Incoming Student Information

All incoming students have a temporary Summer adviser who sends a welcome letter to their Vanderbilt email in early May (or when they matriculate). A faculty adviser is appointed to each student based on their chosen major. If a student has not chosen a major upon entry, an adviser will be assigned to assist them in making this choice during the first year. Once a student selects a major, their adviser will change to a corresponding adviser for that major.

Advisers are assigned in early August. All first-year engineering students will meet with their advisers on Academic Day (before classes begin).

Please contact the Office of Academic Services for advising guidance during initial registration.

Q1 Am I allowed to declare a different major than the one I initially applied for? 

Students in the Class of 2030 may change their primary major within the School of Engineering on or after March 1, 2027.  

All engineering students at Vanderbilt take a common core of courses during the first year, in the sense that all students take:

• Chemistry
• Math
• Engineering Science 1401, 1402, 1403 (Introduction to Engineering)
• Liberal Arts Core requirement or an elective
• Engineering Freshman Seminar (optional)

While it is a “common” first year, many students have Advanced Placement (AP) credits or other special circumstances requiring some guidance in selecting an appropriate schedule for the first semester.

Using the sample curriculum as a guide, use the YES class search to look up the times for the courses you have selected and place them in your cart. Be careful not to overlap course times.

Placement Tests

Placement tests are optional. But, if you are planning to continue in a foreign language that you began in high school, we recommend a placement test in that language. Placement tests are available online at http://vanderbilt.edu/csls/placement_info.php.

Sample Curriculum for Engineering First-Years (FALL)

Chem 1601 - General Chemistry Lecture  (3 hours)
Chem 1601 - General Chemistry Discussion   (0 hours)
Chem 1601L - General Chemistry Lab   (1 hour)

Math 1300 - First Year Accelerated Calculus I   (4 hours)

Liberal Arts Core Requirement or Elective Credit   (3-5 hours)

ES 1401 - Introduction to Engineering, Module 1   (1 hour)
ES 1402 - Introduction to Engineering, Module 2   (1 hour)
ES 1403 - Introduction to Engineering, Module 3   (1 hour)

ES 1115 - Freshman Seminar (optional)   (1 hour)

TOTAL:   14-17 hours

Introduction to Engineering is required of all entering engineering students. This three-part introductory course is designed to assist students in choosing a major or confirming their choice of major and to provide access to engineering topics that might otherwise not be explored.

The course is divided into three, five-week modules (ES 1401, 1402, 1403) to be taken one after the other (also known as “in series”). Students must register for all three modules to receive credit for Introduction to Engineering. All modules are offered during the same time period, MWF 12:20–1:10 p.m. Each module counts for one credit hour of the three credit hour requirement, and individual grades will be reported for each module.

Module descriptions are available on YES. It is important to read the descriptions of each section within each module. Students may not take more than one module with the same description, and students may take no more than two modules from the same discipline or major.

Modules for ES 1401, 1402 and 1403 are to be chosen based on areas of interest of the student’s choice and in no particular order (for example: ES 1401 does not have to be in your chosen major). Students should be mindful of the notes listed under each Introduction to Engineering section as they state the content of the modules. No section contains a prerequisite of any kind.

Q1 Can I take an Introduction to Engineering module in my declared/intended major?

Students are not guaranteed a seat in their major-specific section(s) of ES 140X but are more than welcome to register for their declared major discipline if a seat is available.  

Q2 When I enroll in any of the ES 140x courses, should I only enroll in the first one I want to do or all three?  

These are 3 different classes, all in sequence. You take ES 1401 for the first 5 weeks, ES 1402 for the second 5 weeks, and ES 1403 for the final 5 weeks of the semester. You must register for all 3 at once. The system will give you a requisite error message if you try to register for each one individually.

Q1 Do I have to take the ALEKS calculus placement exam?

Yes, all incoming first-year School of Engineering students are required to take a calculus placement test through ALEKS, even if you took the AP Calculus exam.

Q2 What if I don't do well on the ALEKS placement exam? 

If your overall score was ≥90% with ≥80% in each subcategory, you are ready to start in MATH 1300, and no additional work is needed.   

If your overall score was <90% or your score in any subcategory was <80%, use the learning modules in ALEKS to learn/relearn the necessary skills. Then retake the placement exam.

Q3 How do I know if my Calculus placement results were received? Should I email and check? 

Since scores are automatically recorded there is no need to reach out.

Learn more about the calculus placement.

Choosing your Math Course

Selection of the appropriate mathematics course is somewhat involved. The usual sequence taken by entering engineering students is MATH 1300, 1301, and 2300. Math 1300 is a four-hour beginning calculus course for engineering students.

