Major Declaration

• Majors and Minors Offered

  Explore all of the majors and minors offered in CHASS on the Advisors, Majors, & Minors page!

• Minimum Criteria to Declare CHASS Majors

  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.

  MAJOR	MINIMUM CRITERIA TO DECLARE
  Anthropology Anthropology/Law and Society	Good academic standing
  Art (Studio)	Good academic standing and electronic submission of portfolio (see link for details)
  Art History Art History/Religious Studies	Good academic standing
  Asian Studies	Good academic standing
  Business Administration	All general business pre-requisites, lower division business requirements and breadth courses (except foreign language and ENGL 1C or BUS 100W) must be completed. 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 all of the separate areas for acceptance.
  Chinese	Good academic standing
  Classical Studies	Good academic standing
  Comparative Ancient Civilizations	Good academic standing
  Comparative Literature	Good academic standing
  Creative Writing	Recommended, but not required: ENGL 1A and CRWT 56
  Dance	Recommended, but not required: DNCE 014
  Economics Business Economics Economics/Law and Society Economics/Administrative Studies	Good academic standing Recommended completion of lower division Economics class with a minimum grade of C- and placement in an appropriate math pathway.
  English	Good academic standing English 1A-B-C with at least a 2.0 GPA. Recommend at least one lower division course from English 20A-B-C; minimum grade of C.
  Ethnic Studies African American Studies Asian American Studies Chicano/a Studies Native American Studies	Good academic standing
  French	Good academic standing
  Gender and Sexuality Studies	Good academic standing
  Germanic Studies	Good academic standing
  Global Studies	Good academic standing and GBST 1 or 2 with a C- or better.
  History History/Law and Society History/Administrative Studies	Good academic standing and two History courses with a grade of C or better.
  Humanities and Social Sciences	Must meet with Prof. Theda Shapiro for information prior to approval.
  Language	Good academic standing
  Latin American Studies	Upper division students must have completed the Major language requirement.
  Liberal Studies	Good academic standing
  Linguistics	Good academic standing
  Media and Cultural Studies	Good academic standing and MCS 001 with a C- or better.
  Music	Recommended, but not required: MUS 1, MUS 30A-B-C
  Neuroscience	See: http://cnasstudent.ucr.edu/files/NURO-COM.pdf
  Philosophy Philsophy/Law and Society	Good academic standing
  Political Science Political Science/Law and Society Political Science/International Affairs	Good academic standing
  Political Science/Administrative Studies Political Science/Public Service	Good academic standing and a minimum 2.7 GPA
  Psychology Psychology/Law and Society	Complete PSYC 1, 2, & 11 (lower division requirements) with a letter grade of C- or better, but no lower than a C average. MATH 4, 5 or 6A with a C- or better. Good academic standing for last 2 quarters.
  Public Policy	Good academic standing, complete PBPL 1 with a grade of "C-" or better.
  Religious Studies	Good academic standing
  Russian Studies	Good academic standing
  Sociology Sociology/Administrative Studies Sociology/Law and Society	SOC 1, 3, 4, 5 and one lower division SOC course with a C- or better. Good academic standing.
  Spanish	Good academic standing
  Sustainability Studies	Good academic standing
  Theatre, Film and Digital Production	Good academic standing

• Selective Majors

  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

  The CHASS Selective Majors handout can be found here or below:

  Art

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

  Economics, Business Economics, and Econimics Administrative Studies

  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.

  Global Studies

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

  History, History/Administrative Studies, History/Law and Society

  Must complete two History courses with a C or better.

  Media and Cultural Studies Requirements

  Must complete MCS 001 with a C- or better.

  Neuroscience

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

  Psychology, Psychology/Law and Society

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

  Public Policy

  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)

  Business Administration (Not a freshman admitting major—freshman admit to Pre-Business Program)

  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.

