Change of Major

What is a Major & Minor

Majors and Minors are focused areas of study that require students to take a specific set of courses that lead to a comprehensive understanding of a particular subject matter.

Completion of a major is a graduation requirement; where as a minor does not require as many units, and is not a graduation requirment (however,  at SF State, only the Journalism major requires a minor to earn a bachelor's degree).

At SF State there are over 100 undergraduate majors and minors.  Choosing a major involves declaring this choice at the time of admission or consulting with faculty advisors and then submitting a request through your Student center.  Choosing a minor is not necessary for admissions, and is optional (paper requests are available for plans that are not online).

Impacted Majors

Impacted majors have more students than can be accommodated declare these areas of study as their majors.  Both lower and upper division students requesting a change of major to an impacted program must meet the supplemental requirements required for that major.  For more details visit SF State's Bulletin.

Lower-Division Students | Non-Impacted Majors

Department must accept changes of major for continuing lower-division students who have a minimum 2.0 GPA, and a minimum grade of C in specified pre-requisite courses.

Upper-Division Students | Non-Impacted Majors

Department may determine the number of units that must be completed with a minimum grade of C for the upper-division student to declare their major or a department may specify (normally lower division) courses that must be completed with minimum grades of C for the upper-division student to declared. The department may not limit enrollment in such courses to majors only.

Undeclared Majors

Typically, students declare their major during their sophomore year after completing most of their lower-division General Education requirements.  Lower-division students who are undecided about their major may identify themselves as undeclared.

Students who are uncertain of their major choice should identify themselves as undeclared.  Advising and tools are offered specifically to target undeclared students to help them explore and decide on a major.  Students should declare as early as possible to stay on track for graduation.  Students who enter as a freshman must declare a major by the time they complete 70 units.     

General Policy

For more details on the below Change of Major & Minor policy please visit the SF State's Bulletin. 

• Double Major
• Duplicate Use of Credit Between Majors
• Duplicate Use of Credit Between the Major and GE
• Change of Major (cont.)
• Residence Units
• Grade Point Average (as related to major requirements)
• Time Limit to Complete Requirements for Undergraduate Degree
• Duplicate Use of Credit Between Major and MinorDuplicate Use of Credit Between Minor and GE
• Upper-Division/Residence Units
• Minimum Units
• No Minor in Major
• Grade Point Average (as related to minor requirements)

Not all majors and minors are available for change through the online application.  To locate the ones that are available, open a menu to see what each Major College offers. 

Majors and Minors may change without prior notice.  For verification contact the Registrar's Office.

1. Log into your Student Center.
2. Select the dropdown menu labeled 'other academic. . .'.
3. Select the Change Major option.
   • Click the >> button

4. Click Next

• Note: Restricted records will not progress past this point and an alert with an explanation will appear.

5. Select the major or minor plan to change

• Note: Due to limitations within the online change of major/minor, some buttons will be greyed out.

Selecting a Minor is the Same Process

1. Open the 'Requested College' field to select a college.

2. Open the  'Major/Minor' field to select a participating major.

Note: Not all majors or minors are available online, please review  Step 1 for a list of participants.  

3. If satisfied with your selection, click Next.

1. Log into your Student Center.

2. Select the dropdown menu labeled 'other academic. . .'.

3. Select Change Major Status.

4. The Change of Major/Minor Status page displays the status of the request.

• Approved: Your request has been approved by the dept.
• Denied: Your request is denied, contact the dept. for information on how to proceed.
• Pending dept. Review: The option to cancel the major/minor request is still allowed when status is pending.

Note: Check your email, all updates are sent to your SF State Email.

5. The Change of Major/Minor Status page displays your request(s) record and details including:

• Transaction details (date and time, action, type, major/minor code, description, degree)
• Status of request (applied, approved, denied, pending)
• Comments, if any, made by the college advisor or administrator
• Option to cancel your request

Note: The cancel button will display until an advisor or administrator replies to your request.

3. The Change of Major Status page displays the record your request(s) including:
   • Transaction details (date and time, action, type, major/minor code, description, degree)
   • Status of request (applied, approved, denied, pending)
   • Option to Cancel your request
4. You can also ‘Check Major Status’ in the SF State Student Center
   • You can still cancel your request by click the Cancel button in the message window.
   • Comments, if any, made by the College advisor or administrator
   • If you change your mind, return to this page to cancel your Change of Major/Minor. The Cancel button will display until an advisor or administrator replies to your request.

Adding a Second Major

A student can only add a second major if they can complete both majors within the minimum units required to graduate (120-132 units, depending on the majors).

Solution

• Print and complete the Petition to Add a Second Major; submit it to your desired 2nd major department. 
  • Allow 4 - 6 weeks for processing.

Applied for Graduation

Submiting an application to graduate restricts students from using Online Change of Major/Minor.  

Solution

• Complete and submit the Graduation Application.  This will be treated as a change of major/minor form.
• Complete and submit a Change of Major form to the new Major Department for approval before applying for graduation.