How easy is it to change majors between different schools (i.e. E-School to College of Arts and Sciences or vice versa)?
If you want to graduate within 4 years, it is easier to go from E School to Arts and Sciences, than visa versa.
It’s much easier to transfer out of the E school than it is to transfer in. Enrollment in engineering majors is limited due to the finite amount of resources present for each discipline. This is precisely why students must apply directly into the E school from high school. Spaces in engineering only become available as existing engineers transfer out into the College (A&S). While this does happen–during first year especially–I wouldn’t count on a guaranteed spot. If you’re torn between A&S and engineering, I’d probably apply into the E school because you can pretty much always transfer out.
Thanks! @Charliesch I applied to the E-school, but was just making sure that if I decided engineering wasn’t for me, I wouldn’t have too much difficulty transferring to the College. Thanks for all you help! @KateFitz
Arts and Sciences is the default school. People transfer from engineering and architecture to Arts and Sciences all the time. I’ve heard of people transferring from Arts and Sciences to Engineering, but it is not as simple.
I’m a current first-year student at UVA and I applied to the engineering school and have been there for the past semester. However, I’m switching to arts and sciences for the spring. Echoing what everyone else has said here, it was a good decision for you to start out in engineering, as it is much easier to switch to A&S from engineering than it is to switch to engineering from A&S.
All you technically need to switch to A&S is two sets of paperwork, found here (it took me less than 45 minutes to fill out, when I applied): http://college.as.virginia.edu/transfer
The only requirement is that you have a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
You need both a 2.0 GPA and to have completed several STEM courses to transfer into SEAS. http://www.seas.virginia.edu/undergrad/transfer_guidelines.php
The first year engineering curriculum is pretty stringent; there are a lot of specific, required classes, and a few of them have restricted enrollment to engineering students (i.e. CS), which makes them hard to get into if you’re not already an engineer. A&S doesn’t have “set” classes; you have broader requirements (social science, non-western perspectives, etc) and pick whatever interests you to fill them. If you start in ESchool and then switch, almost all of your math/science classes and STS (a required first-year humanities course for engineers) will count towards your math/science requirements, and the first year writing requirement, respectively. If you take a lot of humanities classes in A&S, the only thing they will count towards is the humanities or unrestricted electives in ESchool, which isn’t really part of the core curriculum.
Additionally, you can apply after the first and second semester to get into A&S, but ESchool only has one yearly transfer deadline in March.
As a side note - @KateFitz the caps on engineering majors have just been removed this year, actually. They’re no longer doing applications or anything like that - you just declare a major in March. We got an email about it about a month ago.
That is very helpful. It is great when current students participate on these discussions, because they are more knowledgeable about what is really happening and what is current.
Thank you so much for all the info @purplepiano it is incredibly helpful!!!
No problem, @enginero. If you (or any other prospective students reading this) have any other questions about SEAS, transferring btw schools, or just UVA in general, feel free to PM me.
I like UVa a lot and I’m happy to talk about my experience. 
@purplepiano Apologies if my first post was unclear. You are correct in that the caps on engineering majors have been removed. I was referring to the limit on total SEAS enrollment, not to individual majors. While current engineering students can choose any major within the E school, students in the College cannot simply choose an engineering major and be transferred into SEAS without resistance. Spots in SEAS do become available as engineering students transfer to the College, but as several people have mentioned, it is not a guaranteed swap.
@enginero I am also a current student–third year biomedical engineering–if you have any additional questions! I can’t promise that I’ll know much about other majors but most general engineering advice holds.