Investigating Majors Through Advising
Majors within Arts & Sciences
One of the most helpful ways to begin investigating majors that interest you is to talk to faculty advisors in those programs. First check out the list of all majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Understanding the requirements for declaring your major is an important step as you begin your search:
- Do research to find out specific requirements for majors. Some majors are highly structured and have strict course work and/or cumulative grade point average (GPA) requirements that must be met BEFORE you can be accepted into them.
- Take courses in majors in which you are interested during your first year as if you were in that major. These courses will help you determine if the major still interests you; help you to complete the first-year requirements necessary to allow you to declare at the end of your first year (provided you meet all other transfer criteria); and ensure that you will not have fallen behind in the program should you decide to make the transfer.
- Plan ahead if you want to participate in the co-op program. You will need to be in a major for at least one semester before beginning a co-op assignment and you will need to complete a 1 credit co-op course, so you should keep this in mind as you formulate your plans. If you are not interested in co-op, you may have until the end of the spring semester of your sophomore year to declare a major.
- Remember that declaring any of the structured majors after the end of your freshman/beginning of your sophomore year may be difficult, particularly if you also want to participate in the co-op program.
Here are some of the majors within the College of Arts and Sciences that have strict first-year requirements. To learn more about them and all other majors, check out the entrance requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog.
- architecture
- behavioral neuroscience
- biochemistry
- biology
- chemistry
- communication studies
- digital arts
- graphic design
- human services
- international affairs
- journalism
- mathematics
- music
- physics
- studio art
If you are interested in any of the above majors, it is best for you to declare a major by the end of your freshman year.
Below are the other majors within the College of Arts & Sciences that have less strict entrance requirements and more flexibility in their curriculum, which you can also check out in the Undergraduate Catalog:
- African-American studies
- American Sign Language - English interpreting
- anthropology
- economics
- English
- environmental science
- environmental studies
- history
- linguistics
- modern languages
- philosophy
- physics (applied physics, biomedical physics)
- political science
- psychology
- sociology
- theatre
In these disciplines there is less pressure on you to declare a major by the end of your freshman year. As long as you have taken NU Core courses along the way, declaring by the end of your sophomore year should be fine.
Arts and Sciences Head Advisors
To learn more about any of the majors within the College of Arts and Sciences, please speak to the head advisors in the major programs in which you have an interest. Head advisors are faculty members who enjoy working directly with students and can provide a lot of information about requirements to get into the majors, the curriculum, experiential education opportunities, career paths, and post-graduate education within their disciplines.
Majors in Other Colleges
Some students decide to transfer to other colleges within Northeastern University. To read about majors outside the College of Arts and Sciences, check out the University's five other undergraduate colleges.
University Internal Transfer Program
If you are interested in transferring into the College of Business Administration or Bouve College of Health Sciences, you will need to participate in the Internal Transfer Program. The advisor for this program is located in 120 Hayden.
Professional Advisors in other Colleges
Advisors for the College of Computer and Information Science are located in 161 Cullinane Hall and can provide information on their program.
Advisors for the engineering majors are located in 220 Snell Engineering College of Engineering (220 Snell Engineering). There, advisors can talk to you about the various engineering programs and the criteria for getting into them.
The College of Criminal Justice advisors, located in 204 Churchill, will provide you with information on their program and how to transfer to their college.