I've read the information on the main undergraduate page, and I'm interested in changing my major to Global Studies! Where do I start?
Change of major requests (including declaring Pre-Global Studies, applying to the full major after completing pre-major coursework, and double major requests) are initiated through the Student Success Hub major change petition.
If you having trouble accessing the correct petition link, we have a help document here.
Current copies of the major sheet and suggested plan of study, along with additional course planning tools, can be found on the Registration Resources page.
What to know about joining the major from a different major or declaring a double major:
- In most cases, you’ll begin with the Pre-Global Studies major requirements. We recommend that you run your Major and GE Progress Check on GOLD to confirm your current standing in the pre-major, and reach out to us with questions.
- Requests are processed once a week, typically on Fridays. As long as you submit by the end of the day Thursday, in most cases, your request will be processed by that Friday. An exception to this is double major requests, which sometimes require additional departmental approvals and take a bit longer. Please watch your UCSB email for any follow-up questions from us.
- If you are in the middle of a registration pass affected by your current major designation, plan to add other options to your schedule for now and make changes once your major change has gone through. Please note that pre-majors typically cannot take upper division Global Studies department courses until they are fully declared majors; for schedule ideas when you're in this phase of pre-major completion, look at page two of this document.
What to know about applying to the full major after completing pre-major requirements:
- You’ll fill out the change of major form linked above during the last quarter in which you are finishing pre-major courses; the final chance to submit is by the end of finals week of that quarter. Late submissions (after the quarter in which you were eligible) can affect your graduation timeline and complicate your registration process.
- We check pre-major course GPAs only after final grades are released; please note that this means students will need to plan to focus on part of the major sheet or overall degree requirements outside of Global Studies upper division course offerings (though current pre-majors with upper division unit standing are sometimes able to enroll in these courses on pass 3.) For schedule ideas when you're in this phase of pre-major completion, look at page two of this document.
- You do not need to finish the prep for the major areas before you declare the full major (including the foreign language requirement.)
Please note: The Pre-major requirements include GPA minimums (2.7+ combined on Global 1 and 2; 2.0+ combined on the three History cluster courses.) If you are concerned that you will not be able to meet these pre-major GPA requirements, please be aware of our appeals process, including eligibility guidelines for appeal, and reach out to our advising team as soon as possible for guidance.