Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, beginning with academic year 2024-2025, first-year students will be expected to apply to McIntire’s new three-year curriculum.

Students who are in their first year in 2024-2025 and future first-year students will be eligible to apply for admission to the B.S. in Commerce Program in April or May of their first year, for matriculation in the fall of their second year. Starting in 2025, the application for first-years will open in March 2025, with a deadline of April/May 2025. Decisions will be released in June 2025.

Students who are interested in being notified (by email) when applications open should contact the McIntire Office of Undergraduate Admissions. 

Third-year students may apply but should realize they must complete a five-year baccalaureate program; they may wish to consider other opportunities, including the McIntire Business Institute (MBI) and the M.S. in Commerce Program.

No. Students can have one major and one minor in addition to the Commerce major.

All prerequisites must be completed by the time a student enters the School in the fall, not by the time the student applies. Students who are not enrolled in the prerequisites upon submitting their application must detail on the application how they plan to complete the missing prerequisite course(s) and demonstrate successful progress toward completion. Students who are missing prerequisite course(s) are strongly encouraged to attend walk-in advising.

The process of applying to the McIntire School begins in October for second-year students and in March for the new first-year admission cycle. Second-year students applying have an application deadline in January, while first-year applicants will need to submit their application at the end of April. The application is available online in the fall. View a sample version of the application here.

The Admission Committee reviews each applicant holistically, and no one factor guarantees admission. Factors taken into consideration include academic performance (GPA, performance in courses related to business, degree of difficulty of courses, and course load taken); co-curricular activities including volunteer and work experience; and evidence of solid communication, teamwork, leadership, and personal skills. Students must have both solid academic and co-curricular performance and display a level of maturity to show they will contribute to the McIntire classroom.

GPA is only one factor in the Admission Committee's review of applicants. There is no minimum GPA, as the committee evaluates multiple criteria in the holistic evaluation process. The average GPA for current UVA students and external transfer students has remained relatively steady over the years, with a wide range between lowest and highest cumulative GPA of students accepted and denied admission.decision

Absolutely. No single factor or grade will determine the admission decision, and there is no GPA cutoff or minimum GPA requirement. The Admission Committee reviews applications holistically, and the application itself allows for students to tell their story through their academic performance, activities, and essays. 

Effective fall 2018, SAT or ACT scores are no longer required for applicants. For prospective transfer applicants, it is recommended that non-native English speakers take the TOEFL or IELTS to be competitive for admission.

For current UVA students, no. The Admission Committee does not require or accept letters of recommendation. Applicants should use the application to demonstrate academic performance, activities and personal characteristics.

For prospective transfer students, yes. The Common Application accepts "Academic Evaluator" recommendations. It is recommended that one or more be submitted as the Admission Committee uses them in the holistic evaluation of each applicant.

No.

The Admission Committee does not weigh business-related activities over other co-curricular or extracurricular experiences. The committee considers many factors, including academic performance, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and personal characteristics. Professional experience, such as a job, internship, networking experience, or conference, are all valued activities that help students develop hard and soft skills and learn more about this business world; however, the committee would like to see students broadening their perspectives and experiences, gaining skills, and exploring interests.

Second-year UVA students should receive decision letters in early March via UVA email. First-year UVA students should receive decision letters by the end of June via email as well.  

Applications are accepted, waitlisted, or denied. The class will be filled by the initial offers of admission. If a student or student(s) do not end up matriculating, the spot(s) will be filled by the students who have accepted a position on the waitlist. 

Transfer applicants are notified by the UVA Office of Undergraduate Admission and should follow the deadlines set by that office. 

COMM 1800, 2010, and 2020 are the only courses with the COMM mnemonic that are required prior to enrollment. COMM 3410 Commercial Law may be taken before enrollment and is included in students' 39 required Commerce hours if taken at UVA. For students transferring from other institutions, Commercial Law will transfer, but students will need to take an additional Commerce class to meet the 39 Commerce credit requirement. No other 3000- or 4000-level courses taken before enrollment may be used to satisfy Commerce major requirements.

The McIntire curriculum allows for electives to be taken inside or outside the Commerce School. For the Commerce Class of 2021, 51% of Commerce students completed a second major or minor outside the McIntire School.

Through McIntire's Integrated Core Experience, Commerce courses are dynamic, interactive, and engaging. Students are expected to interact with each other and their professors, actively participate in the course discussion, and work on team projects.

McIntire faculty design courses that are transformative. Take a look at a COMMTalk from Professor Ryan Nelson, "Designing Your Life: How We Use Design Thinking at McIntire," to get insight on our faculty's approach to creating excellent, interesting, and applicable courses for every McIntire student.

In addition, Commerce Professor Sherri Moore describes her approach to teaching and very popular COMM 3410 Commercial Law course here.

Echols Scholars find the McIntire School a great academic environment to continue their academic pursuits. Echols Scholars will experience a loss of priority registration; however, once enrolled in McIntire, priority registration is much less important due to the small size of the School and classes. For first-year students entering as new three-year McIntire students, Echols Scholars will be required to complete the College of Arts & Sciences Disciplines Plus General Education Requirements (as all McIntire students will be required to complete Arts & Sciences general education graduation requirements).  

The student's Echols notation from entry year will always remain on their transcript, and once selected for the Echols program, students will always be welcome at Echols events and alumni activities. 

Recognizing the value-added benefits of McIntire's undergraduate business program, the UVA Board of Visitors approved a "differential" tuition amount to be added to McIntire students' UVA tuition amount. The differential tuition amount is included in the students' cost of attendance for financial aid purposes, and students continue to apply and receive aid through the University's Student Financial Services Office. McIntire continues to support AccessUVA, the University's financial aid program, allocating a significant portion of McIntire tuition revenues to the program, as well as adding $300,000 of private scholarship funds to support new undergraduates entering McIntire in 2018 and beyond. More information about differential tuition can be found here.

VPEP does not cover the additional McIntire tuition. VPEP's contract states that "if there are additional charges for a specific course of study, such as nursing or engineering, or for more than a full-time course load, these additional costs are not covered by VPEP."

At this time, the B.S. in Commerce is delivered in person and cannot be completed online.

McIntire continually innovates its courses and curriculum to deliver engaging and effective content to its students. COMM 2010 Introduction to Financial Accounting and COMM 2020 Introduction to Managerial Accounting are now being offered online. Why? Professor Roger Martin explains in his COMMTalk, "Creating Time and Space: Emerging Online Offerings at McIntire."

McIntire offers the Certificate in Business Essentials in an online format.

No. Regardless of the new three-year curriculum, the McIntire School's B.S. in Commerce degree is a full-time program (three years for the new undergraduate design and two years for this year’s enrolling third-year class). Students are not allowed to complete the Commerce degree in less than six* fall/spring semesters, nor are they allowed to remain for more than six* fall/spring semesters. Learn more about McIntire graduation requirements here.  

*Four fall/spring semesters for the academic year 2024-2025 second-year student class.

Absolutely. We encourage all students to have a significant global experience, and McIntire offers both short-term and semesterlong study-abroad options for current and prospective students. McIntire's Global Programs Office looks forward to meeting with any student interested in engaging in a global experience.

Of 2,000 McIntire alums surveyed, 40% earned graduate degrees. Some graduates go straight to law schools and M.S. in accounting programs. Others work for a few years and then enroll in M.B.A. programs.