Undergraduate Programs

The Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising and Student Services under the Undergraduate Programs Office is a one-stop shop for your needs. From transfer orientation, to holistic academic advising, and graduation parties, our work spans the entire cycle of a student's time in the Department of Computer Science.

There is a wealth of information included on these pages and they are updated often. Looking for information about course information/offerings, registration dates/force-add, undergraduate research, student organizations/getting involved, graduate school/accelerated programs, career preparation, study abroad, changing your major/applying to or transferring to Virginia Tech, visiting campus, upcoming events, need a form, and so very much more???

We encourage you to peruse our pages to learn more about the team, see current news and events, and review detailed information curated to support both our current students and future students. If you can't find what you're seeking, drop us a line at csundergrad@vt.edu.

Planning for a Transition To Computer Science-Current Virginia Tech Students

At Virginia Tech, students must submit an application in HokieSpa to change their major or add an additional major to their academic record. This application is only open three times each academic year. The next application is open April 24-May 20, 2026. If the application is approved, students will be notified May 21, 2026. The application cycle closes after semester grades post, so that that semester's courses and GPA can be included in the application review.

Students wanting to change or add a major in Computer Science, Data Centric Computing or Secure Computing will need to meet all change of major course requirements, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for guaranteed admission. Students with a GPA of 2.0 or higher are also encouraged to apply if they have all course requirements met.

The application is submitted to and reviewed by the College of Engineering's Academic Affairs Office, who outlines the process, requirements, and deadlines on their Change of Major website.

To assist students in their planning, we will be offering multiple opportunities to learn more about the CS majors, and plan for upcoming semesters in anticipation of a major change or a major to be added.

Good to know:

Change/add a major advising sessions will take place twice a month.
Students interested in the Computer Science, Data Centric Computing or Secure Computing majors should attend.
Students currently delcared in the CS, DCC, or SC majors should schedule with their assigned CS advisor and should not attend these sessions.
For each session, there will be both an in-person and a virtual option to attend.
Scheduling a session will take place via Navigate using "Explore Computer Science" as the service type.

Dates (please make note of the different times dependent on the date). Location information will be provided once scheduled in Navigate.

Tuesdays, 2:00pm-3:00pm

September 16th
October 7th
November 11th
January 13th
February 10th
March 17th
April 7th

Wednesdays, 10:00am-11:00am

September 24th
October 22nd
November 19th
January 28th
February 25th
March 25th
April 22nd

Schedule Your Session

Students that wish to add a minor in Computer Science and/or Human Computer Interaction should submit their application in HokieSpa during the open application cycle. The next application is open April 24-May 20, 2026 If the application is approved, students will be notified May 21, 2026. The application cycle closes after grades post, so that that semester's courses and GPA can be included in the application review.

To add either minor, students must be in a current, degree-granting major (not in General Engineering). This means that a student in General Engineering would submit two applications during the open cycle: one to change their major to a degree-granting major, and a second to add the minor(s). Even if all requirements are met, the minor application will not be approved if the major application is not.

The application is submitted to and reviewed by the College of Engineering's Academic Affairs Office, who outlines the process, requirements, and deadlines on their Minors website.

To assist students in their planning, we will be offering multiple opportunities to learn more about the CS majors, and plan for upcoming semesters in anticipation of a major change or a major to be added.

Good to know:

Add a minor advising will take place once a month.
Students interested in the Computer Science and/or Human Computer Interaction minors should attend.
Students currently delcared in the CS and/or HCI minors should schedule with their assigned minor advisor and should not attend these sessions.
For each session, there will be both an in-person and a virtual option to attend.
Scheduling a session will take place via Navigate using "Explore Computer Science" as the service type.

Dates (Location information will be provided once scheduled in Navigate).

