In-state On Campus | $19,215 | $20,488 | $21,142 | $22,535 | +6.59% |
| In-state Off Campus | $9,790 | $10,640 | $11,022 | $11,995 | +8.83% |
| In-state with Family | $9,790 | $10,640 | $11,022 | $11,995 | +8.83% |
| Average Graduate Student Tuition & Fees | |
| Tuition for In-state Students | $11,598 |
| In-state Student Fees | $2,272 |
| Tuition for Out-of-state Students | $20,922 |
| Out-of-state Fees | $2,944 |
Tuition at University of Virginia is lower for both in-state and out-of-state students than at the majority of other top universities in the United States.
Financial Aid
| Full-time Beginning Undergraduate Students | ||||
| Type of Aid | Students | Percent | Amount | Average Per Student |
| All students financial aid | 1,790 | 55% | ||
| Grant or scholarship aid | 900 | 28% | $11,730,103 | $13,033 |
| • Federal grants | 255 | 8% | $1,100,201 | $4,315 |
| • Pell grants | 255 | 8% | $817,676 | $3,207 |
| • Other federal grants | 248 | 8% | $282,525 | $1,139 |
| State/local government grant or scholarships | 286 | 9% | $1,696,499 | $5,932 |
| Institutional grants or scholarships | 778 | 24% | $8,933,403 | $11,483 |
| Student loan aid | 863 | 27% | $5,818,083 | $6,742 |
| • Federal student loans | 847 | 26% | $4,691,890 | $5,539 |
| • Other student loans | 85 | 3% | $1,126,193 | $13,249 |
All Degrees and Programs
| Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 11 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| Spanish Language and Literature | 154 | 15 | 6 | – | – |
| Health Services and Allied Health Sciences | 129 | 125 | 159 | – | – |
| Audiology/audiologist and Speech-language Pathology/pathologist | 13 | 27 | – | – | – |
| Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other | – | 7 | – | – | – |
| Medicine | – | – | 141 | – | – |
| Public Health | – | 14 | – | – | – |
| Registered Nursing/registered Nurse | 116 | 77 | 18 | – | – |
| History | 288 | 16 | 10 | – | – |
| History | 288 | 16 | 10 | – | – |
| Human Services | – | 29 | – | – | – |
| Public Policy Analysis | – | 29 | – | – | – |
| Legal and Law Studies | – | 38 | 374 | – | – |
| Law | – | – | 373 | – | – |
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies, Other | – | 38 | 1 | – | – |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 331 | – | – | – | – |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences/liberal Studies | 331 | – | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Statistics | 93 | 19 | 9 | – | – |
| Mathematics | 93 | 8 | 5 | – | – |
| Statistics | – | 11 | 4 | – | – |
| Multi-/interdisciplinary Studies | 44 | 21 | – | – | – |
| Biological and Physical Sciences | – | 21 | – | – | – |
| Multi-/interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 44 | – | – | – | – |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | 78 | 13 | 8 | – | – |
| Environmental Science | 78 | 13 | 8 | – | – |
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, and Fitness Studies | 30 | 44 | 1 | – | – |
| Kinesiology and Exercise Science | 30 | 44 | 1 | – | – |
| Physical Sciences | 139 | 38 | 21 | – | – |
| Astronomy | 7 | 3 | 5 | – | – |
| Chemistry | 90 | 4 | 9 | – | – |
| Physics | 42 | 31 | 7 | – | – |
| Psychology | 278 | 68 | 19 | – | 4 |
| Clinical Psychology | – | – | 9 | – | – |
| Educational Psychology | – | 58 | 1 | – | 4 |
| Psychology | 278 | 10 | 9 | – | – |
| Social Sciences | 1016 | 48 | 30 | – | – |
| Anthropology | 92 | 12 | 7 | – | – |
| Economics | 390 | 21 | 8 | – | – |
| International Relations and Affairs | 302 | 6 | 9 | – | – |
| Political Science and Government | 145 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
| Sociology | 87 | 5 | 4 | – | – |
| Visual and Performing Arts | 172 | 11 | 6 | – | – |
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation | – | 7 | 4 | – | – |
| Art/art Studies | 124 | – | – | – | – |
| Drama and Dramatics/theatre Arts | 18 | – | – | – | – |
| Music | 30 | 4 | 2 | – | – |
Admissions Information
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Application Fee College has an application fee: Yes Regular application fee: $60 Online application fee: $60 |
Enrollment Rates Percent applicants admitted: 37% Percent of students who return for sophomore year: 97% |
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Admissions Considerations Secondary school GPA: Recommended Secondary school rank: Recommended Secondary school record: Required Recommendations: Required Admission test scores (SAT/ACT): Required College-prep program completed: Required Undergraduate Admissions Fall 2011 |
Test Scores: Fall 2011 SAT Critical Reading
SAT Math
SAT Writing
ACT Composite
ACT English
ACT Math
ACT Writing
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Enrollment Statistics
Undergraduate Attendance Status |
Undergraduate Student Gender |
Undergraduate Student Age |
Undergraduate Student Residence |
Graduate Attendance Status
Undergraduate Race/Ethnicity
Retention and Graduation Rates
Retention Rates for First-Time Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees |
Overall Graduation and Transfer-Out Rates for Students |
Graduation Rates for Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees
6-Year Graduation Rate by Gender for Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees
