Pre-Major Students

Starting Your Academic Career

Students who have not yet declared their major through official paperwork are considered “pre-majors.” All students enter ÃÛÌÒ½´as pre-majors and must meet the subset requirements (see below) for their major. This pre-requisite may differ for transfer students

Students applying to ÃÛÌÒ½´intending to major within Lyle should indicate this on their application to ÃÛÌÒ½´and with their admissions counselor. They can list a specific engineering discipline or simply put “engineering.” This designation makes students eligible to be considered for engineering scholarships. 

Engineering pre-majors are assigned to one of the engineering pre-major advisors who guide them through the required engineering subset, which takes an average of two semesters to complete.

Students are required to meet with their pre-major advisors at least once a semester but may wish to meet more often to discuss opportunities such as 4-year degree plans, courses, co-op, study abroad, etc.

Digital Resources

The Degree Progress Report (DPR) is found under the “Academic Progress” tile on . It is updated by advisors and the Registrar’s Office when students enroll and receive a grade in a class, and will track the student’s progress toward their majors and minors at SMU.

This tool will help students identify courses that they need to take to complete SMU’s Liberal Arts common curriculum. If students entered ÃÛÌÒ½´in Fall 2020 or after, they can use UC 2020. If students arrived at ÃÛÌÒ½´after Fall 2016, but before Fall 2020, they can use UC 2016.

UC 2020

UC 2016

The ÃÛÌÒ½´Catalog is the roadmap that outlines in detail everything that is expected of students, the course of study for majors and minors and University policies. Make sure to reference the catalog that is the same as your year of entry at SMU.

Students use this worksheet to plan their four years at SMU. This resource helps organize required classes and when to take them. The planner can be filled out with a student’s academic advisor but is not an official document.

4-Year Planner