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Academic Advising

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Hub for current students to access advising information, campus resources, essential forms, and scholarship and award opportunities. Find quick solutions to your questions

HNFE Advising Team

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    A Virginia Tech HNFE faculty member stands outside for a photo.
    Ginger Dempsey, MA , bio

    Academic Advisor: Advising; Recruitment; Admissions

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    A Virginia Tech HNFE staff member stands outside for a photo.
    Elizabeth Engel, MEd , bio

    Academic Advisor: Provides academic advising to HNFE undergraduate students pursuing the Exercise & Health Science major

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    A Virginia Tech HNFE faculty member sits inside for a photo.
    Stephanie Nelson, MS , bio

    Undergraduate Advising Director: Undergraduate academic advising for course selection and degree focus, internships, study abroad, career opportunities, and support services offered through the university

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    A Virginia Tech HNFE faculty member sits inside a studio for a professional headshot.
    Deborah Pollio, MSE , bio

    Academic Advisor: Undergraduate academic advising for course selection and degree focus, internships, co-ops, study abroad, career opportunities, and support services offered through the university

Virginia Tech uses Navigate for advising services. Schedule an advising appointment online. If you ever have any concerns or issues, please contact hnfeadvise@vt.edu.

Advising Forms

Graduation Requirements

Date of Entry: 2023-2024

Date of Entry: Prior to 2023, find your appropriate checksheet here.

HNFE Forms

CALS Forms: Visit the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences for other forms such as: 

Change of Major

Students wishing to change their primary major to HNFE apply through Hokie Spa during the Change of Major Dates. 

HNFE is a restricted major and requires:

  • Overall GPA of 2.5 (3.0 for Nutrition and Dietetics)
  • C- or better in CHEM 1035

Students wishing to add HNFE as a second major should use the Add a CALS Secondary Major form. 

Before changing majors, students are encouraged to attend a HNFE Information Meeting and / or meet with an advisor. Appointments can be scheduled through Navigate under “Explore HNFE”.

Walk-in advising is available Wednesdays 1:00-4:00 p.m., except during course request and first week of classes.

Campus Organizations and Clubs

Frequently Asked Questions

Upon applying for your degree, the University Registrar's Office prepares a Degree Audit Report, or DARs, which is an analysis of all course work, listing the courses taken, those left to take, and any deficiency in your GPA. Applying early ensures that each student will have time to take courses that may have been overlooked, and it allows the student to correct the Registrar’s analysis if errors have been made.

Even if students are uncertain as to exactly when they will graduate, they should still apply for graduation at the beginning of the junior year and make a reasonable guess as to their graduation date. The graduation analysis does not commit to graduation, but it serves as an excellent tool by reviewing the requirements left to complete. Students should view it as a planning guide for the senior year.

Students should apply for graduation at the beginning of the junior year by filling out an Application for Degree, available on HokieSpa.

Procedure for securing authorization of transfer courses:

  1. If you decide to take a course somewhere else, you need to check the VT Transfer Guide to see if the course you plan to take elsewhere will transfer back to Virginia Tech in the manner you anticipate.
  2. Next, download the Authorization of Transfer Credit—within the United States (PDF). TYPE your information on the form. Failure to complete this form means that you do not have permission to take a course for transfer back to Virginia Tech.
  3. The form asks for the departmental/advisor signature. While you should discuss your plan of study with your advisor, the form must be signed by HNFE in 338 Wallace; therefore, turn the completed form into 338 Wallace Hall; DO NOT turn the form into Litton-Reaves, even though that is what the form instructs. Once departmental approval has been given, the form will be forwarded to 1060 Litton-Reaves, and this can take several weeks for final approval. The dean’s office will notify you by email of the approval, or provide further information if the course equivalency is not approved.

IMPORTANT: Upon completion of the course(s), you must request that an official transcript be sent to Virginia Tech. If a transcript does not get to the VT Registrar, you cannot get credit for the course.

Mail to:
Virginia Tech University Registrar
250 Student Services Building
Blacksburg, VA 24061

The course withdrawal policy allows you to drop a maximum of three courses, regardless of credit, during your academic career at Virginia Tech. The deadline for using course withdrawal is always the last regular day of classes for a semester, and you must meet with your advisor to initiate a course withdrawal. The credits for the course remain, so taking a withdrawal does NOT change your status from full time to part time for academic and financial purposes. Before using course withdrawal, international students should check with the Cranwell International Center while athletes should check with their athletic advisor on how this would affect status.

The fastest way to find your current overall GPA is to go to HokieSpa and check out your online unofficial transcript. Although the grades for the current semester will not be there, if you look under the GPA column for the previous semester, you will find current and cumulative GPAs listed. The current GPA is for that single semester; the cumulative one is your overall GPA for all the time you have been here.

You can also find that information on your DARS report (either your "real" one or a "What‐If" one). Run an updated DARS report. You will find your current overall GPA and in‐major GPA at the top of the DARs in the bar graph.