6-Year Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity for Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees
Undergraduate Majors
Architecture & Related Programs Architectural History/Criticism B Area, Ethnic, Cultural, & Gender Studies African-American Studies B | Program Completions for Most Recent Year | BA/BS | MA/MS | PhD | AA/AS | CERT |
| Total of All Education Programs | 4268 | 1748 | 853 | – | 60 | |
| Architecture and Related Services | 77 | 68 | 2 | – | – | |
| Architectural History and Criticism | 6 | 12 | 2 | – | – | |
| Architecture | 51 | 23 | – | – | – | |
| City/urban, Community and Regional Planning | 20 | 20 | – | – | – | |
| Landscape Architecture | – | 13 | – | – | – | |
| Area, Gender, Cultural, Ethnic, and Group Studies | 46 | – | – | – | – | |
| African-american/black Studies | 32 | – | – | – | – | |
| Area Studies, Other | 14 | – | – | – | – | |
| Biology and Biomedical Sciences | 240 | 2 | 51 | – | – | |
| Biochemistry | – | – | 7 | – | – | |
| Biology and Biological Sciences, General | 240 | 2 | 6 | – | – | |
| Biophysics | – | – | 5 | – | – | |
| Cell/cellular Biology and Histology | – | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology | – | – | 21 | – | – | |
| Neuroscience | – | – | 4 | – | – | |
| Pathology/experimental Pathology | – | – | 2 | – | – | |
| Pharmacology | – | – | 4 | – | – | |
| Physiology | – | – | 1 | – | – | |
| Business, Administration, Management, Marketing, etc. | 320 | 615 | 3 | – | – | |
| Accounting | – | 107 | – | – | – | |
| Business Administration and Management | – | 387 | 3 | – | – | |
| Business/commerce | 320 | 43 | – | – | – | |
| Management Information Systems | – | 78 | – | – | – | |
| Computing and Information Sciences | 46 | 11 | 3 | – | – | |
| Computer and Information Sciences | 46 | 11 | 3 | – | – | |
| Education | – | 350 | 76 | – | 56 | |
| Counselor Education/school Counseling and Guidance Services | – | 7 | – | – | – | |
| Curriculum and Instruction | – | 145 | 2 | – | 23 | |
| Education | – | 134 | 60 | – | – | |
| Educational Leadership and Administration | – | 27 | 13 | – | 33 | |
| Higher Education/higher Education Administration | – | 11 | – | – | – | |
| Special Education and Teaching | – | 26 | 1 | – | – | |
| Engineering | 442 | 159 | 52 | – | – | |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/space Engineering | 29 | – | – | – | – | |
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 56 | 6 | 15 | – | – | |
| Chemical Engineering | 41 | 9 | 5 | – | – | |
| Civil Engineering | 61 | 26 | 3 | – | – | |
| Computer Engineering | 32 | 10 | 2 | – | – | |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 44 | 18 | 12 | – | – | |
| Engineering Physics/applied Physics | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Engineering | 15 | – | – | – | – | |
| Engineering, Other | – | 18 | 4 | – | – | |
| Materials Engineering | – | 8 | 4 | – | – | |
| Mechanical Engineering | 69 | – | – | – | – | |
| Systems Engineering | 95 | 63 | 6 | – | – | |
| English Language, Composition and Literature/letters | 223 | 38 | 11 | – | – | |
| Creative Writing | – | 13 | – | – | – | |
| English Language and Literature | 223 | 25 | 11 | – | – | |
| Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 276 | 35 | 18 | – | – | |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 16 | 4 | 2 | – | – | |
| Comparative Literature | 8 | – | – | – | – | |
| French Language and Literature | 68 | 3 | 5 | – | – | |
| German Language and Literature | 11 | 1 | 3 | – | – | |
| Italian Language and Literature | 8 | 5 | – | – | – | |
| Linguistics | – | 3 | – | – | – |
Latin American Studies B
Arts, Visual & Performing
Art – General B
Drama/Theater Arts B
Music – General B
Biological & Biomedical Sciences
Biology B
Business, Management, & Marketing
Business – General B
Computer & Information Sciences
Computer/Information Sciences – General B
Engineering
Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering B
Biomedical Engineering B
Chemical Engineering B
Civil Engineering B
Computer Engineering – General B
Electrical/Communications Engineering B
Engineering – General B
Mechanical Engineering B
Systems Engineering B
English Language & Literature
English Language & Literature – General B
Foreign Language & Literature
Classics B
Comparative Literature B
French B
German B
Italian B
Slavic B
Spanish B
Health Professions & Clinical Sciences
Nursing (RN) B
Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology B
History
History – General B
Liberal Arts & Sciences
Liberal Arts & Sciences B
Mathematics
Mathematics – General B
Natural Resources & Conservation
Environmental Science B
Parks, Recreation & Fitness
Exercise Sciences B
Philosophy & Religion
Philosophy B
Religion/Religious Studies B
Physical Sciences
Astronomy B
Chemistry B
Physics B
Psychology
Psychology – General B
Social Sciences
Anthropology B
Economics B
International Relations B
Political Science/Government B
Sociology B
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A = Associate degree
B = Bachelor’s degree
C = Certificate or diploma
*We do not guarantee the accuracy of information on this page. All information is subject to change. You should confirm all information with a college admissions officer.