Close menu William & Mary

Recommended Courses for Transfer Applicants

William & Mary recommends that students interested in transferring to the university take challenging courses in the liberal arts and sciences. Typically, our most competitive transfer applicants have a GPA of 3.5 or higher at their current institution and have taken rigorous transfer-oriented coursework in the past year. 

Competitive transfer applicants typically have completed the following courses:

  • Mathematics such as quantitative reasoning, statistics or calculus
  • Natural sciences (with the associated laboratory) such as biology, chemistry, geology or physics
  • Social sciences such as economics, psychology, sociology and political science
  • World cultures and history
  • Literature and history of the arts
  • Intensive writing or advanced composition/rhetoric courses
  • Creative and performing arts
  • Philosophical, religious and social thought

Note: Unless students have completed the fourth level in high school of a single foreign language or demonstrated proficiency through SAT II subject tests by achieving the minimum score required to grant college credit, they must satisfactorily complete a fourth-semester course (202 level) to meet the graduation requirements at William & Mary (this is not an admission requirement).

TransferVA Transfer Guides: Students are encouraged to discuss their course plan with advisors in addition to consulting the linked transfer guides, especially if pursuing the VCCS guaranteed admission agreement.

Examples of Strong Semester Curricula

Example A

  • Calculus I
  • General Biology with Lab
  • Principles of Microeconomics
  • British Literature
  • Introduction to Philosophy

Example B

  • Calculus II
  • General Chemistry with Lab
  • College Composition/Rhetoric
  • African-American History
  • Intermediate French I

Example C

  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • General Physics with Lab
  • Introduction to Psychology
  • History of Western Civilization
  • Introduction to Creative Writing

Example D

  • Probability and Statistics
  • Physical Geology with Lab
  • Principles of Sociology
  • Ethics (Philosophy)
  • Intermediate Spanish II

Example E

  • Calculus I
  • Introductory Astronomy with Lab
  • Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • Public Speaking
  • Elementary German I