Academic advising
Academic advisers are here to help you match programs and opportunities to your abilities, interests and career goals. We provide guidance on academic requirements and resources available to you.
Declaring your program
All undergraduate and Juris Doctor students must be in a declared program to graduate.
For some programs, your program is declared when you’re admitted. For others, you’ll need to contact your adviser or take action in Online tools.
Based on your faculty and program, find out when and how to declare your program:
Faculty/program: Peter B. Gustavson School of Business
Declare: When you add your specialization
Required action: Meet with a BCom adviser
Faculty/program: BEd Elementary year one entry
Declare: After one term
Required action: Meet with an Education adviser
Faculty/program: BEd Elementary year two entry
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: BEd Secondary Curriculum
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Elementary PDPP
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Secondary PDPP
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Kinesiology
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Recreation and Health Education
Declare: When you’re admitted to the program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Physical and Health Education
Declare: After completing year one of the BA (Recreation and Health Education) program
Required action: Meet with an Education adviser
Faculty/program: Engineering (except Computer Science)
Declare: When you add your specialization
Required action: Meet with an Engineering adviser
Faculty/program: Computer Science
Declare: 2nd or 3rd year
Required action: Meet with a Computer Science adviser
Faculty/program: Fine Arts
Declare: 2nd or 3rd year
Required action: Contact a Fine Arts adviser
Faculty/program: Human and Social Development
Declare: When you’re admitted to your degree/diploma/certificate program
Required action: None
Faculty/program: Humanities, Science and Social Sciences
Declare: After successful completion of 12.0 units or more
Required action: Submit a program declaration or change request in My Page.
Faculty/program: Law
Declare: When you’re admitted
Required action: None
Changing your program or faculty
Students change their programs for a variety of reasons, from discovering new interests to entering programs that are only available after one or more years of post-secondary education.
If you have questions about changing your program, contact your academic adviser. They'll help you to understand all of your options and how the change will affect your graduation timeline.
Humanities, Science and Social Sciences
You can request a program change through Online tools if:
- Your current program is in Humanities, Science or Social Sciences, and
- Your new program is also in Humanities, Science or Social Sciences
More information is available on the Academic Advising for Humanities, Science & Social Sciences website.
All other faculties
In all other cases, you'll need to apply for a program change.
Transfer credit
Contact the Office of the Registrar and Enrolment Management if you've received transfer credit for courses taken at another school and have questions about how your credit was evaluated.
- If you're a new or returning student, contact your admission assistant.
- If you're a current student, contact your records officer.
If you have questions about how your credits will be applied towards your program, or if you want to verify whether you meet the prerequisite for registration in a certain course, contact the department offering the course or an academic adviser.
Taking courses at other institutions (letters of permission)
If you're planning to take a course at another post-secondary institution, contact your academic adviser to request a letter of permission. Letters of permission are typically required in order to take courses at another institution as a visiting student, and will state the credit you'll receive from UVic on successful completion of the course.
Transcripts for all courses taken at another institution (whether passed or failed), must be sent in to UVic.
Apply for readmission
If you previously registered in credit courses at UVic and have been away for more than one year (three terms), you'll need to apply for readmission before you can register for future courses. When you submit your application, you can choose to return to your previous program or request a new one.
Degree evaluation report
Your Curriculum, Advising and Program Planning (CAPP) report lets you track your academic progress and degree requirements. Once you’ve declared your program, you can access your CAPP report from Online tools.
Contact your academic adviser
Your academic adviser can help with course selection and program planning. They can create a personal academic plan to help you meet your graduation requirements.