If you have earned a 5 on the BC Calculus Advanced Placement test, you will automatically be awarded eight hours of credit for MATH 1300 and 1301. Although you may start with MATH 2300, you should consider beginning calculus at Vanderbilt with MATH 1301 as good preparation for your second- and third-year courses in mathematics. If you elect to take either MATH 1300 or 1301 at Vanderbilt, the corresponding AP credit will be canceled.

If you have earned a 5 on the AB Calculus Advanced Placement test, you will automatically be awarded four hours of credit for MATH 1300, and you may start with MATH 1301.

Some deep self-evaluation should be made based on your high school math background. Adjust your starting point in mathematics based on your AP credit, the rigor of your high school math courses, and your proficiency and comfort with the material. The Department of Mathematics will evaluate student performance at the beginning of the semester and move students to a different level if warranted. If you find the course you have chosen too advanced, you may drop back to the lower-level course without penalty during the first two weeks of the semester.

Choosing your Chemistry Course

If you have a 5 on the AP chemistry exam, you will receive AP credit for CHEM 1601 and 1601L. You should speak with an adviser from the School of Engineering Office of Academic Services about a suitable substitute course for the fall semester. Otherwise, you should take CHEM 1601 (lecture), CHEM 1601 (discussion), and CHEM 1601L (laboratory).

Your major program will determine the preferred science courses you should take after the fall semester.

Q1 What if I have dual-enrollment credit? How well does that typically transfer? 

You can check to see how it might transfer by looking at this website: https://cc.app.vanderbilt.edu/cc/transfer-credit. If someone else has tried to transfer that course from the same institution, then it will show up on the list.  In any case, follow the instructions at the website to make sure your possible transfer credit is evaluated and, if appropriate, posted to your academic record: https://registrar.vanderbilt.edu/transfer-credit.php 

Q2 Can AP/IB/Pre-Freshman credit count towards School of Engineering degree requirements?

Yes. 

Q3 Given that AP scores are released in mid-July, what should I do if the classes I need or want are filled during Open Enrollment? 

Register now as if you have met the minimum score and already have credit. 

Q4 Once all AP credit is sent, will YES recalculate my credit hours? 

Yes, it will auto update and populate on your Academic Record and in your Degree Audit.  

Course Prerequisites

Although some course requisites may be initially relaxed to allow first year students to register for classes before Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit is applied to their Academic Record, course requisites will ultimately be enforced.

If you anticipate using either Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credit to fulfill a required prerequisite, you must be sure that your score has been received and recorded on your record by August. The same policy is applied for students presenting pre-college transfer credit. Credit that has been received is viewable on YES under the External tab of the Academic Record.

Student records will be reviewed before the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in classes without the required prerequisites will be administratively dropped from the class. After Vanderbilt Admissions has received your AP or IB scores that you have requested be sent from College Board or the test administrator then the credit will automatically be applied to your Academic Record on YES.

Q1 How do I find a list of prerequisites or corequisites for classes?

The prerequisites and corequisites for a course will be listed in the course description for the course in the Undergraduate Catalog. The Office of Academic Services has curriculum sheets with the prerequisites and corequisites by major degree requirements. Students are welcome to contact the Office of Academic Services for a digital copy.

Q2 Are prerequisites and corequisites strictly enforced?

Yes. Prerequisites and corequisites are in place to make sure students have the background information for the class they are going to take. Students should plan each semester carefully by consulting whether or not they will be meeting all prerequisites and corequisites listed. 

Q1 What is the Liberal Arts Core?

In order to provide the elements of a general education considered necessary for responsible practice as an educated engineer, the School of Engineering requires each student to complete at least 18 hours in the Liberal Arts Core comprising:

1. At least 3 hours selected from courses classified in the AXLE Curriculum Course Distribution as Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) or classified as Liberal Education - Humanities and Fine Arts (LE-HFA), with the exception of CMST 1500, 2100, 2110, and 2120, and
2. At least 3 hours selected from courses classified in the AXLE Curriculum Course Distribution as Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) or classified as Liberal Education - Social and Behavioral Sciences (LE-SBS).

The remaining hours are to be selected from:

1. Courses classified in the AXLE Curriculum Course Distribution as Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA), International Cultures (INT), History and Culture of the United States (US), Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS), and Perspectives (P)
2. CS 1151, ENGM 2440, and ES 1151
3. ARA, CHEB, CHIN, FREN, GER, GRK, HEBR, HNUR, ITA, JAPN, KICH, KOR, LAT, RUSS, SNSK, and SPAN courses numbered 1101; CHIN and JAPN courses numbered 1011 and 1012; and ENGL and SPAN courses numbered 1100
4. AP Credit for AADS 2000 (earned from the AP African American Studies exam).
5. Peabody College courses in Psychology (PSY-PC) numbered 1205, 1207, 1250, 2200, 2250, 2300, 2400, 2500, 2550, 2600, and 3150, and in Human and Organizational Development (HOD) numbered 1250, 1300, 2100, 2260, 2400, 2500, 2700, and HODC 3232
6. All MUSO, COMP, MREP, MUTH, and performance courses in the Blair School of Music, except MUSO 1001
7. MS 1510, NS 1690

Q2 What do you recommend I take for my Liberal Arts Core course elective in Fall semester?