According to the Grades and Grade Points Policy in the Undergraduate Catalog, a student may not repeat courses in order to improve his or her grade average where a grade of "C or higher has been earned. An assigned grade of "A-D" for the second occurrence will be changed to a grade of "P" whenever a graduation analysis (DARS report) detects a repeated course with a "C" or better grade. Repeating a course where the course is "C-" or below, both instances of the graded course will be computed in the grade point average.

If it is a course on your Checksheet, you cannot take the course Pass/Fail unless the course is only offered as a Pass/Fail.

You can receive Pass/Fail credit for 10 percent of the overall hours you take at Virginia Tech. The minimum number of hours you need to graduate is 120, if you take all of your coursework here at Tech, then you have available 12 hours of P/F credit.

If you are a transfer student, however, or you bring in any "outside" credit (even AP credit), the number of Pass/Fail credits you can take decreases: you must subtract your transfer hours from the hours you need to graduate. For example, if you transfer in 60 hours, then that means to reach the magical 120, you'd be accumulating 60 hours at Tech, which would translate to 6 available hours of P/F credit (120‐60=60; 10% of 60=6).

Please review the full Pass/Fail Policy in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Free electives are opportunities where students can choose courses from any department in the university. Electives present unlimited possibilities for tailoring a curriculum to fit interests, educational plans, and career goals. Students may even pursue a double major, earn one of the many minors at Virginia Tech, select courses that complement their major, continue special interests or talents, or explore new areas.

Free electives are one of the many ways students can demonstrate their initiatives and interests. Speaking to faculty members, reading about the minors and majors, considering interests and career goals, and meeting with an academic advisor are all helpful in planning how best to use free electives.

One pathway to be eligible to become a Registered Dietitian (RD)/Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) requires a student to earn a Verification Statement from an ACEND accredited Didactic Program in Nutrition & Dietetics, such as HNFE's. The RD/RDN credential is the recognized credential that allows one to practice medical nutrition therapy.

Scholarships and Awards

HNFE offers the following awards and scholarships to outstanding applicants. You can apply for these awards in Scholarship Central.  

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Hokie Spirit Endowed Scholarship
Established by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation in 2008 to honor the victims of the April 16th, 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech. This scholarship recognizes outstanding undergraduate students with exceptional commitment to community service and financial need. To the extent possible, preference will be given to those whose community service has been in the area of cultural integration. Two tuition scholarships will be awarded (equal fall and spring semester distributions), dependent on qualified applicants.

Louis M. Briel Scholarship
Open to undergraduate and graduate students, this general scholarship criteria is financial need, academic achievement, and good character demonstrated by community service. 
Note: only FAFSA eligible students may apply; the determination of financial need will be confirmed by the CALS Office of Academic Programs.

P. Howard Massey Food and Nutrition Award
Established in honor of Dr. Massey's distinguished 36 year teaching career at Virginia Tech, including service as associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, director of Agronomic and Plant Sciences, director of International Development, and chair of the University Committee on International Programs, the award is available to both HNFE undergradate and graduate students. Dr. Massey valued interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving that addressed evolving issues related to food and nutrition here and abroad.  The award will provide scholarships, or student travel for presenting at national or international meetings, training, or exchange programs (including study abroad and mission trips).  

George A. Oley III Fund for Excellence
Dr. George A. Oley III received a B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech in 1975 and a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the Medical College of Virginia in 1979. Everyone in his family attended medical school. He has an interest in community service and Virginia Tech sports. The Fund for Excellence is open to all HNFE undergraduate students.

CALS Outstanding Senior Award, HNFE candidate
Each major in CALS selects an outstanding graduating student for their major, and all seniors who plan to graduate in May, August, or December of the current academic year, with a GPA of 3.4 or higher, are eligible to be nominated by HNFE faculty. The awardee will be selected based on outstanding performance in several or all of the following areas: academic achievement, extracurricular activities, leadership positions, and contributions of service to the university and/or community.

Brenda H. Rohe Dietetic Scholarship
Given by the Rohe family in honor of Brenda Rohe, a graduate of the HNFE's dietetics program, the scholarship is given to a rising junior or senior dietetics major from southwest Virginia or North Carolina who has demonstrated academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and talent for a career in Dietetics. Applicants must have a permanent residence in North Carolina, or one of the following Virginia counties/cities to be eligible: Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Grayson, Henry, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, or Wythe.

Sebolt Fitness/Wellness Research Award
This award, given in memory of Dr. Don Sebolt, recognizes undergraduate or graduate student research related to the health benefits of physical activity/exercise and/or physiological aspects of exercise related to athletic performance or improved human health.  Preference will be given to students who plan a career in exercise science; a health profession such as athletic training, physical therapy, or health coach; or teaching physical fitness in secondary or higher education.

Forrest Thye Scholarship
Established to support student learning and experience in research, preference for first year awards will be given to rising sophomores. Successful applicants will show strong academic achievement (3.0 or above); remain committed to performing undergraduate research during their time at Virginia Tech; are willing to participate in a yearly course, which includes both oral and written presentation of their research projects; and promote an environment of diversity and inclusion.

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