The BSDS is a three-year program; students apply to the major as an internal transfer in the spring of their first year. Please note that prospective high school students interested in the major should refer to the Office of Undergraduate Admission for more information about applying to the University of Virginia for first-year admission.
Are you a current first-year UVA student? Connect with us to learn more.
How to Apply
Prerequisites
The BSDS program has prerequisites of the following two courses, which must be completed or in progress at the time of application:
- DS 1001: Foundations of Data Science (3 credits)
- DS 1002: Programming for Data Science (3 credits)*
Both courses are offered in the fall and spring semesters, can be taken in any order, do not have prerequisites, and may be taken concurrently.
*In addition to DS 1002, the programming prerequisite may be met in one of the following ways:
CS 1110/1111/1112: Intro. to Programming -or- CS 1113/PHYS 1655: Intro. to Python for Scientists and Engineers
AP Computer Science A with a score of 4 or 5
IB HL Computer Science with a score of 5, 6, or 7
We have no preference as to how you have completed/ choose to complete the programming prerequisite.
Application Timeline
First-year students apply to the major in their second semester, and will know their admission decision by July 1.
- Application Opens: March 1, 2024
- Application Deadline: May 24, 2024
- Admission Decisions Released: July 1, 2024
- Deadline to Respond to Offer: July 12, 2024
- Waitlist Closes: August 20, 2024
Application Materials
You are required to provide the following by the application deadline:
- Completion of the application, where you will enter your Student Information System (SIS) credentials to fill your information and UVA transcript.
- Upload a resume, which should be tailored to your experience in data science.
- Upload your final essay from DS 1001 Foundations of Data Science.
- Submit a 45 second audio clip explaining how you will contribute to the School of Data Science.
- Request one supervisor, manager, or professor to complete a recommendation form (linked in the application). This professor may not be from DS 1001, DS 1002, or any professor in the School of Data Science.
Late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances. For more information about the application process, please refer to the FAQs page.
Other Ways to Learn Data Science
Due to the three-year structure of the BSDS program, only first-year students may apply. Second-, third-, and fourth-year students, as well as transfer students, may pursue the undergraduate Minor in Data Science, or consider one of our graduate programs.