University of Virginia Library

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Admission to the Department.—For admission to the Department of
Graduate Studies a baccalaureate degree from a recognized institution of collegiate
rank is required, for men and women alike. For students in the
Medical Science Group, the M. D. degree will be accepted in lieu of a baccalaureate

degree. In order to become a candidate for a degree, the student
must be advanced to candidacy by the Committee on Rules and Courses
upon formal application, as set forth below.

Advancement to Candidacy for a Degree.—Any graduate student who
wishes to become a candidate for a degree must file with the Dean of the
Department his application on a blank form to be secured from the Dean's
Secretary. This application must include a proposed program of work arranged
in accordance with the requirements for the several degrees as stated
below, and must be accompanied, in case the applicant does not hold an academic
degree from this University, by an official transcript of the applicant's
academic record made out by the Registrar of the institution from which the
baccalaureate degree was received, and by a catalogue of that institution,
marked to show the courses of study pursued. The application will be submitted
by the Dean to the Committee on Rules and Courses, who will consider
it in conference with the professors concerned. The Committee will
have the right to require that the applicant add to his program any courses,
undergraduate or graduate, considered necessary to supply his deficiencies,
or to enable him to pursue with profit the courses he has selected. When
the program has been finally approved, the Dean will report to the applicant
his advancement to candidacy for a degree.

It should be distinctly understood that graduate degrees are not conferred
merely upon the basis of the number of courses passed, or of the
length of time spent in resident or non-resident work, but upon the basis
of the quality and scope of the candidate's knowledge, and his power of
investigation in his chosen field of study. Candidates whose training and
attainments are inferior cannot expect to secure a degree in the normal
length of time estimated below for the respective degrees.

As a prerequisite to full candidacy for a Master's degree, at least 6 collegiate
session-hours, or 12 semester-hours, of foreign language (ancient or
modern) credit are required. A reading knowledge of foreign languages
may be attested by an examination.