Apply for a Major or Minor
Frequently asked questions
Each department, program and section in HASS has its own policy in regard to majoring and concentrating in the same field. You should contact the relevant department UAA for information on a specific field.
You may concentrate and minor in the same field and use the same subjects for both. You must still submit concentration forms, even if you minor in the same field.
MIT leaves this up to each department, program, or section. Contact the relevant department UAA for more information
You may not overlap more than 2 subjects between a HASS minor and any other degree. In some cases, you may minor and major in different, but related fields. Regardless of any overlap in requirements between the two programs, SHASS does not allow students to overlap more than 2 subjects between any two degrees (minor and minor or minor and major).
The Registrar offers detailed instructions for earning a double major.
An interdisciplinary major is a major by special arrangement in one of several specific fields in Humanities requiring approval by the SHASS dean. Information is available on our undergraduate page or by appointment with the SHASS academic administrator. In interdisciplinary majors, students receive an S.B. in Humanities.
To drop a minor, email the SHASS academic administrator with your full name, ID, class year, and the name of the minor that you would like to drop.
Minor advisors are assigned by field. Please note that minor advisors can change as often as every semester; thus it is possible that different advisors will sign your proposal and completion forms.
You should have any changes approved by the minor advisor before you make them. In order to do this, you should:
- Check in with the minor advisor about your proposed change(s) and copy the department UAA in the communication.
- Gain the minor advisor’s approval for the changes.
- Forward the communication about the minor advisor’s approval to the department UAA who will then work with the SHASS academic administrator.
No. for example, you may have an economics minor that has mathematics or statistics subjects in it. You may have a music or literature minor that has a couple of 6-unit subjects.
If you already have enough other HASS subjects to fulfill the HASS Requirement, you don’t have to petition these 6-unit subjects to combine as one HASS-Elective. It’s okay to have non-HASS subjects in a HASS minor.
Yes. The HASS concentration is 1 of 3 key components that make up the HASS Requirement.
Every undergraduate student at MIT must file a HASS Concentration Proposal and Completion Form to graduate. You may, however, use the same classes toward your concentration that you use toward your minor.
Visit the Registrar’s HASS Concentration page for detailed instructions.
