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Declaring a Major

How to Declare | Double/Triple Majors | Individually Designed Majors

Selecting your major is extremely important decision and is a requirement for graduation. You may formally declare a major at any time during your third semester of residence, but you must declare no later than your fourth semester. (Typically, the deadline is the Friday prior to Spring Break of your sophomore year.) The general process is outlined below. If you want to create your own interdisciplinary major, pay particular attention to the guidelines for an individually designed interdisciplinary major.

You officially declare your major by submitting the Major/Minor Declaration form. The form is then routed to the department or program offering the major, who assigns your adviser, and then to the A&S Office of Undergraduate Education for approval. Finally, the form is sent to the University Registrar and put into YES.

How to Declare a Major

To declare a major:

  1. Visit the relevant department website or contact the department directly to confirm their policy for assigning advisers.
  2. Complete the Major/Minor Declaration form. See the Major/Minor Declaration User Guide for more information.

Important notes:

  • Major/Minor Declaration forms will not be processed for a five-week period around registration each semester. Please see the Undergraduate Academic Calendar for exact dates. Forms received after the last day to withdraw from classes for the semester will be processed after the end of the open enrollment period of registration.
  • Your major is not officially declared until your request is processed by the Office of the University Registrar and the information appears on YES.
  • To add, drop, or change a major, you must repeat the above process for each change you wish to make. The form is the same, but the section you complete will vary depending on the change you wish to make.
  • Seniors who wish to make changes to their major may do so only before the fifth day of class in their senior year.

View the list of A&S majors

Double and Triple Majors

You may declare up to three majors. Double majors do not require special permission. If you wish to declare three majors, you must first petition the A&S Administrative Committee by completing this form.

Individually-Designed Interdisciplinary Major

The individually-designed interdisciplinary major allows you to custom-design a major consisting of at least 48 hours of approved work. The major must be constructed around a coherent academic purpose and may draw together the academic resources of a number of departments and schools. Students must follow specific guidelines to custom-design their own major; please read these  guidelines  carefully.

To develop an interdisciplinary major, you must submit a completed course plan with the faculty adviser’s signature; the written rationale; and the Declaration of Major Form, also with the adviser’s signature, to arts-sci-forms@vanderbilt.edu. Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Education at (615) 343-5495 or  arts-sci-forms@vanderbilt.edu  for deadlines to submit the paperwork and to make a preliminary appointment with the Chair of the Committee on Individual Programs.

Make every effort to be clear and accurate when compiling the course plan, as it will serve as a statement of required courses for the major. Normally, no more than three introductory-level courses will be counted toward an individually designed interdisciplinary major. Note that you must achieve at least a 2.000 GPA in all work taken toward fulfilling the course plan.

If you wish to make changes to your interdisciplinary major, you must complete the Request for Change in Interdisciplinary Major Course Plan, secure your adviser’s signature, and  submit the changes for approval to 350 Buttrick Hall or  arts-sci-forms@vanderbilt.edu .

» Interdisciplinary Major Course Plan
» Request for Change in Interdisciplinary Major Course Plan