Change of major, minor or specialisation

Major

The core zone of all generalist degrees will require a major – this will be your qualifying major.

A major consists of 80 credit points, of which 30 credit points must be at 3000 level. The list of eligible qualifying majors for a generalist degree are included in the course’s “major schedule” in the Handbook.

Minor

The core zone of a generalist degree may also allow you to complete a minor (eg in a Bachelor of Arts). A minor is a sequence of undergraduate units drawn from a major or specialisation but with a smaller volume of learning requirement.

A minor must be 40 credit points, of which 20 credit points must be completed at 2000 level or above.

Your generalist degree may also allow you to complete a further major or a minor in your flexible zone.

Further majors must be from the course’s “major schedule”.

A specialist degree may require completion of a specialisation. You are only able to undertake one specialisation in an undergraduate specialist degree.

Undergraduate specialist degree specialisations are at least 120 credit points, of which at least 40 credit points must be completed at 3000 level or above. The list of eligible specialisations for a specialist degree is included in the course’s 'specialisation schedule' in the Handbook.

Your specialist degree may also allow the completion of a minor in the core zone and/or the flexible zone. A minor is a sequence of undergraduate units drawn from a major or specialisation but with a smaller volume of learning requirement. A minor must be 40 credit points of which 20 credit points must be completed at 2000 level or above.

Your specialist degree may also allow you to complete a concentration in your flexible zone. A concentration is a sequence of study within a specialisation and is a minimum of 40cp.

If you are admitted into a double degree, you will need to complete the core zone of each component single degree. Your major, minor, and specialisation requirements will be determined by the requirements of the individual single degrees.

There are unit sharing restrictions within double degrees. Students are unable to complete a specialisation or major where it is possible to choose a combination of units which share more than 50 per cent of credit points in common above 1000 level with:

• a major or specialisation from the other course, or
• the core zone of the other course (outside any major or specialisation)

If you are admitted into a Combined Bachelor and Master Degree, you may request a change to the major, minor, or specialisation in your Bachelor Course, subject to the course requirements outlined in your Handbook. Students admitted into the Bachelor of Information Technology or Bachelor of Security Studies with a combined Master degree are also able to request a change to their intended Master.

Masters and Extended Masters degrees may require completion of a specialisation in the core zone. In postgraduate specialist courses, Specialisations will constitute 50 per cent of a course’s core zone. Where applicable, the list of eligible specialisations for a Masters degree is included in the course’s 'specialisation schedule' in the Handbook.

• A student completing a Masters degree can only complete one specialisation. However, Extended Masters may permit students to complete more than one specialisation.
• Graduate Certificates cannot have specialisations recognised.
• Graduate Diplomas may require a specialisation.

If you are studying either the Standard Foundation or Intensive program at the Macquarie University International College (MUIC), you may request to change your stream between Arts, Business, and Science.

If you are studying a Bachelor of Arts through OUA, you are required to complete a qualifying major. This form can be used to add or change a qualifying major as well as add, change, or remove a further major or minor.