Department of American Studies
Department of American Studies

How to Declare your Major

How do I become an American Studies major?

We're glad you're considering the American Studies major!

  1. We encourage you to begin by talking about the major with one of our wonderful faculty members! It's the best way to get your questions answered and think through your potential path through the major.

    Reach out to a professor you've taken or are currently taking a class with, or someone whose research or teaching interests appeal to you. You can find the list of our faculty's student meeting hours (aka office hours) here: https://americanstudies.as.virginia.edu/office-hours

    You can always also schedule a meeting with the Director of the Undergraduate Program (DUP), Professor Lisa Goff, by emailing amst-dup@virginia.edu.

  2. Before your meeting, have a look at the major requirements: https://americanstudies.as.virginia.edu/major/requirements.

    Prerequisite: In order to declare the American Studies major, you will need to complete a class in the American Studies department at UVA with a grade of C or better. All AMST-coded classes count for this requirement, as do any classes that are cross-listed with an AMST class (for example, AMST 2660 and RELG 2660 are the same course).

  3. When you're ready to declare, you can fill out the major declaration Docusign form. Click on this link: 

    >>> AMST Major Declaration Form <<< 

    NOTE: On the first page, only fill in your own name and email - the form is pre-filled with the rest of the right information.

  4. If there's a particular faculty member you would like to have as your advisor, please email amst-dup@virginia.edu with the advisor's name as soon as you've filled out the form. Otherwise, we'll assign you to an advisor.
  5. Once we approve your form, your major should show up in SIS within a week. If it's taken longer than that, feel free to email the DUP to follow up.

Welcome! 

What if I need to defer the major?

UVA students are supposed to declare a major by the beginning of their fifth semester (normally the beginning of their third year). Sometimes students are not ready to declare at that point. The college allows you to submit a form explaining that you are deferring your major declaration by one semester (and one semester only), but you must explain your plan to declare a major by the beginning of the following semester.

The prerequisite for declaring the major is completing one AMST class at UVA with a grade of C or better. 

If 

  1. you are entering the fall semester of your third year 

    and 

  2. you would like to declare an American Studies major

    but 

  3. you haven't completed a prerequisite AMST course,

then you should consider submitting a major deferral Docusign form. 

Please contact the DUP or speak to an AMST faculty member to discuss your plans. When you're ready, click on this link:

NOTE: Only fill in your own name and email - the form is pre-filled with the rest of the right information.

The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only.  The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/index.php. The American Studies requirements in the Record are here.