Experience

Experience

Choosing a Major

Students declare their majors in the spring of the sophomore year. This means they have over three semesters to be exposed to a broad range of courses and experiences before focusing their educational interests.

Students may choose one of six options to satisfy the major requirement at Bowdoin:

  • a departmental major,
  • two departmental majors (a double major),
  • a coordinate major,
  • an interdisciplinary major,
  • a student-designed major, or
  • any of the preceding with a departmental minor.

Students are required to declare their majors before registering for courses for junior year or applying for off-campus programs, but may change their major until the first semester of their senior year. Students declare a major after their have consulted a faculty member in their major department. To learn more about major and minor requirements in specific departments, visit the departmental web pages.