All students at Carleton must complete an academic major. In addition, students may elect to complete a minor as part of their academic program. A minor represents either an integrated disciplinary or an interdisciplinary program of study that may strengthen and complement a major, but a student pursuing any major can potentially pursue any minor in a different discipline. Disciplinary minors recognize the student’s acquisition of in-depth knowledge of a single discipline; interdisciplinary minors recognize the completion of a program of study that links and integrates multiple academic disciplines. Work in minors should be pursued at both introductory and advanced levels, but minors shall not involve a comprehensive exercise. Minors are also intended to promote communities of learning and may offer opportunities to relate academic studies to issues that students confront outside of Carleton.

A minor is an optional element of a student’s academic program and is not required for graduation. Minors will therefore not be considered grounds for a thirteenth term or exceptions to academic regulations nor may a minor be completed out of residency.

Procedures:

  1. Departments and programs may elect to offer a minor, but are not required to do so.
  2. Departments and programs choosing to propose a minor will submit the proposal to the ECC for review. ECC will vote on whether or not to recommend proposed minors to the faculty. The proposals for minors will be presented to the faculty, discussed, and voted upon by the faculty at faculty meetings as currently is the practice for majors.
  3. Substantive changes to minors will be brought to ECC for approval.

Guidelines for minors: 

  1. Normally a minor will require between 36 and 48 credits of academic work. Under exceptional circumstances, lower or higher credit requirements may be appropriate, and will be considered by ECC.
  2. Normally a student may not fulfill more than half the credits for a minor from the courses counted toward their major or majors.
  3. Normally a student may not major and minor in the same discipline.
  4. A student can declare a minor at any time between the second week of their 6th term and the second week of their 10th term at Carleton.
  5. A student can drop a minor by filing a Removal of Minor form with the Registrar. Dropped minors will not appear on the student’s transcript.
  6. For a course to count towards a minor, a grade of C- or better must be earned; these courses cannot be taken on an elective S/Cr/NC basis. Departments or programs may make exceptions if appropriate.
  7. For new interdisciplinary minors that do not have a major, a plan for assessment is required.