Minors

Undergraduate minors

An undergraduate minor is a formal aggregate of courses in a designated secondary subject area or discipline distinct from and usually outside the students' degree major, in which knowledge is gained in a coherent pattern of courses. Minors may be offered by an academic unit for its own majors and/or majors from other academic units.

Minors consist of a minimum of 27 designated quarter credits of related course work, at least 12 of which must be at the upper-division level.

For an undergraduate minor to appear on a student's academic transcript, the student must apply to the Registrar's Office at the same time formal application is made for a degree. The Graduation Audit from the Registrar's Office will list the minor as well as the major and degree. This form is sent to the student's dean for certification of the minor at the same time the student is cleared for graduation.

To create, change, or drop an undergraduate minor, departments submit a Category II proposal. Proposals must contain a list of minor courses as they will appear in the OSU Catalog and documented liaison with all departments involved.

Graduate minors

A graduate minor is an academic area that clearly supports the major. It consists of a group of related courses totaling at least 15 credits in a specific topical area. On a master's or doctoral program, a minor may be:

• an academic area available only as a minor,
• a different major,
• the same major with a different area of concentration,
• an approved major at another institution in the Oregon University System, or
• an integrated minor. An integrated minor consists of a series of cognate courses from two or more areas. These courses must be outside the major area of concentration, with most of the courses being outside the major department. The graduate faculty member representing the integrated minor must be from outside the major department.

Although the courses in a graduate minor may be from more than one academic department, one academic unit/program must be responsible for directing the minor. Necessary facilities and faculty expertise to support the minor must be available. For a graduate minor to appear on a student's official academic record and transcript, the minor must be listed on the student's approved degree program.

To create, change, or drop a graduate minor, departments submit a Category II proposal.

To propose a graduate minor, units without an approved graduate major must include in their proposal:

• Identification of the academic unit/program responsible for the minor.
• Listing of a sufficient number of approved and related graduate course offerings to support the minor, at least 15 credits. Please list courses as they will appear in the OSU Catalog.
• Identification of sufficient faculty expertise and facilities to support the minor.
• Liaison with other academic units must be addressed.

Approval & Revisions: Faculty Senate meeting #450, 6/2/88; Revisions: Curriculum Council, 11/12/93; 7/17/02

Additional Information: Category II Proposals

Please also see these related links for policies and guidelines: OSU Online Catalog, Faculty Handbook, General University Policies, Office of the Registrar, Graduate School