Majors & Minors

Requirement to Declare a Major

You must enroll in a major degree program offered by one of the departments or interdepartmental programs by the last day of final exams in the fourth semester; in addition, you must present to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, as part of a plan of study, a program requiring no fewer than 18 nor more than 30 credits in the major subject, approved by an official advisor. The major program may require up to 12 credits in related courses.

Students who begin the fifth semester without either declaring a major or deferring declaration (pick up the form from the rack in the Garrett Hall lobby) will be blocked from enrolling in the next semester's classes and may lose their enrollment place.

No student may begin a sixth semester without a declared major.

Procedure for Declaring a Major

1. Go to Garrett Hall and pick up a Declaration of Major Form from the rack in the lobby.
2. Contact the department in which you wish to declare a major and ask how you go about scheduling an appointment to do so.
3. Meet with the assigned faculty member and complete the form.

The form is in triplicate with one copy staying with the student, one with the department, and one delivered to Garrett Hall so that the new information can be entered into ISIS. Before you meet with a faculty member, you should first look through the Undergraduate Record and study the requirements for the major. This will help provide you with an idea of what you would like to take. If you have specific questions contact the Director of the Undergraduate Program.

Double Major

You may major in two subjects, in which case the application for a degree must be approved by both departments or interdepartmental programs. Students who double major must submit at least 18 credits in each major; these credits may not be duplicated in the other major. There is no triple major.

Applying Course Credits to a Major or Minor

You may not select the credit/no credit option for the courses offered in the major program. Beyond the courses required for the major, however, you may register for other courses in your major field on a credit/no credit basis.

Courses taken during your first and second years may count toward the major program with the permission of the department or interdepartmental program concerned. Courses applied toward the major may not be transferred from another institution to the University except with special permission of the department. With departmental permission, one or two courses (other than foreign language through 202) may count simultaneously toward fulfillment of a second major. Students beyond the second year must remain in Good Standing as a major or have their enrollment in the College cancelled.

Concentrations

Some departments and interdisciplinary programs offer concentrations along with the major. Students in these departments or programs may concentrate in designated areas of study that also meet the requirements of the major. Concentrations typically involve special topics, applications, or disciplines and may include courses taken in other departments or schools of the University. Your concentration appears, along with the major, on your transcript.

Interdepartmental Programs

A number of degree programs are administered by committees rather than by departments. These include African-American and African Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, Russian and East European studies, all the area studies programs—Asian, Jewish, Latin American, and Middle Eastern studies; and all the organized interdisciplinary studies programs—Archaeology; Cognitive Science; the Echols Scholars Program; Environmental Thought and Practice; Human Biology; Linguistics; Medieval Studies; Political and Social Thought; Political Philosophy, Policy and Law, and Studies in Women and Gender.

Interdisciplinary Major

Students wishing to focus on an area for which there is no departmental or interdepartmental major program may apply to the chair for acceptance in the Interdisciplinary Major Program. For more information, see the Interdisciplinary Major Program page.

Distinguished Major

Students who show exceptional promise in their major field of study may be eligible for admission to the Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) within their department. For more information see the Distinguished Major Programs page.

Teacher Education

Students in the College may apply to the five-year Education Program sponsored jointly with the Curry School of Education, which leads to the simultaneous conferral of both a B.A. degree from the College and a Master of Teaching degree from the Curry School of Education. Students will also be certified to teach on the elementary or secondary levels. For more information, see the Teacher Education Program page.

Minor Subject

In addition to a major, students may choose a minor concentration in a second subject (or third subject if they are double majors). Not all departments and interdepartmental programs offer a minor. Credits applied toward a minor may not also count toward completion of a major.

Students intending to minor must complete the appropriate forms in the department no later than the add period of their next to last semester in the College (normally the seventh semester). A copy of the minor form must be delivered to the Dean's Office in Garrett Hall. A minor consists of no fewer than 15 and no more than 24 credits of graded work in a program of studies approved by the sponsoring department. Students may not declare two minors, but they may declare two majors and a minor. As with the major, courses taken credit/no credit may not be included in the minor program. Courses used to meet area requirements in the College and the Second Writing Requirement may simultaneously be offered in fulfillment of a minor, except that foreign language courses through level 202, and 212 for Portuguese, 232 for French and 206 for Chinese, may not be included as part of a minor.

Non-College Minors

College students may choose from minor programs offered by the School of Architecture. These minor programs include architecture, architectural history, urban and environmental planning, landscape architecture, and historic preservation. For more information, see the School of Architecture web site.

The School of Engineering and Applied Science offers a minor in computer science for College students consisting of 18 credits. These courses include CS 101, CS 201, CS 202, CS 216, CS 308, and CS 340. Space in the CS minor is limited, therefore admission to the minor is competitive. For more information, see the Department of Computer Science web site.

Students who complete approved minor programs outside the College may, once they have completed the program, count these credits as inside the College. For approval by the Committee on Special Programs, such minors must have a primarily liberal arts focus and be consistent with the academic objectives and standards of the College. They are supervised by committees that combine members from the College and the other schools involved.