Declaring the Major

Increased demand has made it impossible to declare all students interested in the Social Welfare major. This increased demand has necessitated a limit on the number of students permitted to declare the major. It is therefore prudent to declare the major as soon as possible. The current trend would indicate that continuing students at Berkeley should be declared by the end of their sophomore year Fall Semester.

Only declared students may enroll in the core social welfare courses (SW 102, SW 100, SW 103, SW 105) and all prerequisites must be completed before a student can be declared. Since declarations are processed in chronological order until the limit is reached, continuing students at Berkeley should contact the Undergraduate Assistant in 219 Haviland Hall as early as possible during the semester that prerequisites will be completed. Placement on the chronological waitlist is determined by the date a student completes the necessary paperwork for declaring the major.

Transfer students who wish to declare the major should complete the necessary prerequisites at their junior college. Once accepted to the University, they should attend the CalSO orientation for transfers and meet with the Undergraduate Assistant on that day. Transcripts verifying completion of the prerequisites (unofficial copies are acceptable) should be presented at that time. Transfer students unable to attend CalSO should contact the Undergraduate Assistant directly.

Further questions regarding declaration of the major should be directed to the Undergraduate Assistant.

Prerequisites

The following four prerequisites or their equivalents must be completed with a minimum letter grade of C- or a Pass in order to declare the major. Equivalent courses taken at other institutions are acceptable.

Introductory Psychology (At UCB: Psychology 1, or 2)
Introductory Sociology (At UCB: Sociology 1, 3, 3A, or 3AC)
Introductory Statistics (At UCB: Statistics 2, 2X, 5, 20, 21, or 21X; or Political Science 3, Psychology 5, or Sociology 5)
The College of Letters and Science Reading and Composition requirement.

Recommended: It is suggested that three other courses (Introductory Anthropology, Introductory Economics, and Introductory Political Science) should be taken as preparation for the major, but these courses are not required to declare the major. Students are encouraged to meet the Letters and Science foreign language requirement with a language helpful to serving an immigrant or refugee population (e.g., Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, or Vietnamese).

Minimum G.P.A. Requirement for Graduation

Students who declared social welfare as a major prior to Fall 1996 must achieve a 2.0 minimum overall G.P.A. (equivalent to a "C") in the courses taken to satisfy the major. Starting in the Fall of 1996, social welfare majors must achieve a 2.0 minimum G.P.A. in the four core social welfare courses; and a 2.0 minimum G.P.A. in their five social science electives.

Courses in which passing, but lower grades are obtained may satisfy major requirements, but must be balanced by other grades to achieve an overall "C" average. Students who are concerned about their grade point average in the major should contact the undergraduate assistant.