Majors, Concentrations, and Minors

Major

The purpose of the major is to ensure that students master a subject area in depth and breadth.

A major is a coherent, structured course of study, defined by departments, and selected by students as their principal subject area.

Generally, the major is comprised of courses offered and required by the department, but it may also include designated courses from other departments offering related subjects. All students must fulfill the requirements for at least one major in order to graduate.

In addition to courses used to satisfy the Bradley Core Curriculum requirements, students must successfully complete a minimum of 24 semester hours of courses designated by the department as acceptable toward the major.

The major must include no fewer than 12 semester hours at the 300 (junior) level or above.

Students must achieve a minimum grade point average in courses in the major of no less than 2.0 in order to graduate.

Multiple majors must include at least 18 semester hours of courses that are not used to fulfill any other major the student seeks. 

Concentration

The purpose of the concentration is to encourage and recognize study in depth of special areas within the broadly defined discipline of the student’s major. Generally, Concentrations are comprised of courses offered by the major department and courses of other departments that are specifically acceptable for credit toward the major.

The concentration must be a coherent, structured course of study. It is comprised of no fewer than 12 semester hours of the minimum 24 semester hours required for the major. No fewer than 6 semester hours must be in courses at the 300 level or above. To qualify for more than one concentration within one major, no fewer than 9 semester hours of courses required for any of the desired concentrations must be unique to that concentration and not used to satisfy the requirements of the other concentration(s).

Minor

The purpose of the minor is to encourage and recognize study in depth of a subject for students majoring in other subject areas. A student’s minor, therefore, is generally comprised of courses other than those offered by or required by the student’s own major.

The minor must be a coherent, structured course of study. A minor is comprised of no fewer than 15 semester hours, a majority of which are at the 200 (sophomore) level or above with no fewer than 6 semester hours at the 300 (junior) level or above.

Students must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in courses in the minor for official designation as a minor.

Declaration of Minor

Students declaring a minor must report to the advisor in their major field to notify that advisor of their intent to seek a minor. After obtaining the signature of the advisor in their major field, the form is presented to the advisor for the intended minor for that advisor’s approval. The student then presents the form to the dean of the college of the intended minor who forwards this form to the Registrar for official entry to the student’s permanent scholastic record.

Requirements

Requirements for majors and for minors are specified in the catalog under each curriculum offering them. Students may graduate with a single major or a number of majors and minors when the requirements of each, including all college and department requirements, are met at the time of graduation. Students may, with the approval of the dean of the college offering the work, complete additional majors or minors after graduation and have the completion and date noted on the permanent scholastic record.

Requirements For Two Baccalaureate Degrees

Students seeking two baccalaureate degrees from Bradley University may qualify for both degrees by meeting the specific requirements for each and presenting residence hours totaling 30 beyond the degree demanding the larger number of semester hours. The degrees may be earned consecutively or concurrently.