The ‘advanced’ search option in YES has a drop down for the ‘course attributes’ where it will populate a list when you hit the search button of all courses offered this Fall that fall within the selected attribute. Students are required to take one (3 hour) AXLE or LE: Social & Behavioral Science (SBS) class and one (3 hour) AXLE: Humanities & Creative Arts (HCA) or LE: Humanities & Fine Arts course so if you’re not sure where to start for a liberal arts core we recommend using the ‘Advanced’ search option in YES to search for an option for one of these AXLE/LE categories to fulfill. We also are encouraging non-CS majors to consider ES 1151 Engineering Ethics since having an Ethics course will count as Liberal Arts Core but is also great background for Engineering students to have.

The course numbering system at Vanderbilt University correlates with the classification of students the course is created for. 1000-4000 level courses are undergraduate courses. 1000-2000 are first-year and sophomore level classes so we recommend students consider classes at these levels. First-year students who enroll in a 3000-4000 level course should consult with the instructor of record listed on the class to see if the course is appropriate for them.

Seats may be reserved for students who study in that major/department. If there appear to be open seats and you have to waitlist the course this is due to reserved seats. Students who waitlist a liberal arts core course should consider enrolling in a backup option and then selecting the ‘Drop if Enrolled’ option to ensure that an automatic swap happens if students get off the waitlist.

The below list* includes all Fall 2026 eligible LAC options that have no prerequisites at the 1000-2000 level, including but not limited to classes with the following AXLE Categories: Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA), International Cultures (INT), History and Culture of the United States (US), Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS), and Perspectives (P).

Examples of Engineering Liberal Arts Core options 

Department  Course #   Course Name                                                                                          AXLE Category (if applicable)

*Note: open seats can change rapidly. If students miss their initial registration period, they can enroll in coursework during open enrollment.  

Q3 If I have fulfilled all of my Liberal Arts Core hours through incoming credit, what class options do I have?

If you are coming into Vanderbilt with a specific plan---pursuing a minor, a double-major, pre-med, or even a general interest, feel free to use this time to explore. Students with incoming credit have more flexibility, so if you’re ahead in your curriculum, then this is your chance to personalize your journey.

DF 2100 Rapid Prototyping is a hands-on course where students learn the fundamentals of design, prototyping and entrepreneurship. Section 03 is reserved for first-year Class of 2029 or engineering transfer students. This course counts towards the Digital Fabrication minor and either a technical elective or open elective depending on the Engineering major.

The 4 year roadmap for each major shows the recommended order of classes to take. Students who have completed many first-year requirements for their major may elect to take sophomore-level courses if they have met the requisite(s) requirements.

Q4 I know we are required to take 3 hours in both Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) and Social and Behavioral (SBS), but do we have to take one of those as an elective our freshman year or can we satisfy these credits in later years? 

You can take your HCA and SBS courses at any time. You don't have to enroll in them right away.

Q5 Are engineering students required to enroll in a foreign language? 

No

Insight. Innovation. Impact. These words describe the contributions from every field of engineering, but where do you begin? The School of Engineering offers optional freshman seminars that provide first-year students with the opportunity to work and learn in small-group environments with experienced engineering professors.

Students will explore current engineering topics and begin learning how to approach real-world problems with guidance from an expert in the field. These courses are designed to introduce students to the important contributions that engineers make to technology and their impact on society. Students learn about the teamwork and communication skills that enhance the creative processes involved in engineering, as well as the engineering approach to problem-solving.

Most of these courses will be offered in the spring semester as Commons Seminars, but two seminars will be offered in the fall:

1. ES 1115-01: Moore's Law, AI, and the Microelectronics Industry
2. ES 1115-02: A Human-Centered Approach to Uncovering the Needs in Deep Technology

You may find the course description and meeting times in the course schedule on YES. You will receive information about the seminars planned for spring before the spring registration period begins. If you choose to take a seminar this fall, you will earn one hour of open elective credit from this very unique experience.

The State of Tennessee has established certain immunization requirements for all full-time enrollees in a higher education institution in the state. All admitted students intending to matriculate at Vanderbilt University must submit documentation of the required immunizations to the Zerfoss Student Health Center (medschool.vanderbilt.edu/student-health) prior to enrolling in classes.

