Media Studies Major Declaration
Exciting News! Beginning fall 2024, Media Studies will no longer be a high-demand major and the requirements to declare will change. The prerequisite courses will remain the same. The deadlines differ depending on whether you are eligible to submit a declaration form or application form in fall 2024. Read further to help determine which set of policies best apply to you.
Requirements for Major Declaration
The requirements to declare the Media Studies major beginning fall 2024*:
- Complete all four prerequisites before declaring, which are listed on Applying: Prerequisites;
- Earn a C or better in each of the four prerequisites;
- Have a GPA of 2.0 in the prerequisites and any course that applies to the major course requirements, which are listed on Requirements pages and Courses by Term.
When to Declare
Students are strongly encouraged to declare the major as soon as they are eligible, and during the first declaration period of each semester. Requests for declaration are only accepted during the listed declaration periods listed below.
Freshmen must declare the major no later than the declaration periods in the term* before their seventh semester.
Junior Transfer Students must declare the major no later than the declaration periods in the term* before their third semester.
* Term refers to fall, spring, and summer.
Students need to verify that they will be able to complete UC, UC Berkeley, and L&S requirements per the L&S Unit Ceiling and Semester Limits.
For freshmen beginning fall 2023 or later and junior transfers beginning fall 2024:
The fall 2024 declaration periods are:
August 21 to September 6 (Recommended)**
September 23 to September 27
October 14 to October 18
For freshmen beginning before fall 2023 and junior transfers beginning before fall 2024:
Declare if you meet the new requirements:
August 21 to September 6 (Recommended)**
September 23 to September 27
October 14 to October 18
There will be one final application period for students who intended to apply to the major based on the old application requirements for a STANDARD or APPEAL application:
August 21 to September 6
Check back the week of July 8 to view the new declaration form.
* See FAQ below for important questions regarding applying options.
** We do not accept declaration forms outside the declaration periods.
Declaration and Application FAQs
Yes. As soon as you are eligible to apply, submit your declaration form to Media Studies during one of our declaration periods. We have a list of who intended the Media Studies major and will be able to verify whether you are eligible to follow the requirements specific to your UC Berkeley admissions agreement.
Check back the week of July 8 to view the new declaration form.
No. Media Studies will be off the L&S high-demand major list effective fall 2024. That means you do not need to go through the comprehensive review. Instead, you declare the major per the new instructions listed at the top of this page.
Check back the week of July 8 to view the new declaration form.
We will provide one final application period for students based on the old application requirements for a standard or appeal application at the beginning of the fall term. We ask that you complete the new declaration form instead if you meet the new non-high demand major requirements.
Visit High-Demand Major Standard and Appeal Application Eligibility Google Doc to verify whether you are eligible to apply in fall 2024.
The final application period for students who intended to apply to the major based on the old application requirements for a STANDARD or APPEAL application will be August 21 to September 6. Check back the week of July 8 for an update regarding the application form(s).
No. The last opportunity for students to submit a standard or appeal application based on the old high demand major criteria is fall 2024. All students will be expected to adhere to the new declaration process beginning spring 2025.
Read the Media Studies Declaration requirements at the top of this page.
You can use a GPA calculator. We recommend the Berkeley Residential Life GPA Calculator.
Quarter units, transferred from another institution, need to be converted to semester units before calculating your major application GPA. You do this by multiplying the units by two-thirds. For instance, 5 quarter units = 3.33 and 4 quarter units = 2.66.
New declaration periods for the next year will be published in December of each year. We will have declaration periods in the fall, spring, and summer. We do not accept declarations outside the declaration periods. When applying in the fall or spring, we encourage students to apply during the first application period.
Students may retake any prerequisite course once, and that new grade will replace the first grade on the Media Studies declaration form.