Major, Minor, Concentration Declarations

Online declarations – Faculty FAQ


View a tutorial on the Major, Minor, Concentation online declaration process by clicking here: faculty_MMC_tutorial


Now that this process is online, can students declare without meeting with anyone in person?

No, once a student has entered their intention in Garnet Gateway they are instructed to meet with the chair as well as the advisor assigned/requested in person.


I’ve met with the student and am ready to accept them. Now what do I need to do?

Log into the Garnet Gateway. Under the “Advising” menu click on the “Major/Minor/GEC Approval” link. Here you will see a list of students who have either requested you as an advisor or who were assigned to you by your chair. If you accept the student as an advisee click the “Approve” button next to their name.


If I am a chair and the student has chosen an advisor who will be away or cannot take on additional advisees what should I do?

You may assign a different advisor. Click on the “Major and Minor Declaration Requests” link in Garnet Gateway. You will see those students who intend to declare in your department/program. Next to each student’s name you will see an “Assign a different advisor” button. Click on this button and select the appropriate advisor. An email will be sent to the new advisor and the student to alert them.


I accepted a student but they do not show up on my advisee list in Garnet Gateway. Why?

Students need to complete the declaration process after you have accepted them by logging into Garnet Gateway and confirming their intention to declare. Once they have done this they will be officially declared by the Registrar’s Office and will appear on your advisee list. You will also receive email notification that this has occurred.


I have concerns about taking a student or additional students on as an advisee. How do I deny the request?

The faculty consulted when this application was created strongly voiced that any denials should be made apparent to the student in personal meetings or personal emails (as opposed to system-generated emails). Once it is clear to the student they should not pursue a particular major/minor they can drop the proposed declaration online and their name will disappear from your advising request page.


Can students declare more than one major or minor on-line?

Yes, students may repeat the process to declare a second major or minor.


Is there a deadline for students to declare?

Yes, beginning with the class of 2011, students must declare their major and concentrations by March 1st of their sophomore year or they will be blocked from registering for Short Term and Fall semester.


A new faculty member from my department/program is not showing up in the pull-down menu of advisors. How do I update this?

Please notify the Registrar’s Office and we will correct this.


A student is interested in declaring an Interdisciplinary major but it is not available online. What should they do?

Interdisciplinary majors must be proposed to the Curriculum and Calendar Committee. This remains a paper process. Students may obtain an application from the Registrar’s Office.