Academics

Declaring a Major or Minor

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« Viewing all majors and minors

Theater
Urban Studies
Women's and Gender Studies
Graduate Programs
Master of Liberal Studies
Master of Arts in Teaching
Dual-Degree Programs
Engineering
International Studies
Law
Pharmacy
Other Areas of Study
Ethics Center
First-Year Studies
Pre-Professional Programs
Health (medicine, dentistry, veterinary, nursing, pharmacy, optometry, physical therapy, and public health)
Law

Steps to declaring a major:

Talk to your advisor about your intention to declare a major.
Download the major form from my.lakeforest.
Meet with a professor in your intended major.
Ask for his or her signature.
Turn in the form at the Registrar’s Office.
You’re done!

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Major and Minor Programs

The College maintains major and minor fields of concentration in both traditional academic departments and interdisciplinary programs.

Departmental majors and minors permit depth of study in particular disciplines, while interdisciplinary programs encourage students to draw connections among distinct bodies of knowledge and areas of inquiry.

A major represents significant course work leading to substantial knowledge and competence in a given field; a minor entails less course work and is designed to produce basic knowledge and competence in a given field.

Students may declare up to two majors and one minor or up to one major and two minors. Students declaring a major and a minor must complete course requirements in both major and minor fields. Students who choose three major/minor areas may not select more than two in the same division. Upon successful completion of a minor, the student will have it recorded on his or her transcript. No student may receive more than 15 credits in any department.

The Major

Students may choose a major from among the many departmental fields or from a number of formal interdisciplinary majors designed by the College and supervised by faculty committees.

In all cases, students are expected to declare a major by the end of the sophomore year and to make significant progress toward the completion of that major during the junior year.

Every major will also include the culminating senior studies requirement, ordinarily a senior seminar or a senior thesis. Students declaring a double major must complete course requirements in both major fields.

It is possible for some courses to be counted toward both majors. However, the second major must consist of at least five separate courses, ones that do not double count, and at least three of these five must be at the 300 or 400 level. Majors may be pursued in the following departments and interdisciplinary programs (noted with an asterisk).

American Studies *
Area Studies *
Art
Asian Studies *
Biochemistry and Molecular*
Biology *
Business
Chemistry
Communication
Computer Science
Economics

Education
English
Environmental Studies *
Finance
French
History
Independent Scholar *
International Relations *
Latin American Studies *
Mathematics

Music
Neuroscience *
Philosophy
Physics
Politics
Psychology
Religion
Sociology and Anthropology
Spanish
Theater

The Minor

Students may declare a minor any time before they graduate but are not required to declare a minor for graduation. The minor must consist of at least six courses, four courses that do not double count in the student’s major or other minor. Minors are offered in the following departments and interdisciplinary programs (noted with an asterisk).

African American Studies *
American Studies *
Area Studies *
Art
Asian Studies *
Biology
Business
Chemistry
Cinema Studies *
Classical Studies *
Communication
Computer Science
Digital Media Design*

Economics
Educational Studies
English
Environmental Studies *
Finance
French
German
History
International Relations *
Islamic World Studies *
Latin American Studies *
Legal Studies *
Mathematics

Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Music
Neuroscience *
Philosophy
Physics
Politics
Psychology
Religion
Social Justice *
Sociology and Anthropology
Spanish
Theater
Urban Studies *
Women’s and Gender Studies

Interdisciplinary Studies

The College encourages interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge and supports majors and minors that seek to draw connections among traditional academic disciplines. Many of our majors and minors, listed above, cross disciplines.

Independent Scholar Program

Some of our strongest students find that no one traditional major meets their academic interests. The Independent Scholar Program enables qualified and motivated students to design and pursue an individual program in their junior and senior years, focusing on a particular topic or theme rather than on a single academic discipline.

Working with a faculty advisor, students accepted into the Independent Scholar program can develop their own major, culminating in a thesis or creative project.

Academics

Declaring a Major or Minor

« Viewing all majors and minors

Steps to declaring a major:

Major and Minor Programs

The Major

The Minor

Interdisciplinary Studies

Independent Scholar Program