Declaring a Major or Minor

To declare a major or minor in the College of Arts & Sciences, please complete the online declaration from below. Your request will be reviewed by an authorized staff person and they will assign you an advisor once you are approved. Your advisor will serve as your primary advisor for the major/minor. If you are not approved for your major, you will be notified via email. Once you are approved, you will receive an email confirming that your major/minor declaration has been processed.

If you see “IMAJ” after your major on Eagle Service, that means you have an “intended major”. After you complete your first year, you can formally declare your major through the form below.   

Please note that your first major must be formally declared before you can declare a second major or a minor.

Contact the advising office with any questions:
ask-cas@american.edu or by phone at 202-885-2453.

Online Declaration Form

First Major

  • Must have an AU GPA of 2.0*
  • Non-CAS students: If you are changing your first/primary major into CAS, you must first meet with the appropriate CAS academic advisor.

Second Major

  • Must have an AU GPA of 2.0*
  • Must have first/primary major declared.
  • Reminder: General advising (questions about AU Core, university requirements, etc.) takes place within the school/college that the first/primary major is declared.
  • A CAS Advisor will be assigned to advise you on the requirements of the second major.
  • If your majors are in two different schools, you will walk with your first major’s school at commencement 

Dual Degree 

  • Completing a dual degree results in two separate degrees (e.g. BA in Sociology and BA in Studio Art) 

  • Must complete 150 total credits to earn a dual degree 

  • Must have an AU GPA of 3.0* 

  • Each major must have at least 24 credits that are not shared with other majors/minors 

  • Must have first/primary major declared. 

  • Reminder: General advising (questions about AU Core, university requirements, etc.) takes place within the school/college that the first/primary major is declared. 

  • A CAS Advisor will be assigned to advise you on the requirements of the second major. 

  • AU Core requirements do not need to be repeated for the second degree. 

Minor

  • Must have an AU GPA of 2.0*
  • Must have first/primary major declared.
  • A CAS Advisor will be assigned to advise you on the requirements of the minor.

Certificates 

  • Must have first/primary major declared 

  • Only some certificates may be declared through this form. Certificate programs that require an application must be handled through the academic unit that administers the certificate. 

*Some majors may have a higher grade point average requirement and gateway courses completed prior to declaring.