Majors

A major is a group of courses clustered in an area of intellectual inquiry.  Students in a major study a particular field of knowledge in depth so that they can read and interpret the literature of that field and perform the work of that field in an effective manner.

UVa-Wise offers baccalaureate degrees in 31 majors, and the College Major for students who wish to pursue interdisciplinary studies.

For the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, students will earn a minimum of 120 semester hours in courses that include the general education requirements, all requirements of the chosen major, and electives. 

Electives should be chosen in consultation with the student's academic advisor and may be taken at any time appropriate for the student's program of study.

Courses taken for general education purposes may be applied as well to satisfaction of major requirements; however, no courses applied to the major may be used to complete a minor.

Minors

A minor is a field of study in which a student concentrates effort, though without the depth characterizing the major. 

Frequently, the minor complements the major; it is also a vehicle to permit the individual to develop an interest not necessarily related to the major field of endeavor. 

A minor includes at least 18 semester hours in the chosen discipline, 12 hours of which must be in courses at the 3000-level or above.  Some minors may require more than 18 hours for completion.

A course applied to requirements for the major may not be applied to requirements for the minor.