POLICY STATEMENT

This policy clarifies requirements for students wishing to pursue more than one Major or degree, or to pursue a Minor or Concentration.

DEFINITIONS

Additional Baccalaureate Degree: Degree pursued by a student after completing and graduating with a previous degree.

Concentration: A specialization designated by a grouping of courses within a Major. No degree is conferred for a Concentration alone; the degree is conferred for the Major.

Core Curriculum: A set of required courses or disciplinary or topical areas (e.g., Social Sciences, Cultural Diversity) required of all students, regardless of major, to develop a breadth of knowledge and skills.

Course Overlap: When a single course is allowed to fulfill two degree or program requirements. Also known as “double-dipping.”

Degree-Seeking: Status of students enrolled at Nevada State with the intent to complete and earn a formal degree or credential.

Endorsement: Area of teaching specialization approved and issued by the Nevada Department of Education as part of teacher licensure.

Major: A required, primary field of study for a Degree-Seeking student.

Minor: An secondary field of study for a Degree-Seeking undergraduate student enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program. Minors require fewer credits than Majors.

Multiple Majors: Two or more declared majors that are all the same type of baccalaureate degree (e.g. multiple Bachelor of Arts majors).

Simultaneous Degrees: Two or more declared majors in which at least one is from a different type of baccalaureate degree (e.g. a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science).

Undecided: Status of a Degree-Seeking undergraduate student who has not declared a Major.

PROCEDURES

Students may pursue separate undergraduate Majors or degrees at the same time. Students who declare multiple Majors or degrees may graduate with the additional majors under the catalog year in which they declared each additional Major, or the year they graduate. The catalog year for additional Majors does not affect the catalog year of the first Major.

A student cannot graduate until all requirements are met for all declared degrees or programs, including Minors; students who choose not to complete one or more declared program(s) must officially drop that program by completing the appropriate form.

I. Multiple Majors (Similar Degree Types)

The following requirements apply to students pursuing Multiple Majors:

A. The student must meet all admission requirements (e.g., minimum GPA or standardized test scores) for each declared Major;

B. The student must complete all core curriculum and program requirements for each declared Major;

C. Students must earn a grade of C- or better in all coursework required for a Major, unless a higher standards has been set and published by an academic program;

D. Limitations and prohibitions:

D.1 Except as noted in I.D.1.i below, students who declare more than one Concentration within a Major are classified as pursuing a single Major with multiple Concentrations, but do not qualify as pursuing Multiple Majors;

D.1.i Secondary Education Majors may pursue more than one Concentration as Multiple Majors, provided they meet the exclusive credits requirement in I.D below;

D.2 Students may not pursue a Major in a discipline and a Major in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in the same discipline (e.g. Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in Criminal Justice) as Multiple Majors.

E. Course Overlap is allowed between declared Multiple Majors. However, a minimum of twelve (12) credits required for the Major (not including Core Curriculum, general elective, or other non-Major-specific credits) must be exclusive to each declared Major and may not have Course Overlap; the 12 distinct credits must be approved. If the published coursework for the Majors cannot be completed in a manner that allows for 12 distinct credits between them, they are not eligible to be pursued as Multiple Majors, with the exception noted in I.E.1 below;

E.1 The requirement to have 12 distinct credits does not apply to Secondary Education majors paired with the appropriate disciplinary major (e.g., Secondary Education in English with a BA in English major);

F. Required courses from one Major may be applied as general electives or Core Curriculum requirements for the other declared Major(s);

G. No additional credits are required beyond the minimum credits required for graduation as long as the requirements for all declared Majors are completed at the time the degree is conferred;

H. All declared Majors will appear on the student’s transcript and diploma. Only one diploma is issued.

II. Simultaneous Degrees (Different Degree Types)

When a student declares Majors that involve different degree types, additional credits are required.

A. Degree Types: Nevada State University offers the following distinct types of baccalaureate degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts;
• Bachelor of Science;
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration;
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing;
• Bachelor of Public Administration;
• Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education;
• Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education;
• Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education;
• Bachelor of Applied Science.

