Biology

Second Year Students

Arts and Sciences students are required to declare a major before the end of their second year, second semester.  If you are enrolled in prerequisite biology courses required to declare the major, please wait until your prerequisite courses are graded in SIS at the end of the semester. Forms received without graded biology prerequisites will be declined and you will receive an email asking to resubmit your form once your grades are posted in SIS.

Third Year Transfer Students

You are required to declare a major within the first few weeks in the first semester at UVA.

Switching Majors / Second Majors / Shift from Bio BA to BS

Students switching from the Biology BA program to the Biology BS program should do this before the end of their 3rd year to ensure they have time to finish all of the requirements.

All students switching to Biology from other majors or adding a 2nd major in Biology should submit their major forms as soon as eligible, and no later than 3 weeks before the start of the last semester to give ample processing time before graduation.  

Minor Forms

All minor forms should be submitted after declaring a major, and no later than 3 weeks before the start of the last semester to give ample processing time before graduation.  

Processing times

Processing times may vary depending on the time of year (expect delays during the first week of enrollment, drop/add period, May graduation, and official holiday breaks). Approved major forms should appear in SIS within 2-3 weeks. The catalog year will be based on the date the student submits the declaration form. Please check your SIS account to verify your form was processed and the requirements report matches the catalog term.  Email biol-ug@virginia.edu for questions.

College Declaration FAQs

Please visit the College's webpage: When and How to Declare your Major.

B.A. Degree in Biology

2nd Year Students (Traditional and Transfer):

1. Satisfactorily complete, with a grade of C or higher, BIOL 2100, BIOL 2200 or any letter-graded BIOL course at the 2000-level or above.   Students who have transfer credit for BIOL 2100 and BIOL 2200 must have completed one 3000-level BIOL course at the university to declare.
2. Have at least a 2.000 cumulative GPA at UVA and be in good academic standing.

3rd Year Transfer Students: Incoming 3rd Year transfer students may declare the B.A. degree during their first semester, provided they are enrolled in any 3000-level biology course. BIOL 3000 is not recommended to take in your first semester at UVA.

Incoming 3rd year transfer students may initially only declare the B.A. degree in Biology. 

Deferring the Major: Deferring the major is not common considering you only need one biology course to qualify, and if you don't have at least one biology course by the end of your second year, finishing the major will be a challenge. For questions about deferring the major please email: BIOL-UG@virginia.edu

B.S. Degree in Biology

Students who originally declared a B.A. degree at the end of their second year may re-declare to the B.S. program once they have met the eligibility requirements listed below. You may complete this re-declaration as soon as you are eligible, but no later than the end of your 3rd year. You cannot declare/redeclare the Biology BS before completing these eligibility requirements.

Eligibility Requirements for the Biology BS: 

1. Complete all three core courses with a cumulative 2.700 GPA (B-) across those courses:
   • BIOL 3000 Cell Biology (offered Fall/Spring)
   • BIOL 3010 Genetics & Molecular Biology (offered Fall/Spring)
   • BIOL 3020 Evolution & Ecology  (offered Fall only)
2. Have at least a 2.000 cumulative GPA at UVA and be in good academic standing

Minor in Biology

To be eligible to declare a minor, you must first have a major declared in SIS/Stellic.  Although there are no specific requirements to declare the Biology Minor, it is recommended to take an introductory biology course (BIOL 2100 or BIOL 2200).

Step 1: Join the Biology Majors email listing

Join the Biology Major Email List (bio-majors@virginia.edu) to receive important information regarding the major from the Biology Department

Step 2: Check your Academic Requirements

The requirements for the Biology BA, the Biology BS and the Biology Minor are linked below:

• Biology BA
• Biology BS
• Biology Minor

Determine if you have met the eligibility requirements for your chosen program. 

To help you plan, the above webpages also have links to the BA, BS and Minor course planning checklists. 

These checklists are tools to help you plan out your course of study and are useful when discussing degree progress with your advising dean and major advisor. The courses you list are your best guess for how you will fulfill your requirements and are subject to suitable changes based on course availability and preference.

Use your unofficial transcript and the Course Planning page to fill out the checklist.. 

For convenience, these checklists are also linked below.

• 2026-27 Biology BA Checklist
• 2026-27 Biology BS Checklist
• 2026-27 Biology Minor Course Planner

Step 3: Add your Biology Major/Minor to your plan in Stellic

To add a program plan (such as a major, minor, or certificate) to your academic record in UVA's Stellic advising platform, follow these steps:

1. Log in: Access Stellic using your NetBadge credentials.
2. Navigate to Programs: Click on the Programs option in the main navigation menu.
3. Search for your Program: Search for the specific major or minor you want to add. Select it from the results to view a sample degree audit. 
4. Add to Plan: Click the Add Program button (or "Add to Plan") to officially attach it to your academic planning profile.
5. Use the Progress Tab: This shows your degree audit. Here you can view finished, in-progress, or remaining requirements, represented by drag-and-drop placeholders.

Adding your major/minor to your Stellic account will allow you to see your chosen major/minor’s requirements and enable you to plan more effectively. It will also allow the Biology Department to see that you have fulfilled the major’s eligibility requirements when you submit your declaration.

If you are experiencing difficulties with Stellic’s features, please contact stellicsupport@virginia.edu. 

Step 4: Complete your Declaration Form

Submit your major declaration using the Declare a Major or Minor form on the College website.  

Instructions for logging in and accessing the form can be found at the above link.  Be sure to select the correct major so that we receive your declaration. 

The declaration form no longer requires you to attach your unofficial transcript or the checklist. 

Having trouble using the form?  Email CollegeForms@virginia.edu with as much information as possible about your specific problem. 

Step 5: Check SIS/Stellic to ensure your form was processed

It may take up to two weeks to process your request. During the busier times of the year—beginning/end of semester, enrollment periods, graduation, summer session—this process may take longer. 

If your SIS/Stellic record has not been updated and you haven’t received an email from us in the time windows mentioned above, feel free to email us at BIOL-UG@virginia.edu, including your full name, computing ID, and the major/minor you are trying to declare. 

Once you declare, you are responsible for checking your SIS/ Stellic Academic Requirements report to ensure you are fulfilling the courses required for your degree and your major/minor.