Your major is your main field of study. It is also the field that will be listed on your degree. Each major has a list of required courses you must pass to earn your degree. This usually includes some required core courses, as well as some elective courses. This lets you tailor your studies to your interests and goals.
Your minor is a secondary field of study. You need fewer classes to earn a minor. If your minor complements your major, some of the required classes may overlap. For example, a Physics major and a Mathematics minor both require Calculus courses.
If your minor is in a different area of interest, the coursework may not overlap with your major. For example, if you major in Banking and minor in Spanish, there will likely not be any overlapping courses. (But Spanish language skills would still be very useful for a banker!)
MSU Denver offers over 100 diverse majors and minors. Refer to the MSU Denver Academic Programs list to view your options.
How to Choose a Major
It is okay to not know what you want to major in when you enroll in college! Before you decide on your major, you are considered an “exploratory/undeclared student.”
To figure out what to major in, you can:
- View your options on the MSU Denver Academic Programs list.
- Complete the MSU Denver Major Exploration Worksheet. Review the list of majors, crossing off the majors you don’t like and circling the ones you do like. Reflect on your choices, then meet with an Exploratory advisor to further narrow down your selection.
- Review the Career Exploration resources to learn about career options for each major.
- Meet with faculty members or advisors in fields that interest you.
- Take an introductory course in a field that interests you.
Declaring your Major/Minor
Before you can earn a major or minor, you need to officially declare your major or minor by submitting the Declaration/Change of Majors and Minors Form. It is not sufficient to simply complete the required classes!
You will need to work with an advisor to declare your major or minor.
You can also change your major or minor using the same form and process.
Advising
Advisors can help you decide what classes to take. You must also work with an advisor to declare or change your major or minor.
Each academic department has different advisors. Here are the links to advising information for various departments at MSU Denver: