Pre-Major Information

All pre-majors must complete specific courses and meet specific GPAs to declare their major. These are called Major Specific Requirements (MSR). These courses will be priority for your first and second year at CSULB.

  • Many first time, first year students are pre-majors. Pre-major status simply means you are not fully declared to your major yet. To become fully declared to your major, you will be required to complete Major Specific Requirements (MSRs). All majors require MSRs and it’s important to remember that you MUST complete ALL MSRs by the time you have earned 60 units. If you are a pre-major, your goal should be to complete your MSRs by the Fall or Spring of your second year. Additionally, to change major or pre-major, students must be on track to complete all MSRs by the time they earn 60 units.
  • Please note that some majors, Social Work and Nursing, require Supplemental Applications to get into the designated major
    • Advisors will discuss the Supplemental Application if your major requires it during the Spring semester First-Year (Freshman) Advising workshop. 
  • Once you meet the MSR (including GPA(s)), Enrollment Services will declare you into the major. This process typically takes about one month after the semester ends, so please be patient.

  • All students must be fully declared in a major before they reach 60 units. If you reach 60 units and you have not declared a major, the university will place a no major hold on your account until you have declared a major. If you do not meet the MSR for your current major, you would need to explore other majors. 
  • We encourage you to declare as soon as possible. Some students can declare into their major after their first year. When you declare will be based on when you finish your MSR. Declare a Major (Pre-Majors/Undeclared) | California State University, Long Beach (csulb.edu).

  • As a pre-major, you will be limited in the number of major courses you can enroll in. Most majors require you to be fully declared into the major before you can access the courses.
  • Your priority courses should be MSR. If you run out of MSR courses, you can fill in your schedule with General Education courses, including the upper-division GE requirements.
  • If you are in progress with your final MSR, you are still in pre-major status when you register for next semester. We encourage you to enroll in major courses open to pre-majors, remaining GE courses, and electives if you need them. Once you are fully declared at the end of the semester, you can swap into courses that are only open to declared students.