Things to Know Before You Become an Undeclared Student

While you can apply to USC as 'Undeclared', there are special considerations to know about becoming an “Undeclared” student. These considerations may affect your time to graduation, tuition and fees, financial aid, and eligibility for special programs.

• Becoming an “Undeclared” student may affect your time to graduation—speak with an Undeclared Academic Advisor to learn how your academic path may be affected.
• Not all majors accept the same Carolina Core general education classes and you may need to take specific courses to satisfy a prospective major’s curriculum requirements—speak with an Undeclared Academic Advisor to learn how your completed coursework applies to your prospective major.
• Certain scholarships and financial aid packages do not allow students to be in an “Undeclared” academic program—contact the Office of Financial Aid to learn how your financial aid may be affected by becoming Undeclared.
• Student-athletes on NCAA scholarship can only become Undeclared in specific situations and retain their scholarships. Please contact the Athletics Department Academic Services at 803-777-8521 to speak to an Athletics Academic Advisor.

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Undeclared During Your First Year

Students who are admitted to USC as Undeclared will be assigned an Undeclared Academic Advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences is a great place for undeclared students to explore academics at USC because it is home to over 100 majors that span the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.

As an undeclared first year student with access to hundreds of classes, you’ll benefit from a strong and flexible general education curriculum called the Carolina Core that will allow you to explore potential majors within and outside the College of Arts and Sciences while maintaining a path toward graduation.  According to University policy, Undeclared students must declare a major after accumulating 30 credit hours. As you approach the 30 credit hour mark, your Academic Advisor will help you determine which major at USC is the best fit for you. 

To learn more about being Undeclared in the College of Arts & Sciences, contact one of the Undeclared Academic Advisors. 

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Finding Your Course at USC

As a Gamecock you have countless resources to help you find out what you want to do, where your strengths lie, and how to find your course at USC!

• Major Exploration: Take advantage of the Advising Center’s self-assessments to get a head start on matching your unique skill set to the majors offered at USC. Your undeclared advisor will help you evaluate and understand the results of your self-assessment(s)!
  • CliftonStrengths: Discover the natural strengths that make you unique!
  • Index of Learning Styles: Discover how you learn best—both inside and outside the classroom
  • The Learning and Study Skills Inventory: Discover where your learning strategies are strongest

• Career Exploration: Learn about career paths—those you think you know about and those you didn’t know existed! Career exploration will help you plan for life after graduation and learn the different academic paths that can lead to the career of your dreams!
  • Career Coaching: Get one on one support from a Career Coach as you learn about yourself, your academic path, and the professional world
  • Career Assessment Tools: Unsure of what you want to do after graduation? Start with a career self-assessment!
  • Career Courses: Make career planning a part of your course schedule with the UNIV 201: The World of Work