Declaring or Removing an Undergraduate Major, Pre-major or Minor

Northeastern requires all undergraduate students to declare a major by the time they have earned a total of 45 credit hours.

Students intending to major in business or graphic design can declare a “pre-major” until the program admission requirements to the College of Business and Technology or the Department of Graphic Design are met.

Declaring a Major, Pre-Major or minor

The Undergraduate Major Declaration form must be completed to declare a major or pre-major or concentration.
The Undergraduate Minor Declaration form must be completed to declare a minor.

These same forms must be used to make any changes to previously declared majors, pre-majors, minors or concentrations. The procedure is as follows:

  1. Obtain either the Undergraduate Major Declaration form or the Undergraduate Minor Declaration form (if declaring both a major and a minor, one of each form must be completed) online, from Enrollment Services (Room D 101), or your academic program.
  2. Obtain the necessary signatures and submit the form to Enrollment Services (Room D 101).

In most cases, students may follow this procedure at any time throughout the school year. Please check with the major department for specific deadlines.

Students who double major in both the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) program and another major will have the BAIS program listed as their primary major, and this major will display on the student’s diploma. Both majors will appear on the student’s transcript.

Email declare@neiu.edu with any questions about the major/minor declaration process that we can answer for you.

Area of Study in Addition to the Major

Undergraduate students are not required to have a minor, with the following exceptions:

  • A student in the College of Arts and Sciences who majors in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science or Physics must complete a required set of cognate courses in other sciences and mathematics.
  • A student in the College of Business and Technology must complete a required set of cognate courses in the Business and Technology core in addition to courses for the major.
  • Some majors in the Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education require a minor. Students should refer to the section of the Academic Catalog that details the requirements for each major to determine if a minor or a set of cognate courses is required.