2023-2024 Undergraduate Bulletin > Majors, Minors, Certificates, and Pre-Professional Studies > Majors and Minors Overview

Majors and Minors Overview

A major is the field of study in which you specialize while earning your university degree. Often degree requirements include an appropriate minor study area to complement the major. Through its departments, CMU provides majors and minors in a wide variety of academic and professional disciplines. Interdepartmental and interdisciplinary majors and minors are also offered.

Requirements for majors and minors are listed in the individual departmental, interdepartmental, and interdisciplinary sections of this Bulletin. A major consists of at least 30 semester hours; a minor, at least 20 semester hours. The courses must be chosen subject to the approval of your advisor for that major or minor. Degree requirements detail which majors and minors are permitted on each degree. Central Michigan University credits included in majors and minors used to meet graduation requirements must average 2.0 or better. You should note, however, that some majors and minors have higher grade point requirements. Be sure to check the Admissions, Retention and Termination Standards for your major and/or minor.

Students need to officially declare their major by the time they earn 56 hours. When deciding on a major, you should contact the departmental office of that major to be assigned an advisor. (Example: history majors should contact the Department of History, World Languages, and Cultures.) If you are majoring in an interdisciplinary or interdepartmental area or special program, contact any of the departments represented in the major. Your advisor will be authorized to officially declare your major electronically and add it to your student record. To be assigned a minor advisor and to officially declare a minor, you will follow the same procedures.

*A concentration is a distinct and specialized program of study within a student’s major. A minimum of twelve hours is required for an undergraduate concentration. All university-approved concentrations will be listed on the student’s transcript.

Policies Concerning Majors and Minors

The following policies concerning majors and minors may apply to your degree work at CMU.

B.S. in Ed. If you are following either the Elementary or Secondary Certificate under the Bachelor of Science in Education degree, the major and minor presented for certification must be in different subjects.

Non-Teaching. Under a non-teaching degree the minor may not have the same name as the major.

Courses fulfilling more than one requirement. Hours that are counted toward departmental majors and minors may also be counted as partial fulfillment of other departmental, interdisciplinary and/or interdepartmental major or minor requirements, provided that: a.) the student offers the required number of semester hours for graduation, and b.) no course is counted toward both a major and a minor with the same name.

Degree, major or minor from another Bulletin. Most students will complete requirements for graduation following the Bulletin in effect at the time of their initial registration. A Bulletin published after initial registration may be chosen by the student when it is to the student's advantage. However, no student may graduate under the requirements of a Bulletin published more than seven calendar years prior to the date of the student’s graduation. Students following a program that leads to teacher certification have different limitations and should consult the section in this Bulletin titled Standards Leading to Teacher Certification. An undergraduate student completing graduation and degree requirements on a degree program appearing in any CMU Bulletin may elect either majors or minors on that same degree in a subsequent CMU Bulletin. This option is available when declared with an appropriate departmental advisor at the time a major or minor is declared.

Additional major or minor. In addition to satisfying major and minor requirements, you may declare an additional major or minor listed in the Bulletin even if it is not listed as acceptable for your chosen degree. Upon completion of your degree and graduation requirements the additional major or minor, if successfully completed, will be recorded. See the Additional Majors and Minors Policy.

Undergraduate Subtitled Courses. Credit earned in undergraduate courses titled Studies, Topics, Issues, or Workshops (including Special, Advanced, or Selected) may not constitute more than 50 percent of an undergraduate major or minor. Graduate and undergraduate courses that are subject to limitation under the policy on unspecified content or variable credit are listed in each department.

Majors and Minors Chart

The following chart identifies available majors and minors at CMU and lists the degree program(s) to which the majors may be applied. The chart indicates teaching and non-teaching majors and minors based on the degree earned; e.g., if you want to teach, teaching certification is usually pursued on the B.S. in Ed. degree. There are, however, several degrees (B.A., B.S., or B.A.A.) that allow you to earn teaching certification for those majors and minors that indicate certification is available. Consult your departmental advisor.

Sometimes majors or minors are not listed under the titles for which you are searching. For example, there is a Physical Education major for students who want teaching certification and a Sport Management major for those who want physical education studies without teaching certification. Students of speech-language pathology need to look under communication sciences and disorders. Students pursuing studies in hotel and restaurant management want the Hospitality Services Administration major. The music department offers a variety of specialties, but each is studied under the Music major. If you can’t find a particular major or minor on this chart by name, use the Colleges and Departments link in this bulletin to see if there is a department that offers a program in which you are interested.

To find the degree and graduation requirements for any specific major or minor listed below, consult the department sections. Direct your questions concerning any major or minor to the appropriate department. If you would like to see a major map, contact your academic advisor.