Frequently Asked Questions

Your next steps will always be available in Porches. Prior to fall, your Porches to-do list will include steps like:

• Completing housing and meal plan form
• Completing language questionnaire
• Completing your health requirement form
• Updating your FlyerCard photo
• Submitting your course preferences
• Registering for New Student Orientation

Porches (porches.udayton.edu) is your all-access pass as you prepare for life at the University of Dayton, and it will guide you throughout your college experience. Our porch-clad student neighborhood is one of the things that makes UD really special, and we've carried that idea of community space into this site for UD students, faculty and staff.

Login with your UD username and password is required for Porches. Once you're logged in, you'll find a to-do list tailored just for you that will remind you what you'll need to take care of before you arrive on campus. You can also use Porches for things like:

• accessing your UDmail and calendar
• checking the campus events calendar and dining services menus
• reading daily campus and personal announcements
• tracking your academic progress
• updating your emergency contact information

Now that you've made your enrollment deposit, your official UD username is available in your Admission Account. You will be able to activate your official UD account and create your password after February 1. Your username and password will allow you to access services like:

• Google Apps including UDMail
• Printers
• Parking Services
• Porches

Yes. We’ve listed a number of opportunities on our External Scholarships page. Your UD aid will not be affected by any outside scholarships you earn, unless you earn more than the cost of attendance.

In May, you will receive a first-semester schedule guide, which was prepared by your academic adviser. If you have questions, you can take advantage of summer advising - contact information will be available in Porches. You'll be able to submit your course preferences, and as a service to you, we will create your schedule for the first semester and make sure you're starting off on the right foot.

If college credit is received and evaluated after your original schedule is released, we'll work with you to make any needed changes to your schedule. If you have schedule-related questions, your academic dean's office will be the best place to find answers.

The University of Dayton requires all students earning a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) to complete a language requirement while earning their degree. Biochemistry (BCM), Chemistry (CHM), and Engineering Technology, Global Manufacturing Systems Engineering Technology (GMT) majors are also required to complete a language requirement as part of their degree. Students in these degree programs are required to complete a language placement questionnaire.

Depending on the results of the questionnaire, students may also be instructed to complete a language placement exam.

If you're interested in taking foreign language courses at UD, you must complete the language questionnaire for placement purposes, even if language courses are not required by your major. The questionnaire is available to all students in Porches once they have confirmed their enrollment.

In addition to graduating with a specially notated Honors diploma and key, students receive a number of benefits on campus, like:

1. 1. • Assured academic scholarships (provided application materials are submitted on time)
      • Opportunities to participate in Honors signature programs that can provide research funding and take you around the world, like the Global Scholar Experience at Oxford University
      • Priority registration for courses
      • Honors Study Room in the library and book loaning privileges
      • Honors Student Center
      • Support from the Associate Director for Prestigious Fellowships and Graduate School Advising
      • Subsidized tickets to Dayton-area cultural events
      • Options for Honors housing all four years, both on campus and in the student neighborhood
      • Opportunities for fellowships to assist with international study, research or service projects, as well as fellowships and travel funds to assist with Honors Thesis projects or to present research at scholarly/professional conferences

If you have earned college credits while in high school and would like these transferred to UD, you’ll need to have an official transcript of grades mailed from the college to:  

Office of the Registrar
University of Dayton
300 College Park
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1668  

In most cases, these credits will be accepted toward your degree requirements. In order for credit to transfer, you must have earned a C or better in a course, and only credit hours transfer.

The University encourages first year students to live in learning communities that foster opportunities to meet new people with shared academic interests.  The University also views the first year as an opportunity for incoming students to enter into a roommate experience with someone from another state or even another country. Learning to live with someone new is an important skill and one of the hallmarks of a Catholic, Marianist education. If students wish to select a mutual roommate during the housing application process, this may impact the community that the student is assigned.

For this reason, we discourage mutual roommate selections, but students are permitted to designate a roommate during the housing application process.

Many students reach out to other admitted students through Schools App to find a roommate. The University is not affiliated with any roommate matching services, however, and will not honor matches provided through external arrangements. Students should be wary of paying for roommate matching services.

New Student Orientation is a virtual one-day experience required for all domestic first-year students enrolling in the Fall. The NSO programs occurs over the Summer leading up to Fall move-in.

NSO is an opportunity to connect with your future classmates, prepare for academic and non-academic life, and learn to navigate campus prior to arriving for your Fall classes. These virtual sessions serve as an introduction to the University and can help you answer your questions about the incoming student process.

Check out more information at go.udayton.edu/nso.

Information about move-in will be posted on UD's Move-In Day page when it's available.

Find out more information at go.udayton.edu/move-in

Welcome Weekend occurs directly after move-in and features events leading up to the first day of classes. Sessions include events like:

• Welcome Mass
• Resource fair
• Convocation
• Team time and small group meetings
• Academic addresses
• Evening socials

Through early drop-off, you can sign up for a one-hour time slot to bring all of your belongings to your assigned residence hall room before move-in day. While it’s not designed to allow students to unpack and settle in, it is VERY beneficial because it allows you and your family to avoid waiting in move-in day traffic, and instead proceeding directly to the move-in day parking/shuttle lots and carrying just small last-minute items on the bus that takes you to your residence hall. 

Early Drop-off is highly encouraged, especially for students who are coming from long distances. 

More information can be found at go.udayton.edu/earlydrop

You do not have to be Catholic to attend UD – in fact, only a little over half of our students are Catholic. Our goal is to provide all students with a place to plug in their faith life (no matter its shape). We offer weekly interdenominational worship services and Bible studies, as well as retreats and fellowship opportunities. We also provide interfaith prayer spaces through our UD Interfaith Alliance, which aims to create a community of students, faculty and staff with diverse voices, where all voices are included and respected.

The Career Services staff is happy to help with your career-related needs from admission to retirement, providing many opportunities for you to connect with employers such as career fairs, on-campus interviews, social media and company information sessions. Career Services can help you learn the vital skills necessary for success in the job search process through workshops, class presentations and individual appointments with a career advisor. The office can also connect you with internships and co-ops, assist you with choosing a major, review your résumé, and pair you with an alumni mentor.

To help provide safety to our campus community members, the University of Dayton Police Officers are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  They conduct 24 hour patrol through the use of marked patrol vehicles, bicycles and foot patrol. Officers within the Department are State Certified with police powers and authority as set forth under section 1713.50 of the Ohio Revised Code. All officers have obtained at least 560 hours of specialized training through the  Ohio Peace Officer's Training Academy as mandated by the Ohio Revised Code.  Safety and security systems are installed throughout the campus, including fire and security alarms, electronic access control, video cameras, and emergency phones.  These systems aid Public Safety in its mission of providing a safe and secure campus.  All campus safety and security systems are monitored in the Department of Public Safety Communication Center, enabling immediate response to an emergency on campus or within a university facility.  Campus crime statistics and all of the safety services provided can be viewed on the Public Safety website.

Or learn more directly from our Chief of Police and Executive Director of Public Safety, Rodney Chatman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A0r9mvxreI.

First-year students are not permitted to bring vehicles to campus; however, our campus is very walkable, and there are lots of options for getting around:

• Our Link bike-sharing program allows you to rent a bike from one of multiple stations on campus for as long as you need it.
• Two Zipcars — part of a vehicle-sharing initiative — are available on campus to rent for longer trips.
• A Saturday shopping shuttle and weekday campus shuttle are available to all students.
• Flyer Ride provides free rides anywhere within the university area during the evening and early morning hours.

Visit the Parking Services website for additional details.