B. Prohibited Degree Combinations: Due to their unique admissions and core curriculum requirements, Bachelor of Applied Science degrees, and the RN-to-BSN degree, cannot be combined with any other type of degree and cannot be pursued as Simultaneous Degrees.

C. Secondary Education Degree Exceptions: Combining a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education or a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with the corresponding discipline-specific Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science is not considered a different degree type and does not qualify as a Simultaneous Degree (e.g., the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with a Concentration in Mathematics and the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics are not considered separate degree types). In addition, different Secondary Education majors (e.g., Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with a Concentration in Mathematics with a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education with a Concentration in History) are not considered to be separate degree types. Students combining such degrees will follow the requirements stated above for Multiple Majors.

D. Degree Requirements: The following requirements apply to students pursuing Simultaneous Degrees:

1. All School, Major, and degree requirements must be met for each declared degree;
2. Students must complete thirty (30) additional upper-division credits in residence at NSC for each additional degree type;
3. Required courses from one degree may be applied as general electives (lower- or upper-division) or Core Curriculum requirements for the other declared degree(s);
4. Course Overlap is allowed between declared Simultaneous Degrees. However, a minimum of twelve (12) degree-specific credits (not including Core Curriculum, elective, and other non-degree-specific credits) must be exclusive to each declared degree and may not have Course Overlap;
5. Students must file separate graduation application cards for each type of degree;
6. All degrees will appear on the student’s transcript and a separate diploma is issued for each type of degree.

E. Financial Aid Considerations: Students receiving financial aid should consult with a financial aid counselor before declaring Simultaneous Degrees to carefully assess the impact on their eligibility for financial aid. Because Simultaneous Degrees require additional coursework, students may need to enroll in additional terms.

 III. Declaring Three or More Majors or Degrees

Students wishing to pursue three (3) or more Majors or degrees, or four (4) or more of any combination of Majors, degrees, or Minors, must be reviewed by the Academic Advising Center. If the credits required to complete all requested Majors, degrees, and/or Minors total more than one-hundred eighty (180) credits, the Academic Advising Director must review and approve the declaration of all programs beyond two (2). The Academic Advising Director may consult with relevant academic Deans as needed to reach a decision.

IV. Additional Baccalaureate Degrees

A. After Previous NSC Degree: The following requirements apply to students pursuing an Additional Baccalaureate Degree after completing a previous degree at Nevada State:

A.1 The student must reapply for admission to the University;

A.2 The student will be held to all School, Major, and graduation requirements for the catalog year in which they are readmitted;

A.3 Core Curriculum requirements completed for previous degrees completed at Nevada State will satisfy core curriculum requirements for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree, with the exception of any new or additional Core Curriculum requirements effective in the catalog year of readmission;

A.4 The student must complete thirty (30) upper-division credits in residence for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree. Credits that applied to earlier degrees earned from Nevada State, even those in excess of the 120 required for graduation, may not be applied toward the residency requirement for an Additional Baccalaureate Degree. Specific courses required for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree that were taken for an earlier degree earned at Nevada State will be waived; however, the credits toward residency must be made up through general electives.

B. After Previous Baccalaureate Degree from Another NSHE Institution: The Core Curriculum will be fulfilled by the previous degree, with the exception of any variation to Core Curriculum requirements required by the school or degree. A student who has earned a baccalaureate degree from another NSHE institution must meet the following requirements for an Additional Baccalaureate Degree at Nevada State:

B.1 Complete all school and Major requirements for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree;

B.2 Complete a minimum of thirty (30) upper-division credits in residence at Nevada State University;

B.3 Complete any variations to the Core Curriculum required for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree.

C. After Previous Baccalaureate Degree from an Institution outside of NSHE: A student who has earned a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. regionally-accredited institution must meet the following requirements:

C.1 Complete all school and Major requirements for the Additional Baccalaureate Degree;

C.2 Fulfill all Core Curriculum requirements that have not been fulfilled by the previous degree;

C.3 Complete the Nevada Constitution Core Curriculum requirement, either by taking a relevant course at an NSHE institution or via Credit By Exam;

C.4 Complete a minimum of thirty (30) upper-division credits in residence at Nevada State University.

