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Optional Minors

Course Catalog

Minors are optional on both the part of faculty and students; no department or group of faculty members is required to offer a minor and no student can be required to elect a minor. All minors are open to all students, regardless of the student’s degree programs.

Pursuit of a minor, whether departmental or interdisciplinary, may provide a student with more coherence and focus in choosing electives. This may well enhance the educational experience, particularly when the minor is chosen from a division other than that of the major or when the minor is interdisciplinary.

Optional minors are available to all regular undergraduate students in each of the areas listed below. Details of the requirements for each minor are listed on the indicated pages. 

Regulations for Minors 

A departmental minor consists of four, five, or six courses in a department. An interdepartmental minor consists of five courses, with none of the five being in the student’s major department and no more than three of the five being in a single department. By faculty action, all minors are available to all students in the university.

The following stipulations pertain to a minor: 

1. Courses may not be double-counted in majors and minors; however, corequisite or major-related courses outside the student’s major department may be counted toward a minor. Note that students majoring in chemical engineering are not eligible for the chemical and biological studies minor nor for a minor in chemistry.
2. Courses which count toward a minor also may satisfy Common Learning Agenda requirements, except for the major.
3. Students in one degree program (e.g., bachelor of arts) may complete a minor in a department offering a different degree (e.g., bachelor of science).
4. The minors in chemical and biological studies and biomedical engineering are administered by the dean's office of the College of Engineering. Questions regarding these minors should be adressed to that office.

Declaring a Minor 

In order to declare, a minor a student should obtain a Declaration of Minor card from the registrar’s office, fill it out, and have it signed by the chair of the department offering the minor or by the coordinator for the particular interdepartmental minor. The completed and signed card should be returned to the registrar’s office no later than two weeks into the last semester of the senior year (i.e., September 7 for first semester graduates and February 1 for second semester graduates). Students planning on summer graduation must have the card filed by the preceding February 1. Late declarations will not be recorded on the student’s permanent record.