This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://coursecatalog.bucknell.edu.

Optional Minors (AS)

Minors are optional both on the part of faculty and students; no department or group of faculty members is required to offer a minor and no student can be required to elect a minor.

Pursuit of a minor, whether departmental or interdisciplinary, may provide a student with more coherence and focus in choosing electives. This may well enhance the educational experience, particularly when the minor is chosen from a division other than that of the major or when the minor is interdisciplinary.

Optional minors are available to regular undergraduate students in each of the areas listed below. Details of the requirements for each minor are listed on the indicated pages.

Regulations for Minors

A departmental minor consists of four, five or six courses in a department. An interdepartmental minor consists of five courses, with none of the five being in the student’s major department and no more than three of the five being in a single department. By faculty action, all minors are available to all students in the University.

The following stipulations pertain to a minor:

  • Courses may not be double-counted in majors and minors; however, corequisite or major-related courses outside the student’s major department may be counted toward a minor.
  • Courses that count toward a minor also may satisfy College of Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum (CASCC) requirements, except for the major.
  • Students in one degree program (e.g., bachelor of arts) may complete a minor in a department offering a different degree (e.g., bachelor of science).
  • The minor in biomedical engineering is administered by the Dean’s Office of the College of Engineering. Questions regarding this minor should be addressed to that office.

Declaring a Minor

  1. Effective Fall 2022, students can declare a minor (via an online form available in myBucknell) in their 4th semester assuming they have satisfied the following requirements:  

    1. ​Have declared and been approved for a major

    2. Have earned at least 12 cumulative Bucknell credits  

  2. Department chair, program director or minor coordinator approval will only be required if a student deviates from the published minor course requirements, which can be granted using the adjustment request form on the APR*.

  3. The minor will be displayed on the APR and be subject to published policies related to course double-counting.  

  4. Should a student fail to complete minor requirements or secure proper approval for course substitutions, the minor will be automatically removed from the student’s record prior to degree conferral.

*Please note that it is not possible to substitute courses for those on the approved lists of requirements. Students who have not elected the specific minor requirements may not propose waivers or modifications unless approved by the department chair and the academic associate dean.