V. Academic Minor Requirements

A Minor is a structured plan of study requiring eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21) credits; an exception from the Office of the Provost is required for approval of Minors with more than 21 credits. Minors must include at least nine (9) upper-division credits unless approval from the Office of the Provost is granted.

Declaring a Minor is optional, unless otherwise stated by a degree program (e.g., the Data Science major requires a minor); otherwise, students do not have to complete a Minor to graduate. A student who decides not to complete a declared Minor must officially drop the Minor in order to graduate. An academic Minor appears on a student’s official transcript but is not printed on the student’s diploma.

A. Limitations on Academic Minors

1. 1. To declare a Minor, a student must have a declared Major; Undecided students cannot declare a Minor;
   2. Only Degree-Seeking students may declare a Minor;
   3. Students cannot declare a Major and Minor of the same name in the same discipline (e.g., a Deaf Studies Major cannot be combined with a Deaf Studies Minor).
   4. At least nine (9) credits must be unique to the Minor and cannot have Course Overlap to apply to Major requirements and the Minor;
   5. Students may declare a maximum of three (3) Minors; a minimum of nine (9) credit hours must be unique to each Minor and may not be counted toward the other Minor(s);
   6. A Minor will follow the requirements of the catalog year in which the student officially declares the Minor;
   7. Course Overlap is allowed to fulfill both a Minor and Core Curriculum requirements, or to fulfill Minor and Major requirements. A single course may only be applied to two requirements. Course Overlap credits will only be counted once toward the student’s total credits needed for graduation;
      1. When applying Course Overlap rules, fulfilling Core Curriculum and Major requirements will take precedence over fulfilling Minor requirements. Students may petition the Academic Advising Center to instead have a course applied to their Minor requirements and either a Core Curriculum or a Major requirement;
   8. Students must earn a grade of C- or better in all coursework required for a Minor;
   9. A Minor may not be added to a student’s academic record after the student’s baccalaureate degree has been conferred;
   10. If a student decides not to complete a previously declared Minor, the student must officially drop the Minor via the Change or Add a Minor e-form in the NSC portal. Baccalaureate degrees and diplomas cannot be posted or issued until all declared programs are completed.

VI. Concentrations

Programs may use the term “Concentration” for groups of courses that differentiate specializations within a Major.

A. Concentrations that are included in the formal name of a Major and submitted for external review and approval as part of the name (e.g., presentation to the Board of Regents and the accrediting agency) will appear on a student’s diploma. If a Concentration is not formally approved as part of the name, it will appear on a student’s transcript but not on the diploma;

B. Students may have Course Overlap between Concentrations within a single program;

C. Limitations and exclusions:

1. 1. Students cannot combine a Concentration with a Major or Minor of the same name in the same discipline (e.g., a Criminal Justice Concentration cannot be combined with a Criminal Justice Major or Minor);
   2. Students cannot combine a Major with no Concentration with a Major of the same name in the same discipline with a Concentration (e.g., Biology cannot be combined with Biology with a Concentration in Cell and Molecular);
   3. Students pursuing Elementary Education Majors cannot combine multiple Concentrations.

VII. Teaching Endorsements

While teaching Endorsement courses may be taken at NSC, Endorsements are not issued by the University. They are added to an individual’s teaching license by the Nevada Department of Education.

FORMS/INSTRUCTIONS

• Change or Add a Major, Program, or Degree Form

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS

Office of the Registrar
702-992-2110
registrar@nevadastate.edu

RELATED INFORMATION

• Requirements for Graduation published in the academic catalog
• AE 4.2 Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

HISTORY

• Replaces Simultaneous Degree, Second Degree, and Double Major policy adopted May 9, 2008.
• Replaces Multiple Majors, Simultaneous Degrees, and Additional Degrees Policy for Undergraduates (AE 15.1) approved on November 10, 2020.
• Replaces statement on Undergraduate Minors in the NSC academic catalog.

APPROVALS

Approved by Dr. Christine Beaudry, Faculty Senate Chair, May 2, 2023.
Approved by Dr. Vickie Shields, Provost, May 23, 2023.
Approved by Dr. DeRionne Pollard, September 12, 2023.