Guidelines for the Submission of Minor Programs
Academic units should follow the guidelines listed below when proposing the establishment of minor programs for approval by the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee.
- Minor programs are not required for graduation. A minor should consist of a minimum of 20 and, in general, a maximum of 25 credit hours, with at least half of the hours at the upper-division level (300 level or above, Philosophy 250, all courses taught by the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the 200 level, and foreign language courses taught in the language at the 200 level). No more than five hours of X93 (individual studies) course work may be included.
- The inclusion of 100-level courses, X94 (group studies) courses, or introductory courses designed to meet the General Education Curriculum (GEC) is discouraged. For every five credit hours of 100-level course work on the minor, the minimum total (20) required for the minor is increased by five.
- Academic units whose majors ordinarily include selected courses offered by another academic area may make a similar distribution of courses for the minor. When constructing the minor, academic units should carefully consider the effect of any hidden prerequisites to courses listed as acceptable to the minor. Those academic units that wish to provide faculty advising of minors should develop an advising protocol as part of the description of the minor.
- Academic units currently offering a multi-track major may wish to define more than one type of minor program.
General Information on Minor Programs
- Minor programs are not required for graduation.
- A student may not take a major and a minor in the same subject.
- Courses used on the minor may not be used on the major.
- Where appropriate, overlap between the GEC and a minor is permissible unless specifically disallowed for an individual minor.
- All minors require a minimum of 20 credit hours; some require more. No more than 10 hours of transfer credit may be applied to any minor.
- When students complete more than one minor, each minor must contain a minimum of 20 unique hours.
- No grade below a C- will be permitted in courses comprising the minor; the minimum overall cumulative point-hour ratio of the minor shall be 2.00.
- Courses taken on a Pass/Non-Pass basis may not be applied to the minor.
- Some minors need individual approval by a faculty member; others do not. Sheets describing the individual minor carry this information.
- Students need not file their minor programs until they file their graduation applications.
- Once a minor is on file in the college/school office, any changes must be discussed with the faculty adviser and/or the college/school counselor.
Steps in the Approval Process
- Academic Unit review and evaluation
- School (if applicable) review and evaluation
- College Curriculum Committee review and evaluation
- Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee review and evaluation
- Submission to the Council on Academic Affairs for approval of a new minor (or significant changes to an existing minor) with an accompanying request for a PERMACUN/minor code number if needed
Colleges of the Arts and Sciences
Curriculum Office
MKD
09/26/94. Rev. 01/30/97, 04/02/02
