Procedures for Declaring or Canceling an L&S Major, Certificate or Option

For Students

Any L&S undergraduate student interested in declaring or cancelling an L&S major, certificate or other option in the College of Letters & Science will need to meet with an academic advisor in the appropriate major department or unit.  The major advisor will assist you in declaring the major when you are eligible to declare.  See how to declare a major in L&S for more details on declaring an L&S major.  Students can also do a What If DARS audit for a major to determine the requirements prior to meeting with a major advisor.

If an L&S undergraduate student wishes to pursue more than one L&S major, the student should also refer to how to declare a major in L&S for further details. 

L&S students who wish to undeclare a major should speak with the major advisor about the steps they will need to take to cancel their L&S major.

Information about approved non-L&S majors for L&S degree-seeking candidates can be found at declaring a second major outside of L&S for L&S undergraduates.  

If a non L&S undergraduate student (i.e., an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in another school/college on the UW-Madison campus) wishes to pursue an additional major in the College of Letters & Science,  the following rules apply:

• School of Business Undergraduates: Must meet with the L&S major advisor to begin the approval process for major declaration.  More information can be found at "Can I double major outside of the Wisconsin School of Business" under BBA Majors.
• College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Undergraduates: Must first attend a CALS workshop to be given the appropriate forms to fill out.  Additional major/degree information for CALS students is located at additional major/degree policy and process.
• School of Education Undergraduates:  Must meet with the L&S major advisor to begin the approval process for major declaration and learn about the requirements for the additional major so they can create a study plan.  More information about additional majors or double majors can be found under degrees, double majors, and graduation.
• College of Engineering Undergraduates: Must get the approval of the L&S major advisor and the academic dean of the College of Engineering.  For more information, see additional major. 
• School of Human Ecology Undergraduates:  Must meet with the L&S major advisor to begin the approval process for major declaration.  Additional information can be found at declaring additional majors.
• School of Nursing Undergraduates: Students admitted into the Nursing program are permitted to declare a second major in L&S.  Must complete the School of Nursing's Petition for Special Consideration and get the approval of the L&S major department.  For more information, see Second Major under Degrees within the Policies and Regulations tab.

**Students should contact the L&S major department(s) for assistance in declaring a major in the College of Letters & Science.

***Students earning their undergraduate degrees in other schools/colleges on the UW-Madison campus (e.g., Business, CALS, Education, Engineering, Human Ecology, Pharmacy) are not eligible to pursue/declare an L&S special degree.   The L&S special degree programs are:   Applied Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics (AMEP), Landscape Architecture (BLA), BMUS, Social Work (BSW), Journalism (JBA), Journalism (JBS). 

For L&S Undergraduate Advisors

L&S departmental advisors working with undergraduate students who wish to declare a major in their particular department/unit will need to get access to the online major declaration e-form.   Department advisors who wish to get access to the e-form will need to complete the security authorizations access request form.   This form is located at:

Security Authorizations Access Request

Advisors will need to:

1. Complete the Security Authorizations Access Request form and select the system of "SIS" and the type of access as "Add".
2. Enter name and Net ID for both the employee and the manager/supervisor.
3. Fill out the Additional Information portion of the e-form (at the bottom of the page) with the following: (A) UPG SR MAJ DECL and the list of majors and/or certificates you will be responsible for declaring and cancelling.
4. The SIS authorization form will be routed electronically to your supervisor and divisional SIS approver (Ms. Alisha Arnold) for approval.
5. Once DoIT Security Authorizations has begun processing the request, the Office of the Registrar may contact you to request specifics about the plans/subplans/certificates that you will be responsible for declaring and cancelling.  
6. If you have not heard back regarding your authorization within two week’s time, please contact DoIT.  The DoIT authorization department can be reached at security.authorizations@doit.wisc.edu.
7. If you have an urgent request for plan/certificate declaration or cancellation before you receive the relevant SIS security, please contact Debbie Moy in the Office of the Registrar at 608-262-3811.  

Once the departmental advisor has been authorized to use the e-form, they will be able to access the major/certificate declaration/cancellation e-form in SIS by going to:

Main Menu > Records and Enrollment > Dean/Dept Processing > Major/Certificate Requests

For more assistance in processing a major declaration or cancellation request, please contact the Registrar's Office at (608) 262-3811 or registrar@em.wisc.edu.

 Additional information regarding the major declaration process can be found in the NewMajorCertificateDeclarationDocumentation.pdf .

**L&S departments/units cannot use the online major/certificate declaration form if they are attempting to assist a non L&S undergraduate student declare a second major.  L&S major advisors can ask permission to add a second major for non L&S undergraduate students by filling out the Qualtrics Survey.  Once this form has been filled out by the authorized individual, the request will be routed to the particular student's UW-Madison school/college academic dean's office for approval and processing.   Please make sure that you select the non-L&S undergraduate student's home school/college so the form is routed to the appropriate academic dean's office for review.

 

See Also:

• Declaring a Second Major Outside of L&S for L&S Undergraduates