To: Departmental Executive Officers: please share with all instructors and staff
From: Cornelia Lang, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Re: 2025-2026 CLAS Undergraduate Curricular Changes Summary Part 1: Programs of Study
This memo contains a list of significant additions, revisions, and closures to undergraduate CLAS majors, minors, and certificates, as well as structural changes in the college that affect undergraduate programs of study. The changes in this list were approved during the 2025-2026 academic year and have been included in the 2026-2027 General Catalog. This list is organized by department or division, then program. All changes are effective as of the fall 2026 session unless otherwise indicated.
This memo is number one of two: updates pertaining to the General Education CLAS Core can be found in a separate memo.
- The African American Studies BA has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
- The African American Studies minor and AFAM courses have moved into the Department of American Studies. The BA has also moved into the Department of American Studies for those students still completing it.
- The Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies BA has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
- The Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies minor and GWSS courses have moved into the Department of American Studies. The BA has also moved into the Department of American Studies for those students still completing it.
- The Native American and Indigenous Studies certificate and minor, as well as NAIS courses, have been moved into the Department of American Studies within MAUI. The Native American and Indigenous Studies program was already administered by American Studies; this move was for MAUI cleanup purposes.
- The Social Justice minor and SJUS courses have moved into the Department of American Studies.
The Gender, Health, and Healthcare Equity minor has moved into the Department of Anthropology.
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Screenwriting Arts BA take effect fall 2026. Some sequencing will be removed and some repeated workshops will be reduced, adding flexibility and variety for students. A new capstone course called “The Business of Screenwriting” will also be added, to ensure all students receive the same career information and advice in an efficient way.
- To support these changes in requirements, there will also be some changes to screenwriting courses in the course library (e.g., creation, revision, or dropping of several courses required for the major).
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Non-Degree Programs
The Pre-Physician Associate program has changed names from Pre-Physician Assistant. This change matches the name change made by Carver College of Medicine to their Physician Associate Studies programs.
Classics and Religious Studies
- The Department of Classics and the Department of Religious Studies merged to create the Department of Classics and Religious Studies (CARS). CARS contains all programs of study in Ancient Civilization, Classical Languages, Classics, Greek, Latin, Health and the Human Condition, and Religious Studies, as well as all courses in CLSA, CLSG, CLSL, and RELS.
- The Classical Languages BA has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
- The Jewish Studies certificate and JSTU courses have moved into the Department of Classics and Religious Studies.
- The Museum Studies certificate and MUSM courses have moved into the Department of Classics and Religious Studies.
Communication Sciences and Disorders
The Speech and Hearing Science minor has changed names from Communication Sciences and Disorders. The new name matches the name of the Speech and Hearing Science BA.
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Communication Studies BA take effect fall 2026. These changes add more structure to the major, requiring more depth and directing students more purposefully through introductory, intermediate, and advanced coursework.
- To support these changes in requirements, a significant number of COMM courses have been renumbered.
- The Rhetoric and Persuasion minor and RHET courses have moved into the Department of Communication Studies. The Department of Rhetoric has closed.
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Computer Science BA and BS take effect fall 2026. These changes include streamlining the math requirement, adding courses on both artificial intelligence and ethics, and slightly restructuring the major elective requirement for the BS program.
- The Informatics BA has created a new cognate area in Theatre Arts. This program would be appropriate for students interested in supporting theatre productions though computing in areas such as sound, lighting, projections, video, and programmable rigging.
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Dance BA take effect fall 2026. These changes greatly reduce the number of semester hours required to completed the Dance BA by restructuring the content of several courses and reducing some other requirements. These changes will make the Dance BA more distinct from the Dance BFA and allow students to more easily combine the Dance BA with other programs of study.
- To support these changes in requirements, there will also be some changes to DANC courses in the course library (e.g., creation, revision, or dropping of several courses required for the major).
Health, Sport, and Human Physiology
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Exercise Science BS take effect fall 2026. These changes restructure the content of advanced lab courses to reduce bottlenecks and increase flexibility. Most continuing Exercise Science students have been moved to the new requirements, due to the older courses not being offered anymore. This transition has been underway for two years, and academic advisors have been working with these students to plan for the transition in requirements.
- The Health Studies BA has changed the way it counts HHP:1050 Exploring Health and Human Physiology to make it one option that will count toward the major requirements but no longer required for every student in the major.
- The Human Physiology BS restructured how certain courses fulfill certain requirements of the major as well.
The History BA has slightly restructured the required areas within the major. A new area has been added (students must now complete one Thematic History Course), but the overall semester hours of the major have not changed, because fewer major electives are now required.
Significant changes to the requirements of the Enterprise Leadership BA take effect fall 2026. These changes eliminate any mathematics or statistics requirement outside of the General Education requirement in Quantitative or Formal Reasoning, eliminate the sociology requirement, and broaden the former U.S. Cultural Diversity area to encompass global issues and sustainability.
Journalism and Mass Communication
The Writing certificate and WRIT courses have moved into the School of Journalism and Mass Communication effective January 2026. The Magid Center was closed effective January 2026.
Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures
- Significant changes to the requirements of the Asian Languages and Literature—Chinese BA and minor take effect fall 2026. These changes include de-sequencing the fourth year Chinese language courses, counting lower level courses than before toward the major, and removing category requirements from the minor. These changes will increase flexibility in these programs.
- The French BA subprogram in Language, Literature, and Culture has closed. The French BA is now all one program with no subprograms.
- Several changes were made to the requirements of the French minor to better align the minor with the major.
- The Italian BA has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
- The Russian BA has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
- The Russian Studies minor has changed names from Russian to better reflect its curriculum, which now includes both Russian language courses and courses studying Russian and Eastern European culture.
The Ethics and Public Policy BA has created a new field of specialization in Public Affairs, with courses in this area taught by the Graduate College’s School of Planning and Public Affairs (SPPA). The SPPA already offers undergraduate minors in Public Policy and Urban Studies that are popular with students in the Ethics and Public Policy major. The new specialization area would be appropriate for students who wish to focus on applied policy work.
The Applied Physics BS has been closed with an end session of summer 2026. Students who declared the major in or before summer 2026 will be able to complete the major if they wish.
Psychological and Brain Sciences
The Psychology BA and BS are adding a new course designed to be an orientation to the major. The course will include information on resources, opportunities, and career readiness. It will increase understanding of the major and connections to the department early in students’ time in the program.
Significant changes to the requirements of the Social Work BA take effect fall 2026. These changes adjust the semester hours of a required skills laboratory course and restructure the major electives requirements.
Changes Made in Collaboration with Other Colleges
The Health Sciences track of the Microbiology BS has changed names from Pre-Medicine to better reflect the breadth of career goals of students within the track.
The Science Studies BS has moved from CLAS to the College of Education. This major primarily serves students wishing to teach in the natural sciences at the secondary level.