Over 110 majors and minors in the College of Letters and Science!
Major Advisors
- Are your first contact for changing or adding a new major
- Approve/Deny your major requirements when you file to graduate
- Assist student with academic plans (choose courses for future quarters)
- Are a resource for opportunities that are unique to their department
- Also advise on minors offered through their department
- Additional advising services in the MPS Advising & Retention Resource Office are available for students in the following departments: Chemistry, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics
Declare a Major, Change a Major, or Add a Multiple Major
Declare a Major
Students must declare a major by the time they have completed 90 units. If you have not declared a major by this point, a hold may be placed on your registration. Such a hold would be removed only when your Change of Major petition is approved by the Undergraduate Education and Advising Office. Petitions are only accepted electronically and are available on the "Forms and Petitions" tab on the OASIS portal at https://students.ucdavis.edu/. As a part of the declaration procedure, you must, in consultation with a faculty advisor, prepare a projected plan of study. You are accepted into the major when your advisor and the Undergraduate Education and Advising Office have approved the petition.
To be accepted into a major, you must have a C average in all courses you have completed that are required for that major. With the approval of the College Executive Committee, additional requirements, such as completion of a particular set of required courses with a specified grade point average (usually well above a C average), may be introduced as conditions for acceptance into any major at any time.
If your performance is unsatisfactory after you have declared a major program, you may be required by the dean to withdraw from that major, upon written recommendation from the chair of the department or the curriculum committee that administers the major.
Change a major
To change from one major to another within a college, you need the consent of the department or committee in charge of your proposed new major and the approval of the dean. Admission into a major program may be denied by the program or by the dean if your grade point average (GPA) in courses required for the selected major is less than 2.000.
Procedures for change of major within a college are the same as for declaration of major and the same conditions apply. If you wish to change to a major that has admission restrictions, you must comply with the special procedures and requirements for that major.
Except under unusual circumstances, no change of major will be permitted after you attain senior standing (135 units). Students wishing to petition for such an exception should consult in advance with the relevant dean's office or the Biology Academic Success Center regarding additional restrictions and requirements.
It is not possible to change or declare a major in the quarter in which you file to graduate.
To change from one major to another in a different college you need the consent of the department or committee in charge of your proposed new major and the approval of the dean of the new college. To obtain that approval, you must be in good academic standing (qualitatively and quantitatively; see Probation and Dismissal), meet all minimum GPA criteria, including those for the major, and satisfy any other admission requirements established by the new college.
Except under unusual circumstances, no change of major will be permitted after you attain senior standing (135 units). Students wishing to petition for such an exception should consult in advance with the relevant dean's office or Biology Academic Success Center regarding additional restrictions and requirements.
It is not possible to change or declare a major in the quarter in which you file to graduate.
College of Letters and Science. Requirements for changing to a College of Letters and Science major can be found at http://www.ls.ucdavis.edu/advising/faq.html.
Multiple Majors
Students choosing to major in multiple subjects must notify the Undergraduate Education and Advising Office of their decision by submitting for approval a petition endorsed by faculty advisors in the majors. The dean's approval of the declaration of more than one major is subject to the following conditions:
At least 80 percent of the upper division units used to satisfy course and unit requirements in each major selected must be unique and may not be counted toward the upper division unit requirements of any other major undertaken. Courses with substantial overlap in content will not count as part of the 80 percent.
If the major programs differ in the number of upper division units required, the major program requiring the smaller number of units will be used to compute the minimum number of units that must be unique.
At the time of request, a substantial part of the preparatory subject matter in each major must have been successfully completed.
All degree requirements must be completed within the 225-unit limit.
Combination proposals that cannot be approved are two or more majors offered by the same discipline, except art history and art studio.
A student who completes all requirements for approved multiple majors in which one major normally leads to an A.B. degree and another normally leads to a B.S. degree, will receive a B.A.S. degree. A single degree is granted to students who graduate with multiple majors.
The same conditions apply for cross-college majors as for multiple majors. Cross-college programs will not be approved if the majors involved are available within a single college as well.
Step 1. Meet with the major advisor of the program that you want to declare, switch to, or add. They will advise you on any requriements that must be satisfied before a change of major can be approved.
Step 2. Submit your change of major request online using OASIS: Change of Major / Multiple Major.
Declare a Minor
With the exception of interdisciplinary minors approved by the College Executive Committee, students in the College of Letters and Science may not complete a minor offered by the department or program in charge of the student's major. You can elect only one minor in a subject area.
No more than one course applied to the satisfaction of requirements in the major program shall be accepted in satisfaction of the requirements of a minor. No course used to satisfy the requirements of one minor shall be applied toward any other minor.
Students with a 2.00 or greater GPA in upper division Letters and Science courses offered in satisfaction of a minor may declare that minor by petitioning the Office of the Dean.
Step 1. Meet with the advisor of the program that you want to declare for specific requirements for your minor.
Step 2. Submit your minor declaration online using OASIS: Minor Declaration.