Capped Majors
Some majors are harder to get into than others. "Capped majors" are departments that restrict admission due to very high student interest and demand. Each of these majors restricts admission in a somewhat different way. Some use heightened grade requirements in prerequisite courses. Some use special application deadlines and essays. Some use a combination of these. The capped majors in the College of Letters and Science are:
- Economics
- Media Studies (formerly Mass Communications)
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Social Welfare
- Operations Research & Management Science (ORMS)
You must apply for these majors when, including work in progress, you have reached less than or equal to 80 total units.
With the exception of junior transfers, this unit cap applies to all students (including double majors, simultaneous degrees, and students appealing for change of college into L&S. The cap is effective beginning with freshmen admitted Fall 2004 or later.
Junior transfers (those with 60 or more units completed at the time of transfer to Berkeley) are given one semester - their first of the Berkeley campus - to apply for a capped major. The cap is effective beginning with transfer students admitted Fall 2006 or later.
You should come in and speak with a college advisor if you are planning to declare a capped major.