Major Declaration

A major is a coordinated group of upper-division courses (courses numbered 100-199) in a field of specialization. All majors contain a minimum of 36 units of upper-division courses, although the number of required units in each major varies.

The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences offers three different types of majors:

• Departmental majors. A single department, i.e., History, English, etc.
• Interdisciplinary majors: A group of related courses involving a number of departments/disciplines
• Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Individualized Major: A group of courses chosen to meet a special interest not covered by existing majors.

The Interdisciplinary majors in the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences are:

Asian Studies
Ethnic Studies
Gender and Sexual Studies
Global Studies
Latin American Studies
Liberal Studies

Media and Cultural Studies
Middle East and Islamic Studies
Native American Studies
Public Policy
Religious Studies
Sustainability Studies

Reasons to Choose an Interdisciplinary Major

Interdisciplinary majors examine a topic by taking courses from a broad range of disciplines such as Economics, English literature, History, Political Science, Media and Culture Studies, and others to gain the needed insights into trends.

Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Major (Individualized major) offer courses of broad interest, and students with interests not readily satisfied through existing departments and programs may develop individual majors under the direction of special faculty sponsors. The consent of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Program Committee and the associate dean are required. The title of the major will be entered on the official degree list and on the official transcript. Diplomas will read “Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary” with the individual field of concentration specified.

What is a minor?

The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences offers minor programs; however, no student is required to take a minor. Minors are not degree-granting majors; they are sequences of supplemental courses designed to enhance work in certain areas. For instance, you might want to go to Law school and decide to major in English and then minor in Philosophy to further enhance your critical thinking skills. Minors in the college shall consist of no less than 16 and no more than 28 units of organized upper-division coursework.

Major Declaration

The minimum criterion to declare any major is good academic standing and a 2.0 or better GPA in the major. An incoming freshman may declare a major without meeting the criteria listed below if they declare the major prior to the third week of their incoming quarter. This may be done either through the Office of Admissions or through MyUCR (with the exception of the Business Administration major). After the third week, in order to declare a major, the criteria for major declaration must be met. Some majors in our college are selective and require the completion of specific criteria prior to major declaration. For specific information regarding requirements and course descriptions for each major check the General Catalog. All Undeclared students must declare their major in the quarter in which they obtain 90 units—end of sophomore year.

Careful planning and specific course selection is necessary in order to meet the criteria for the selective majors in the College. For specific information regarding requirements and course descriptions for each major, check the UCR General Catalog.

Selective Majors

By admission only. Requires the submission of an Art Portfolio. Admission is approved or denied by a faculty panel.

0-45 Units: MATH 6A or MATH 5 or higher with a C- or better. 46-90 Units: MATH 6B or MATH 5 or higher with a C- or better and ECON 2 and ECON 3 with a C- or better.

Must complete GBST 001 or 002 with a C- or better.

Must complete two History courses with a C or better.

Must complete MCS 001 with a C- or better.

See the information on the following link: http://cnasstudent.ucr.edu/files/NURO-COM.pdf

See the information on the following link: https://chassstudentaffairs.ucr.edu/dept/psyc.html

Must complete PBPL 1 with a grade of "C-" or better.

Sociology, Sociology/Administrative Studies, Sociology/Law and Society Students will not be admitted into the major until lower-division requirements are satisfied with a “C-” or better:

SOC 1
SOC 3 (prerequisite: SOC 1)
SOC 4 (prerequisite: SOC 1)
SOC 5 (prerequisites: SOC 1 and SOC 4)
One additional lower-division Sociology course (courses numbered 1-99)

Students must apply to Business Administration by the time 90 units have been completed. A cumulative GPA of 2.7 is required with a minimum 2.5 GPA in the combined GPA of General Business Prerequisites and lower division Business requirements. See the Pre-Business section for detailed course information.

• Step 1: Assess Yourself
• Step 2: Gather Information and Explore Options
• Step 3: Narrow Your Focus
• Step 4: Take Action

You've decided on a major/minor—Now what?

• How to Declare Your Major
• How to Declare Your Minor

• Complete an Undergraduate Major Change Petition. These forms are available in the departmental academic advising offices.
• Arrange to meet with the departmental academic advisor in the department whose major you wish to declare. The optimum time to meet with a departmental advisor is during week three of the quarter. Departmental academic advisors are very busy during the quarterly registration period and may not be available to meet with you while R'Web is open. Please check with the department regarding their advising hours.
• Obtain the departmental academic advisor's signature for approval to declare the major and discuss your progress toward your degree.

1. Go to the minor department for advice and signature on the Request to Declare/Drop a Minor form.
2. Submit the form at the front desk in CHASS Student Academic Affairs, 3400 HMNSS.

(If the Minor is denied, a copy of the form will be mailed to the minor department, with whom you may consult. Otherwise, you may view your minor on the R'Web degree check within three weeks of submission of the Minor Declaration Form.)

For CHASS major declaring a CNAS/COE Minor*:

1. Go to the Minor Department for advice and signature on the Request to Declare/Drop a Minor form.
2. Submit the form to the CNAS Student Academic Affairs Office, 1223 Pierce Hall for the "Minor College" signature. Once they have signed the form, they will forward it to the CHASS Student Academic Affairs office for final approval.

(If the Minor is approved by both colleges, CHASS will input the minor on the system and it can be viewed on the R'Web degree check. If it is denied, a copy of the form will be mailed to the minor department with whom you may consult.)

For COE/CNAS majors declaring a CHASS Minor*:

1. Go to the Minor Department for advice and signature on the Request to Declare/Drop a Minor form.
2. Submit the form to the CHASS Student Academic Affairs Office, 3400 HMNSS for the "Minor College" signature. The form will then be forwarded by CHASS to CNAS/COE College Offices for their approval and input on the system. The minor can be viewed on the R'Web degree check.

* Note the process between colleges can take up to a month to process. (If you don't see the Minor on R'Web within one month, check with your college office [CNAS/COE].)

Policies for Minors :

• Courses required in the minor may be used to fulfill breadth.
• No overlap may occur among courses used to satisfy upper-division course requirements for a major and a minor within the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
• A GPA of at least 2.00 is required in upper division courses in the field of the minor.
• A major must be declared prior to a minor.