A. Required Units for Admission

Although individual consideration is given to each applicant, it is expected that all applicants, except in the most unusual circumstances, will minimally satisfy the unit requirements listed below. A unit represents a year’s work.

For Arts and Education Curricula:

• English 4
• Foreign Language 2
• History or Social Science 2
• Mathematics 3
• Science 1
• Electives 3

For Science and Mathematics Curricula:

• English 4
• Chemistry 1
• Mathematics 4
• Foreign Language 2
• Physics 1
• Electives 4

B. College Courses Taken Prior to High School Graduation

College-level work done prior to high school graduation may be awarded transfer credits upon receipt in the Dean’s Office of the following three documents:

1. An official letter from the high school principal or guidance counselor describing the college-level program of study;
2. An official letter from the college/university stating that the courses were taught on its campus by a member of the regular faculty, open to enrollment by and graded in competition with regularly matriculated undergraduates at the college, and a regular part of the normal curriculum published in the college catalog. Courses taught at the high school will not be accepted.
3. An official, seal-bearing transcript from the college/university.

C. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit

Incoming students who have taken Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IB) exams should inform their Academic Advisor and should report to the Dean’s Office during the first week of classes to verify Villanova’s receipt of the official scores and to ensure that proper adjustments have been made to their academic record. In some instances scores are sent to the Villanova Registrar after courses have been assigned based on the student’s response to the Incoming Students Questionnaire.

The guidelines for granting credit for courses that are equivalent are shown on the following page. Please consult the Dean’s Office for guidelines regarding equivalency for International Baccalaureate courses. The following is the list of tests and scores and their application to the baccalaureate degree.

The first table is a list of AP tests; the second is a list of Higher Level IB tests and scores.

* Sample of lab work needed for approval of lab courses CHM 1103 and CHM 1104

D. Foreign Language Placement

All students who decide to continue their study of French, German, Italian, or Spanish from high school in order to fulfill the Core Curriculum requirement of two courses at or above the intermediate-level are required to complete the online language placement examination for the language in which they will enroll by June 15.

The online language placement examination consists of questions on vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension and generally takes about 25 minutes to complete. Based on the results of the test and a number of other factors (such as the number of years of study of the language in high school, study or time abroad, etc.), the student will be placed at the appropriate level by professors of the language of choice and automatically registered for the appropriate course. For important additional information on the online placement exam and to take the online examination, please visit: http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/langtest/

Please note that if you have never studied French, German, Italian, or Spanish and wish to do so to meet the Core Curriculum language requirement, you must register for the first semester introductory course of the language, Introductory I, numbered 1111. You do not have to take the online placement examination, but remember that in this case, you must successfully complete four semesters of that language.

As an alternative to meet the language requirement, students may choose the two-semester introductory sequence in either Arabic, Chinese, Classical Greek, Japanese, or Russian.

E. Mathematics Placement

The Core Curriculum requirement for all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is two courses. For Science students, it is two Math courses. For Arts students, one course has to be Math and the second course can be either Math or Computer Science. All incoming students to the College of Liberal Arts and Science take a Math or Computer Science course in the first semester. A student’s potential choice of major and career plan affects his or her choice of Mathematics.

1. Health Professions, one of the following sequences:
   • Preferred: MAT 1310 and 1315, Calculus for Life Science Applications
   • MAT 1320 and 1325, Calculus for Liberal Arts
   • MAT 1500 and 1505, Calculus
2. The Sciences
   • Biology- MAT 1310 and 1315
   • Chemistry, Computer Science, Comprehensive Science Mathematics, Physics - MAT 1500 and 1505
3. Naval Science, one of the following sequences:
   • MAT 1500 and 1505, Calculus
   • MAT 1320 and 1325, Calculus for Liberal Arts
   • MAT 1310 and 1315, Calculus for Life Science Applications
4. Interdisciplinary Concentrations
   • Environmental Studies- MAT 1230, Introductory Statistics and one course in Calculus
5. Business Minor
   • MAT 1230 and 1235, Introductory Statistics I and II
6. Arts Students
   • Two Math courses. They do not have to be in the same sequence. A student could choose an introductory calculus course and an introductory statistics course; or
   • A Math course and a computer science course.

    

F. Transfer Students, Transfer Credit Prior To Attending VU

New transfer students from both four year institutions and from two year institutions (community colleges) may seek to transfer credits to Villanova from two year institutions. However, once a student has been matriculated at Villanova, no credits may be transferred from two year institutions.

Students wishing to transfer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences after having attended another institution will be considered for admission if they have completed a minimum of eight courses of three credits or more with a grade of “C” or better; and have a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 at the time of application. Students intending to transfer more than fifteen courses must apply to and be accepted into a major before matriculating.

Students who have taken college courses at another institution prior to attending Villanova, must present the necessary course descriptions and other documentation as needed to the Dean’s Office before or during their first semester at Villanova. Credit for courses taken at two year institutions (community colleges) will be considered for transfer only if the courses were taken prior to matriculation at Villanova.
 

Courses will be given consideration for transfer credit only upon receipt of a seal-bearing, official transcript sent by mail to the College, and, upon request, an official course description (e.g., from a course catalog). If such courses are not presented for evaluation during the first year, no future possibility for evaluation or credit will exist. Transfer credit will be awarded only for approved courses in which a student earns a grade of “C” or better. The actual grade received at the other institution (earned either before attending Villanova or earned during a summer) is not calculated into the student’s cumulative grade point average.

Transfer credits (along with AP credit) may be used for no more that half the courses required for the degree, no more than half the courses for the major, minor or concentration and no more than half the courses required for the core curriculum. Transfer students must have completed three academic semesters at Villanova before being eligible to study abroad during the academic year. No more than four web or distance learning courses may be applied to a student’s degree. With the official transcript the transferring student must identify such courses that appear on their transcript.

Transfer Credit will not be awarded for Accelerated or Fast Forward courses. In order for an non professional three credit course to be considered for transfer credit the course must have met on at least 15 different days and with a minimum total meeting time of at least 37 hours. For courses in question the student must provide documentation stating the manner in which the course was taught along with the official transcript. Courses in professional studies will be evaluated on a case-by case basis. The College reserves the right to test student to assess course outcomes.