Majors at Chapman
A major is exactly what it sounds like: it’s the academic field that you will focus on for the majority of your education. You’ll take most of your college classes in the field that you decide to major in.
Chapman offers around 50 majors, including options in the arts, business, communication, humanities and STEM areas. While all students must enter with a single major (or as Undeclared, which means you aren't sure what you want to major in yet), it’s common for students to choose a second major (or even more) while they’re here.
First-year Chapman students live in Living-Learning Communities: residence halls with students from their major's school/college. That way, you’ll get to live and learn alongside others who share your interests and passions.
Tips for finding a major
Picking your major is a big deal. It's part of the application process. It determines a lot of the classes you take. At Chapman, it even affects where you live. (See “Living-Learning Communities” above.)
A good start to figuring out what to major in is to learn more about available programs. Try our program finder to learn what’s right for you. Also, keep in mind that you can:
- Double major. If you have two passions, you don’t need to pick just one. In fact, picking two majors can allow you to bring insights from one field into another – which is a rare and valuable skill.
- Add a minor. Or minors. If you want to expand your skill set but keep your focus on your major, adding a minor can be the solution. Minors are a great way to explore another subject in a few classes while still having a manageable workload. That's probably why more than half of our graduates have at least one minor.
- Enter as Undeclared. If you’re not sure what you want to major in, that’s okay. Applying as Undeclared doesn’t affect your chances of getting into Chapman. You can learn more about applying as Undeclared here.
- Change your mind. You can change your major(s) or minor(s) if you find a new subject you’re passionate about when you’re here. In fact, exploring a variety of subjects is one of the goals of our liberal arts education.