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How to Change Majors or Colleges in the UK After Enrollment?

 

In the UK, changing majors or colleges typically refers to changing departments within a university. A college usually refers to a specific school within a university, while a major refers to a specific academic discipline or subject.

 

For example, a college can be the School of Business or the School of Engineering, while a major can be Business Management or Automotive Engineering.

 

Changing colleges means transferring from one college to another within a university. A university usually has several or dozens of colleges, and each college offers numerous majors. These majors within the same college are somewhat related, so changing colleges also means changing majors. For example, transferring from the School of Business to the School of Engineering.

 

Changing majors refers to switching from one major to another. Within a college, there are multiple majors. Therefore, changing majors usually means switching to another major within the same college. However, it is also possible to switch majors across colleges by directly selecting a major from another college.

 

In principle, it is not possible to change majors after enrollment in a UK university due to various factors, including the stipulated number of students in each major. However, under specific circumstances, it is still possible to change majors or colleges. Some majors may have specific requirements, or the course duration may be too long to catch up with, or the maximum capacity for a particular major may have been reached.

 

Changing majors is generally easier within the majors offered by the same college. Additionally, it is relatively easier to switch from a specialized major to a major in the School of Business, for example, switching from Biology to Marketing. However, the reverse, switching from Marketing to Biology, may be more challenging. Although it may be difficult, if the requirements of the major are met and all parties agree, it is possible to make the switch.

 

Specific requirements and procedures vary for each university. For example, within a certain timeframe, such as one week after enrollment (specific timeframes depend on the university, ranging from one week to two weeks or before registration), certain conditions must be met to apply for a major change. This may include submitting samples of work or other requirements, obtaining the signatures of faculty members from both the current and desired departments, and checking if the desired major has reached its maximum capacity. In most cases, as long as students meet the requirements for a major change, submit an application, and complete the process, it is possible to change majors.

 

For example, I have a friend who initially studied Human Resource Management but realized within the first week of enrollment that they didn't enjoy it. They applied to switch to Media Studies, which not only changed their major but also changed their college because one major was in the School of Business while the other was in the School of Arts and Humanities.