Declaring a Liberal Arts Major

To gain admission to a major within the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, a student must:

• be registered at Baruch College,
• have completed at least 45 credits with an overall GPA of at least 2.0, and
• must have satisfied their Pathways general education and their major’s mathematics requirements.

Students are expected to complete the major requirements in place at the time they are officially accepted into their programs. A minimum of 60% of the credits in the major must be completed at Baruch College.

Intended Plan Check

To be considered for admission to their major, a student must have an intended Weissman BA or Weissman BS academic plan (major) on their CUNYfirst record. Students may check their CUNYfirst Student Center (click “My Academics”) to see if their academic plan (major) is correct. Students who fulfill all major eligibility requirements will automatically be reviewed for admission by the Weissman Associate Dean’s Office.

• Students who have “Undeclared” as their plan or have an intended plan offered in the Zicklin School of Business or the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, but wish to be admitted into Weissman, must complete a change of intended major form and submit the completed form to the Office of the Registrar by the Major Declaration deadline posted on the Academic Calendar.
• Students who have been officially admitted into the Zicklin School of Business or the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs must first visit the respective Dean’s Office to have their “Officially Accepted” service indicator released and student group inactivated from CUNYfirst and then submit an intended major form to change their plan at the Office of the Registrar.

Review Process and Acceptance

The Weissman School’s admission review process begins after the semester’s Major Declaration deadline and is handled in batches throughout the semester. Students who are completing math program or course prerequisites must wait until their grades are posted to gain admission to their desired majors.

Students can check their status on CUNYfirst Student Center — “Holds” details:

• Academic Plan Status / Intended Plan: Must Apply — completing major admissions requirements
  • The Academic Plan Status service indicator does not negatively impact registration and will be released when you have been accepted into your Weissman major.
• Accepted into Official Major — officially accepted into the Weissman School
  • The Accepted into Official Major service indicator does not negatively impact registration.
• Academic Plan Status / Must Satisfy Additional Requirements — Students majoring in Computer Science (new major effective Fall 2023) and Financial Mathematics are required to meet specific GPA criteria to be officially accepted into their programs.
  • Refer to the relevant major for additional information.
  • The Academic Plan Status service indicator does not negatively impact registration and will be released when you have satisfied requirements to continue with the major.

Major Specialization Forms

Certain programs within the Weissman School require completion of major specialization forms with faculty advisors. These include the Graphic Communication and Business Writing Specializations of the Business Communication major, the Management of Musical Enterprises Specialization of the Music major, and the Liberal Arts Ad Hoc major. Any request to deviate from the official major requirements listed in the undergraduate bulletin must also be approved by a faculty advisor and the Weissman Associate Dean’s Office via a major specialization form.

Fall 2024 Weissman Faculty Advisor List

Once the major form is signed by the faculty advisor, the department submits it via email to the Office of the Associate Dean at WSAS.MajorForms@baruch.cuny.edu for school approval.

Double Majors

Weissman students who wish to declare a second liberal arts major must email the Weissman Major Declaration Unit at WSAS.MajorForms@baruch.cuny.edu from their Baruch student addresses. The email should include the student’s name and emplid number and should indicate the primary and secondary major. A double major will appear on a student’s final transcript only if the courses for both Weissman programs are completed at the time of graduation. A minimum of 60 percent of credits in each major field must be completed at Baruch College.

Students who complete two majors are waived from courses 2-4 of the Baruch College Option requirement – all or part of the liberal arts minor.

Students who want to combine courses from two disciplines into a single major should consider the Liberal Arts Ad Hoc major option. Students must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0 to declare the Liberal Arts Ad Hoc major.

Students who want to combine courses at Baruch College with courses at other CUNY campuses should consider the CUNY BA option, the University-wide, individualized degree program. To be eligible for the CUNY BA program, students must have completed at least 12 college credits with a GPA of 2.8 or higher.

Contact

Students with questions about their official major status, including submitted major forms, should email WSAS.MajorForms@baruch.cuny.edu.