Thursdays, 11:00am-12:00pm

September 25th
October 16th
November 20th
February 19th
March 26th
April 23rd

Schedule Your Session

Registration and Support Updates: Force/Add Request, Credit By Exam and CS Capstone

Force/Add Course Availability

Some CS courses are already open to maximum capacity on the timetable and do not have additional space for force-adds. Those courses are not included on the CS force-add form. Students should monitor drop/add regularly for an opening in the course. Force-add requests, are requests, and may not be approved based on capacity, timing of the request, priority of the students, date submitted, etc. We will do our best to accommodate all requests, but there is no guarantee.

If you are a student outside of the CS/DCC/SC Major or CS/HCI Minor who is facing a registration error for a CS course that is required for your major/minor, please contact csundergrad@cs.vt.edu.
Students not facing registration errors, but simply want to enroll in a course that has reached enrollment capacity, should continue to monitor the drop/add system for an opening if the course is not included on the force-add form.
Force/adding is not an option to enroll in courses for which a student does not yet meet the requirement such as courses that are major and/or classification restricted. This includes requests from students planning to change their major that want to enroll in courses restricted by major as well as students that want to enroll in junior or senior level courses but have not yet earned enough credits.

Force/Add Form Semester Information

Summer 2026: The force/add request form will open March 24th and close July 9th. It will display all courses available for force-add (if any). Not every course is on the list because not every course has an option for force-add. If it is not on the list, please assume that the course is unavailable for force-add. Note that the list of available courses is subject to change as classes fill up.

Fall 2026: The force/add form will open on May 1st and close May 28th. As Virginia Tech closes registration for current undergraduate students over the summer, the force/add system will reopen on August 10th through August 27th.

Force/add requests will not be accepted for courses with no available seats. Once the course is full, it is full even though the course is online. These courses are available to be force/added. If a course is not on the list, it is not available to be force/added. If you think this is in error and a course should be on the form, please contact csundergrad@vt.edu.

Not all force/adds for CS courses/courses required for CS students go through the CS Department. For examples, please see below.

CS 3654: CMDA
CS 2164: Political Science (contact course instructor for force/add)
CS 4164: BIT/Pamplin
CS 5000 course level and above: CS Graduate Programs Office
MATH 2534, 2204, 2114, 3134: Mathematics

This information is a snippet of the information specific to force/adds requests in Computer Science. For additional details, please visit the Class Registration and Force/Add section of our CS Students site. To learn more about the force/add process for different programs across the University, review the Student Advising information.

Computer Science offers Credit By Exam (CBE) options for CS 114 and 2114 for current Virginia Tech students. For students who want to earn course credit for CS 1114 and/or CS 2114, they can attempt the CBE during the following:

Canvas links open: Open Now
Paperwork due: April 10*
Exam closes: April 23

* Please note that the exam results, if passed, have to be submitted by the Department to the Registrar's Office for processing to add the credit to your transcript. This update allows you to register for the subsequent course without needing to force/add. The sooner you submit your paperwork, and complete the exam with a passing score, the quicker the credit is added, which provides more flexibility to self-register during course request (ends April 7th) and during add/drop (opens April 24th).

Please contact Melissa McPeak at (540) 231-6931 or Mel721@vt.edu for questions about exam logistics including sign-up, payment, and exam access. For questions about content, please contact Steve Edwards, edwards@cs.vt.edu.

CS 1114 Credit By Exam

CS 2114 Credit By Exam

Capstone Updates

Prerequisites for the capstone include CS 2506, CS 3114, and a minimum of 99 completed credits..
Students will be able to select one capstone, by CRN, during course request and can make changes during the open enrollment period starting on April 24th.
To remain enrolled in a capstone, priority will be given to students fully completing their degree requirements in Fall 2026. Please contact your advisor for more information about your graduation term.
Capstones, and how they are offered, has changed as of Fall 2025. Students are highly encouraged to review the detailed capstone information which can be found here, under the "Courses In-Depth section."
To see specific capstone section information, specifically what topic will be explored, please refer to the Computer Science Capstone Description: Fall 2026. Virginia Tech Login credentials will be required to view the document.