Major Declaration
How Do I Declare My Major?
Please know that the posted deadline to declare your major is a strongly recommended timeline, but declarations submitted after that date are always accepted. Declarations submitted after April cannot be guaranteed to be fully processed prior to registration in June.
First-year students in the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science degrees are strongly encouraged to declare their major by the end of first year. If a student is as of yet uncertain of the major(s) that they want to pursue, major declaration can be completed in second year.
Second-year students are strongly encouraged to declare their majors by the end of March.
- Students in the Bachelor of Music, BSc in Nursing, or BSc in Human Nutrition are not required to submit a declaration form unless they intend to apply for an honours degree option (or for an advanced major option in the BSc in HNU).
- Students in the Diploma in Engineering do not declare a major.
Students who will be registering as third-year or fourth-year for the next academic year will have an earlier registration time if their declaration forms have been processed onto their student records prior to the assigning of registration times in June.
Undeclared majors (in programs that require declaration forms) have later registration times than declared majors.
Major Declaration Procedure
1. Read the Academic Calendar
Read your faculty chapter, and consult the relevant section(s) of Chapter 9 for course requirements for your intended program, major, and minor (where applicable). Link to academic calendar.
2. Complete a fillable declaration form:
Please remember to use the “Save As” option to save your work. It is a good idea to include your name and ID number in the file name.
- Faculty of Arts: declaration forms.
- Faculty of Business: declaration forms (BBA degree pattern worksheets can be found on our FAQ page).
- Faculty of Science (includes all Human Kinetics): declaration forms.
- BASC: forms can be found under both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science websites indicated above, as well as in Moodle.
Except for BBA students, when completing your form, list the courses you have already completed, those in which you are currently registered, and those that you plan to complete in future years. Ensure that your proposed courses fulfill the various requirements for your degree, including all requirements for relevant major(s) or minor (where applicable), and any concentrations that you wish to pursue (where applicable).
3. Email a copy of your completed form to the department chair/coordinator:
The chair or coordinator of your intended major or honours subject(s) will need to approve your declaration form. If you have questions prior to emailing your form, you can email advising, or the chair or coordinator, with your questions. You can also book an appointment with an academic advisor.
If you are pursuing a joint program, the chair/coordinator of the first major will forward it to the chair/coordinator of the second major, who will then forward it to the dean’s assistant, who coordinates final approval and processing.
A list of department chairs/coordinators can be found here. This information can also be accessed through the Registrar's Office site at the "Contact Academic Departments" link.
Exceptions:
- If you are a BBA student, email your declaration form directly to @email in the dean’s office.
- If you are declaring Biology, please email your form to @email.
- If you are a BASC student (Health, or Climate and Environment), it is strongly recommended that you consult with Academic Advising before submitting your form.
4. Approval of your form:
You will be notified by the Dean’s Office if your form has been approved, and a copy of the form will be emailed to you. If there are errors on your form, you will be contacted by an academic advisor to discuss changes to be made prior to approval.
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