Majors and Minors

The Making Connections Curriculum seeks to provide for all students a thorough grounding in one particular subject, known as the undergraduate major. In the College of Arts and Sciences, students may choose from more than 50 major fields of study leading to the bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of music, and bachelor of fine arts degrees. Specific requirements for each major are listed alphabetically by department in the "Academic Departments and Schools" section of the Undergraduate Bulletin. That section also includes information on professional school majors available to undergraduates by application and acceptance.

The College offers academic minors in certain departments, curricula, and programs, though it is not required to pursue an academic minor.

To see a complete list of all undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences, click here.

To see a complete list of all undergraduate minors, click here.

Requirements for majors in the College of Arts and Sciences

• Unless specifically prohibited by departments or curricula, major courses may be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
• Courses in a student's major or minor department or curriculum, or specifically required by the major or minor, including foreign language courses, electives, and any additional required courses (or any courses cross-listed with such required courses) may not be taken on a Pass/D+/D/Fail basis.
• Although a specific grade point average in the major is not required, a minimum of 18 hours of C or better (C- does not qualify) in the major is required. Selected majors require 21 hours of C or better grades in the major.
• Students transferring credits in their major field must earn a grade of C (not C-) or better in at least three-fourths of those courses and credit hours in the major that are taken at UNC-Chapel Hill.
• All students, including students transferring from another institution, must take at least half of their major course requirements at UNC-Chapel Hill.
• Some majors require a gateway course that must be taken first, before enrolling in any other courses that satisfy the core requirements in the major. The gateway course is not counted in the hours of C, but students cannot continue in the major without having completed the gateway course.

• No more than two courses (six to eight credit hours) of BE credit may be used as part of the major core.

Requirements for Minors in the College of Arts and Sciences

A student may have no more than two minors, regardless of the student's major degree program. Departments and curricula may exclude certain minors from being elected and completed by students majoring in these departments and curricula.

More than half (not merely half) of the credit hours and courses (including cross-listed courses) taken to satisfy the minor requirements must be counted exclusively in the minor and not double-counted in other majors or minors.

At least nine hours of the four- or five-course minor must be completed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and not at other academic institutions. Certain departments may require that more than nine hours must be completed at the University.

Some departments or curricula may disallow the double-counting of courses in the minor and as General Education courses.

A minimum of 12 hours of C (not C-) grades or better is required in the minor, though some minors may require more. Students who transfer in courses in the minor must earn C or better grades in three-quarters of the courses and hours taken for in the minor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

All courses in the minor department or curriculum must be taken for a regular letter grade. As with courses in the major, one Pass/D+/D/Fail course taken before the declaration of the minor may count toward that minor. Otherwise, no course in the minor department may be taken Pass/D+/D/Fail.

If students plan to pursue the completion of a minor, they are encouraged to declare their minor by early in the junior year.

No more than one BE credit course (three to four credit hours) may be used as part of a minor.

 

Combining Majors and Minors

Students can study up to three subjects in depth, but the College of Arts and Sciences will award only one bachelor's degree to a student. You may do this in one of the following ways:

• two majors
• one major and one minor
• two majors and one minor
• one major and two minors

Students enrolled in the professional schools who wish to have a second major or minor in the College of Arts and Sciences must receive permission from their professional school and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Students pursuing two major fields of study for the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree in the College of Arts and Sciences earn only one degree and receive only one diploma. Both the diploma and the official transcript will indicate the degree and the two majors.

Students completing the requirements for both a bachelor of science degree and a bachelor of arts degree earn only the bachelor of science degree and receive only that diploma. Students completing the requirements for both a bachelor of arts degree and a bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of music degree earn only the bachelor of fine arts or bachelor of music degree and receive only that diploma. Note that these students must complete Supplemental Education requirements and any other General Education requirements pertinent to the bachelor of arts as well as all requirements for the bachelor of science, bachelor of fine arts, or bachelor of music degree.

A student may pursue in-depth study in multiple areas by meeting all major/minor requirements in each of the selected disciplines, in addition to General Education requirements, and completing those requirements within eight semesters. Students may not pursue two concentrations (emphases or tracks) within the same major. In general, students may pursue a minor in the same department or curriculum as the major, provided they follow certain double-counting rules that do not exceed 45 credit hours of course work in any one subject. For example, a major in Asian studies with a concentration in Japanese and a minor in Korean, both housed in the Department of Asian Studies, are permitted. Some departments may restrict majors and minors within the same academic unit, so please see an academic advisor.