Majors

Majors
All students must complete an approved major/program. Requirements are listed under each major and can be found in the catalog by school or online at http://www.ric.edu/academics/Pages/majors_programs.aspx. For some majors or programs, including pre-professional programs in education, nursing and social work, there is a secondary admission process. Students must first begin as intended majors and meet certain requirements in order to apply for formal acceptance into the major/program. Majors and programs may also include cognates, a group of related courses that support the requirements of the major. Students must earn a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 2.00 in their major in order to graduate. Please note that some individual majors may have higher GPAs or specific grade requirements, and this will be stated where the major is outlined the catalog.

Declaring a Major
Entering freshmen who are unsure of a choice of major may select one of six Exploring Majors: Arts, Business, Health Sciences, Humanities, Science/Math and Social & Behavioral Sciences. Each provides a three-semester plan or RhodeMap to help keep students on track to on time graduation. All undergraduate degree students must declare a major by the time they have earned 45 credits (includes all earned course and test credits). Students who fail to declare a major will have a registration hold placed.

Changing Majors
Students who wish to change their major or add a second major, should contact the department chair of the new or additional major. Students who have a double major and wish to drop one of them should contact the records office.

Student-Designed Majors
Students may develop individualized majors to accommodate special needs and interests. These majors may focus on an area of study not covered in regular departmental offerings or may be interdisciplinary in nature. Student-designed majors are open to undergraduate degree candidates who have earned at least 40 credit hours and who have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50. Proposals from students with more than 75 credit hours are normally not accepted. A completed proposal must be submitted to the Committee on Student-Designed Majors no later than October 1 or March 1 for action that same semester. Further information about this program and application materials may be obtained from the offices of the academic deans.