Program Offerings
Academic Freedom
Echols Scholars enjoy flexibility in their academic requirements, allowing them to pursue their diverse scholarly interests. Echols Scholars are granted an exemption from the General Education requirements within the College of Arts & Sciences. Scholars must still fulfill the prerequisites and course requirements for their major, as well as the credit requirements for graduation from the College (120 credits, including 102 credits in the College). Completion of prerequisite courses is required for admission to programs outside the College of Arts and Sciences (such as the McIntire School of Commerce or Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy), and therefore Scholars seeking admission to these programs are encouraged to understand these requirements in constructing an academic plan.
Priority Registration and Exceptional Advising
First Year Advising
University faculty understand that freedom can be daunting to students coming directly from secondary schools, where much is planned and scheduled for students. First-year Echols Scholars first meet their faculty advisor during the first week of classes at the end of August. Students are supported during registration for the spring and fall terms, which respectively occur in November and April. However, advising is not limited to registration seasons. Advisors all hold regular office hours during the semester and encourage Scholars to stop by. If the advisor can’t answer a question, he or she can refer the Scholar to a colleague who can.
The Association Dean for Echols Scholars, currently Dr. Sarah Cole, holds daily office hours to attend to student questions. Additionally, the Echols Council hosts a student-to-student mentoring program for incoming first-year Echols Scholars. The mission of the Echols Peer Mentoring program is to provide first year scholars with a wide range of insights from older peers to help them quickly adjust to college life and excel at the University of Virginia.
Priority Enrollment
Echols Scholars are able to enroll in courses during the earliest times available to their class year. Priority enrollment is designed to help Echols Scholars to pursue their individual scholarly interests and explore new subject areas. Although priority enrollment does not guarantee that Echols Scholars will be able to enroll in all their chosen courses, it increases their chances of getting into highly popular courses and small advanced courses sought by many Scholars.
For additional information on course selection and registration policies see [http://college.as.virginia.edu/course-selection].
Unique Educational Experiences
Students in the program have the opportunity to define a course of study that will permit attainment of academic and career goals that fall outside of existing majors by pursuing the Echols Interdisciplinary Major (IMP). Students declaring the Echols Interdisciplinary Major do so with the provision that it will be their sole major. Detailed information on the Echols Interdisciplinary Major, its requirements, and the process for declaring the major can be found on the Echols Interdisciplinary Major page.
Scholars have access to Liberal Arts Seminars (LASE), Echols Scholar enrollment restricted courses that provide opportunities for learning in smaller settings. Examples of LASE classes include LASE 2400 Hoos Got This: Life Skills and Learning Strategies and LASE 1200 - Liberal Arts and the World of Work.
Close-Knit Community
The "common living environment" has been a pillar of the Echols Program since its inception in 1960. The first-year living-learning community enables Echols Scholars to interact and learn from each other in an informal setting where curiosity, exploration, and scholarship are woven into daily life. The Echols Scholars Program supports supplementary events and activities within the dorm, including special lectures from professors, career workshops, mindfulness activities, and creative study breaks.
Echols Scholars are currently housed in the Balz-Dobie residence hall on Alderman Road during their first year. Echols Scholars are housed with Rodman Scholars (the honors program of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) and College Science Scholars, creating a unique residential experience.
Echols Scholars are not required to live in the First-Year Scholars’ community, but we encourage them to select this option on the first-year housing application. We believe that the common living experience offers students the chance to broaden their intellectual horizons by immersing themselves in an environment with avid learners with diverse backgrounds and interests.