General Education (GE) courses are a great way to explore. Unless you are coming into the university 100% committed to your major, begin exploring options in your first year. If you know what you want to study, it is helpful to declare early to expedite a timely graduation. Declaring your major early not only gives you a sense of direction, but your experience also becomes more meaningful, and your motivation will be stronger. 

First of all, become familiar with the requirements of your major. You can do this by meeting with a departmental advisor. Some majors have requirements that must be met before you can declare the major. Examples of such requirements are prerequisite courses, achievement of a specified grade point average, and/or other specific admissions requirements. Many major departments require an orientation prior to declaring the major, and others require you to take a certain number of courses before meeting with your departmental advisor. It is important to find out what your chosen department requires in order to begin and remain on your degree planning timeline.

You might meet with a departmental advisor to gather more information about a particular area of study before making a commitment, or you might already be committed and need to attend a required orientation for more information. It might be a good idea to meet with your academic advisor to talk about what questions you should prepare for your first departmental advisor meeting and/or orientation.

Students choose a second major or dual (or second) degree for a variety of reasons: personal interest in the subject matter, development of knowledge and skills required for further education or for a career, or preparation for graduate or professional school. Talk to your assigned advisors about the feasibility of pursuing a second major or dual/second degree and to discuss specific requirements.

Options for Multiple Majors

Students pursuing two majors should consider early on whether they wish to complete a single degree with two majors or two degrees. 

Single Degree with Two Majors

A single degree with two majors leads to a single diploma, though both majors are noted on the student’s record and transcript.

• You must meet the requirements for each major as set by the departments offering the majors.
• Each major must contain at least 18 semester hours not contained in the other.
• Overlap with the GE may be permitted where appropriate. Consult your academic advisors for more information.
• You must complete at least 121 credit hours to earn a single degree with two majors.
• You must complete at least 39 upper-division hours.

Two Degrees

Pursuit of two degrees leads to the award of two diplomas. The degrees will be designated separately on the student’s record and transcript.

• You must meet the requirements for each major as set by the departments offering the majors.
• You cannot overlap courses from either major.
• You must earn a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the total required for one degree (i.e., you must earn at least 151 hours).
• You must complete at least 57 upper-division hours.
• You must fulfill all degree requirements for both degrees.
• Overlap between either major and the GE is not permitted, except when allowed by a particular GE category.
• An approved petition is required to graduate with two degrees.

“Pre-professional” students intend to enter a professional school after earning their bachelor’s degrees. Professional schools include law, medicine, education, dentistry, and veterinary medicine, among others. Advising and Academic Services provides pre-professional advising for students interested in professional schools.

We also provide general guidance for graduate school preparation. Making an appointment with a pre-professional advisor is easy; when you call 614-292-6961 or come in (100 Denney) to schedule an appointment, request to see a pre-professional advisor in the area you are interested in.