Majors

Students must declare a major on the Hub during the first week of their sixth term. If you are planning a special major, we advise that you petition the Academic Standing Committee (ASC) during either your fifth term or early in your sixth term.

If you want to change your major during your junior or senior year, you must obtain the approval of the Chair of the new department and complete a Change of Major Form.

Minors

You can declare a minor by completing the online Declaration of Minor form any time between the second week of your 6th term and the second week of your 10th term at Carleton. This online form will require the approval of your advisor and the Minor chair or coordinator. Normally a student may not

  • fulfill more than half the credits for a minor from the courses counted toward their major or majors and 
  • may not major and minor in the same discipline. 

For a course to count towards a minor, you must earn a grade of C- or better; these courses cannot be taken on an elective S/Cr/NC basis. Departments or programs may make exceptions if appropriate.

Petitioning for additional majors & minors

Students should be aware that there are restrictions on the number of courses that may overlap between majors and minors, and are encouraged to complete this overlap worksheet prior to declaring or petitioning for additional majors or minors.

Students may declare multiple minors without a petition simply by using the minor declaration form and obtaining the appropriate signatures, provided that rules regarding majors and minors are observed. However, students may only declare more than one major by petitioning the Academic Standing Committee for a second major.

If you plan to double major, you will need to choose one major to declare in your sixth term. You can submit paperwork to petition for a second major as soon as your first is declared. There is no hierarchy of majors at Carleton, no primary and secondary majors — students pursuing two majors are expected to fully participate in both majors and complete satisfactory Senior Integrative Exercises in both majors.

Useful Forms

You may, at some point, need one or more of the Registration Forms linked here. These require signatures before they can be submitted to the Registrar’s Office.