For details about state and university immunization requirements and information on how to submit appropriate documentation, please visit the Zerfoss Student Health Center website at: medschool.vanderbilt.edu/student-health/immunization-requirements.

All incoming students must be compliant with the immunization requirements before registration for their initial term of enrollment.

Registration Holds

In order to ensure compliance with these state-mandated requirements, a registration hold will be placed on the accounts of all admitted students intending to matriculate. This hold will prevent students from enrolling in classes until all immunization requirements have been met and the hold released. You will see the Student Health Imm Hold on the YES Landing Page, including information on the compliance process.

Immunization Questions

If you have any questions about immunization requirements, please contact the Zerfoss Student Health Center at 615-322-2427.

If you have questions about the immunization registration hold, please contact the Office of the University Registrar at 615-322-7701 or university.registrar@vanderbilt.edu.

Q1 What are important registration dates to know?

All important academic dates/deadlines for the semester can be found on the Office of the University Registrar website. Some common dates to remember are the first and last day of classes, add/drop deadlines, registration windows, the deadline to change a course to pass/fail or to graded, etc.

Q2 How much time should I allow between my classes?

Care should be taken during the schedule building process to ensure you have enough time to get from one building to the location of a subsequent class.  If you have a course in either the Engineering and Science Building (ESB) or Olin Hall, it could be difficult to reach classes on the Peabody campus, in Wilson Hall, or on the Blair School of Music campus.  If you have a course in either Featheringill Hall or Stevenson Center 5, it could be difficult to reach classes on the Peabody campus or on the Blair School of Music campus. 

Q3 I get an Error message when trying to enroll ---does it mean YES is not working?

No, it means that your action created an error. You should read the message carefully to see why there is an error. You might not meet the prerequisites for the class, or perhaps the class requires permission of the instructor. Check the message carefully. If you can't figure it out, contact the YES help desk ("Help" in the upper right corner of the page) before you panic!

Q4  Why am I getting a requisite error when I meet the co-requisite and pre-requisite requirements?

For classes that have co-requisite labs, discussions, or modules (for instance, ES 1401, 1402, and 1403), you MUST have a seat (not a spot on the waitlist) in each component to get a spot in the class.  That is, if there is an available seat in the lecture component of the course, but there is no available seat in your preferred lab component, the enrollment transaction will not work for either component. You should choose a different lab (with available seats) and then use the Drop-if-Enrolled. 

Q5  If a class shows a lecture and discussion, do you need to select one of each?

Yes, you must register for both the lecture and a corresponding discussion section if there is one, such as for math or chemistry.  Not all courses have discussion sections. 

Q6 Are we only registering for our first semester or does this registration apply to the whole year? 

You will be registering for your fall semester courses ONLY. You will register for your spring semester courses towards the end of fall semester. 

Q7 Should I register for Vanderbilt Visions?

No, you will be assigned a section. 

Q8 What is the difference between initial registration and the open enrollment period? 

Only incoming students register during the initial registration period. During Open Enrollment, all students (incoming and current) can make changes to their Fall schedule. 

Q9 If I plan to study abroad, how should we plan our schedule? Because many of the universities don’t have all the courses for that semester. 

Studying abroad will not affect your first-semester class schedule. Once you begin classes, look out for info sessions specifically for VUSE students who want to study abroad for guidance. In the meantime, you can visit: https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/academics/undergraduate/study-abroad/ for more information.

Q1  Why do I get a class capacity error or placed on the waitlist when there are seats available in a course?

This could be for one of two reasons:

1. The seats that remain available have been reserved for specific populations of students.  For example, the Math department typically reserves a portion of all Fall calculus courses (1300, 1301, and 2300) for incoming students.  Other departments reserve a portion of seats for student within their major or minor groups.
2. The course in which you are attempting to enroll is combined with a graduate class and the combined capacity for both courses has been met.  When this happens, it can appear that there are seats available that are in fact filled by graduate students in the affiliated listing.

Q2 Can I get a seat in a class that is full?

You may choose to place yourself on the waitlist for most classes (this will not happen automatically). The waitlist is an optional function that allows students to sign-up for a course that is closed. Students who are waitlisted for a course are not registered but are waiting to register for the course.

Q3 Why do some classes have no waitlist?

Waitlist options are determined by Vanderbilt departments. If there is no wait list for a class you will need to check the class periodically for open seats.

Q4 What happens if I have to waitlist class(es)? 

We recommend registering for a back-up and setting up Drop-if-Enrolled.

Q5 Does Drop-if-Enrolled have to be completed during the registration period, and do I have to be enrolled in the class I want to drop before the Drop-if-Enrolled feature works? 

Yes, and yes.