GCAC-218 - Minors

Policy Statement

General Requirements

1. A minor may be taken in one of the approved graduate degree programs offered at Penn State, or in one of the stand-alone graduate minors approved by Graduate Council.
2. A student may not pursue more than three minors while completing their graduate degree program. If a student pursues more than one minor, each minor must have a separate group of courses to support it (i.e., none of the courses may be applied to more than one minor).
3. A graduate minor program must be different from the student’s graduate major program (but may be in a closely related field). The graduate minor program head is responsible for advising students on courses to be taken in the minor field, approving those courses, and certifying that the minor requirements have been met.
4. Credits required for a graduate minor program may be counted towards the student’s graduate major degree requirements. The graduate major program head is responsible for certifying which courses will be approved to double count towards the student’s graduate major degree requirements.
   1. A graduate program’s policy restricting the double counting of credits must be approved through the Graduate Council curricular review process and be stated in the graduate program’s Graduate Bulletin listing.
5. The graduate minor program head is responsible for advising students on courses to be taken in the minor field, approving those courses, and certifying that the minor requirements have been met.
   
   Master's Minor Requirements
   
6. A master’s minor must require a minimum of 6 credits at the 400-, 500-, or 800-level. At least 3 credits must be at the 500- or 800-level.
   1. The distribution of 500- and 800-level credits must reflect the research or professional education goal of the minor, respectively.
7. The student’s adviser or the graduate major program may recommend a master’s student to pursue a minor.
8. A master’s student seeking a minor must have the approval of their graduate major program head (in consultation with their adviser, if assigned) and the graduate minor program head.
   
   Doctoral Minor Requirements
   
9. A doctoral minor must require a minimum of 15 credits at the 400-, 500-, or 800-level. At least 8 credits must be at the 500- or 800-level.
   1. The distribution of 500- and 800-level credits must reflect the research or professional education goal of the minor, respectively.
10. If the student completed a minor with a master’s degree in the same field proposed for a doctoral minor, the 6 credits taken for the master’s minor cannot count towards the doctoral minor. However, credits earned in the master’s program beyond those applied to either the master’s minor or major can be applied to the doctoral minor.
11. Requirements for minor members on Ph.D. or professional doctoral committees are defined in policies GCAC-602 Ph.D. Committee Formation, Composition, and Review - Research Doctorate, and GCAC-702 Professional Doctoral Committee Composition - Professional Doctorate.
12. Students must be admitted to the minor prior to scheduling the comprehensive examination.
13. The student’s adviser, committee, or the graduate major program may recommend a doctoral student to pursue a minor.
14. A doctoral student seeking a minor must have the approval of their graduate major program head (in consultation with the adviser, if assigned, and the committee, if appointed) and the graduate minor program head.

Procedures

• P1 - Adding a Minor

Forms

Request to Add A Graduate Minor

Revision History

Approved by Graduate Council, May 1, 2024. Effective Date: Fall 2024 (8/12/2024)

• New policy consolidating prior policies GCAC-611 Minor - Research Doctorate, GCAC-641 Minor - Research Master's, GCAC-709 Minor - Professional Doctorate, and GCAC-741 Minor - Professional Master's.