This document provides information about degree requirements at the University of Arizona. It discusses general education requirements including foundations, tier 1, and tier 2 courses. These gen ed courses aim to provide students with broad knowledge and skills to respond effectively to a complex world. The document also addresses exploring and declaring a major, overcoming potential barriers to majors, and developing a plan to complete degree requirements within 4 years. It emphasizes the importance of meeting with advisors to understand requirements and available resources for support.

1. Unit Five: Exploring Majors

2. Learning Objectives
• Identify degree requirements you are responsible for fulfilling in
order to graduate
• Analyze your list of potential majors in relation to your interests,
abilities and the major requirements
• Evaluate possible barriers to completing potential majors
• Create plan to overcome possible barriers

3. Basic Degree Requirements
• All University of Arizona degrees require that
you take general education courses. These
are broken down into three areas:
• Foundations
• Tier One
• Tier Two
Diversity Emphasis* - this requirement will likely be met by one
of your Tier One or Tier Two courses

4. Overall Degree Requirements

5. Let’s review - why do we have Gen
Eds?
To develop:
• Fundamental skills and broad base of knowledge
• Critical and inquiring attitude
• Appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of subject
areas
• Acceptance of persons of different backgrounds or
values
• Deepened sense of self
The goal of General Education is to prepare students to
respond more fully and effectively to an increasingly complex
and ambiguous world.

6. Foundations Requirements
• English composition courses
• Math requirement(s)
• Foreign language requirement(s)
Your math and foreign language requirement are likely to vary by
major, but your English requirement will likely not. Review degree
components to determine how much math or foreign language you
need to take.

7. Tier One Requirements
• Includes two courses from each area:
• 150s- Individuals and Societies
• 160s- Traditions and Cultures
• 170s- Natural Sciences
• If you are considering majoring in an area that will
require hard sciences (like biology or chemistry),
take these hard sciences to fulfill your 170s. It may
also help you figure out whether you truly do like
these courses.

8. Tier Two Requirements
• Includes one course in the following areas:
• Arts (this must be either a 3-unit course or multiple 1 to 2-
unit courses to reach a total of 3 units)
• Humanities
• Individuals and Societies
• Natural Sciences
You will likely take one of these courses as a major
course as well. You will need to work closely with your
advisor to determine this.

9. Diversity Emphasis
At least one course in your gen eds must be a diversity emphasis
course, emphasizing:
• Gender
• Race
• Class
• Ethnicity
• Sexual Orientation
• Non-Western Studies
Courses that satisfy the Diversity Emphasis Requirement are
identified in the course description. This requirement may be filled by
a designated Tier One or Tier Two course.

10. Tips about Gen Eds
• Use your gen eds to explore
majors (even if you end up
NOT declaring that major,
you’ve completed a
requirement)
• Take courses that interest
you (you’re more likely to do
well!)
• Go to your professor’s office
hours
• Use the Teacher-Course
Evaluations at:
www.tce.arizona.edu to
help you determine whether
you would like to take a
course

11. Access your advisement report in UAccess
to determine what gen eds you still have
left to take

12. What gen eds have you already taken?

13. Additional Degree Requirements
• All degrees require at least
120 units, where at least
42 units are upper division
(300 or 400 level courses)
• You must have at least a
2.0 GPA, although many
majors require a higher
GPA
• Some may require a
writing emphasis course
• At least 30 units must be
completed here at UA

14. What are your specific degree
requirements?
While general education is the same or similar for each major,
once you begin to branch into your major courses, the
requirements vary greatly.
How do you know what your specific major requirements would
be?
• Sit down with a major advisor to discuss courses
• Review the Advising Resource Center, which has tons of four-
year plans and links to department websites
• Review Degreesearch
• Review the UA catalog, which lists degree requirements and
course descriptions

15. Your Major/Minor
• Sometimes, it makes sense to couple a major with a minor, and
you may be able to learn about different subject areas
• Not all majors require a minor- check out DegreeSearch or the
department’s website to see if yours does
• Discuss the minor requirement with a major advisor- they may
even have some suggestions as to minors that complement
your intended major

16. Sometimes it takes more time
You need to complete an average 30 units a year in order to reach
120 units by the end of 4 years.
So what if you don’t complete 30 units a year or if your major/minor
requirements add up to more than 120 units?
This might mean you will need more time to complete your degree. A
summer, an extra semester, an extra year. How important is
completing your degree in four years to you?

17. What might prevent you from declaring
or exploring a specific major?
• GPA
• Pre-requisites
• Pre-major
• Application
• When courses are offered
• Department consent to
enroll in courses

18. How do you navigate around these
barriers?
Think about what might be preventing you from pursuing a certain
major. Are you nervous about math or foreign language? Why do
you think this is? What have your past experiences been and how
can you change your mindset moving forward?
Have you used resources available to you to help you navigate
around these barriers? If you need help finding resources, who
can you contact?
• Academic Advisor!

19. Case Study: Math Struggles
Wilma Wildcat really wants to major in Mechanical Engineering.
However, she struggles with math. She is currently failing MATH
122B (calculus).
Wilma meets with her advisor and they discuss resources
available to her to help her with her math course.
Wilma attends her professor’s office hours and supplemental
instruction, and she begins to develop new strategies for how she
is studying math. When she implements these new strategies, she
begins to excel in the course, and she realizes that it wasn’t the
content that was challenging, but her study strategies were
ineffective.

20. Case Study: Losing Interest in your Major
Wilbur Wildcat really wants to become part of the Eller College of
Management, but through the introductory coursework, he realizes
that Eller isn’t for him, but he still has an interest in business.
Wilbur meets with his academic advisor to talk about other options.
During the discussion, he has an interest in more of an
interdisciplinary degree. Ultimately, he decides on Agribusiness
Economics and Management because of the flexibility in
coursework.