• Steps to Choosing a Major

  Choosing a college major is an exploratory process that involves careful investigation and responsible decision making. It is important to remember that you are not deciding on a single path for your future nor making decisions that you cannot change at later points in life. Rather you are making a decision about an area of study that matches your intellectual interest and ability. The Myths & Realities of Choosing a Major discusses some of the commonly held myths regarding major choice and career planning. Check out the celebrity major Quiz, and see if you can guess their major.

  Follow these Four Steps to a Major Decision

  • 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
• Courses that Introduce Majors

  Major	Courses that Introduce the Major
  African American Studies	ETST 3
  Anthropology	ANTH 1 or ANTH 2 or ANTH 5
  Anthropology/ Law and Society	ANTH 1 or ANTH 2 or PHIL 7
  Art (Studio)	ART 6 or ART 1 or ART 2
  Art History	AHS 17A, AHS 17B or AHS 17C
  Art History/Administrative Studies	AHS 17A, AHS 17B or AHS 17C, Math 4
  Art History/Religious Studies	AHS 15, RLST 7 or RLST 10
  Asian American Studies	ETST 5
  Asian Literatures and Cultures	check with advisor
  Asian Studies	AST 45E
  Business Economics	ECON 2 or ECON 3, Math 5
  Chicano Studies	ETST 2 or ETST 4
  Classical Studies	CLA 10A, CLA 10B or CLA10C
  Communications Studies	check with advisor
  Comparative Ancient Civilizations	ANTH 3 or CPLT 17A
  Comparative Literature	CPLT 15
  Creative Writing	CRWT 56
  Dance	DNCE 14 or 19
  Economics	ECON 2 or ECON 3, Math 5
  Economics/Administrative Studies	ECON 2 or ECON 3, Math 4
  Economics/Law and Society	ECON 2 or ECON 3, MATH 4
  English	ENGL20A, ENGL20B or ENGL20C
  Ethnic Studies	ETST 1
  French	FREN 101A
  Gender and Sexuality Studies	GSST 1
  Germanic Studies	GER 4
  Global Studies	GBST 1 or GBST 2
  History	HIST 10, 15, or 20
  History/Administrative Studies	HIST 10, 15, or 20, MATH 4
  History/Law and Society	HIST 10, 15, or 20, PHIL 7
  Language	LING 20
  Latin American Studies	LNST 1
  Liberal Studies	check with advisor
  Linguistics	LING 20
  Media and Cultural Studies	MCS 1
  Music	MUS 1 or MUS 30A
  Music and Culture	MUS 6/ANTH6 or MUS 8 or MUS 14
  Native American Studies	ETST 7
  Neuroscience	MATH 5, CHEM1A
  Philosophy	PHIL1 or PHIL 3
  Philosophy/Law and Society	PHIL 7 or LWSO 100 (need upper-division standing)
  Political Science	POSC 10 or 20
  Political Science/Administrative Studies	POSC 10 or 20, MATH4
  Political Science/International Affairs	POSC 20
  Political Science/Law and Society	POSC 10 or 20, PHIL 7
  Political Science/Public Service	POSC 10
  Pre-Business/Business Administration	BUS 10, MATH 4
  Psychology	PSYC 1 or PSYC 2
  Psychology/Law and Society	PSYC 1 or PSYC 2
  Public Policy	PBPL 1
  Religious Studies	RLST 5 or RLST 12
  Russian Studies	CPLT 15
  Sociology	SOC 1 or SOC 4, or SOC 5
  Sociology/Administrative Studies	SOC 1, BUS 10, BUS20
  Sociology/Law and Society	SOC 1, PHIL 7
  Spanish	SPN 101A or SPN 109A
  Sustainability Studies	GSST 001 or GSST 021
  Theatre, Film, and Digital Production	TFDP 100 or TFDP 109 or TFDP 101 or TFDP 102

   

• How to Declare a CHASS Major

  Now that you determined your major and meet the necessary criteria to declare, please follow the process below to declare your major:

  • 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.
• How to Declare a CHASS Minor

  Minor Declarations should be declared when the last remaining requirements are in progress and at least one quarter before graduation.

  For CHASS 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 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.