Dual Degrees / Dual Majors

A student may pursue a dual degree or dual major to accomplish a single objective. For example, a student might pursue a B.S. Business degree and a B.S. Computer Science degree to become an Information Resource Manager.

Dual degrees and dual majors must be approved by the State Approving Agency (SAA).

• If a dual degree or dual major is listed in your catalog or is pursued under an academic policy that defines the requirements for dual degrees or dual majors, then the dual degree or dual major may be certified to VA if the SAA has approved the dual degree or dual major, or the SAA has approved the policy under which the dual degree or dual major is pursued.
• If a dual degree or dual major is not listed in your catalog or is not defined by academic policy, then the dual degree or dual major must be approved by the SAA. This approval must be obtained even when the two separate degrees or two separate majors are approved by the SAA.

The request for a dual degree or dual major approval should include:

• The name and claim number of the VA student for whom approval is requested.
• The exact title of the two degrees or the two majors for which approval is requested and the page numbers in the current, approved catalog where the degrees or majors can be found (e.g., B.S. Business and B.S. Computer Science).
• A description of the single career field to which the degrees or majors relate (e.g., Information Resource Manager).
• A three-part curriculum guide that lists the courses and credits required for the dual objective. Using the above example, the guide would list the courses and credits (1) unique to B.S. Business, (2) unique to B.S. Computer Science, and (3) a combined list of non-duplicated courses for both degrees. If approved, a copy of the curriculum guide must be given to the student and a copy must be kept in the student's VA file.
• NOTE: The curriculum guide must reflect the minimum number of credits required to earn the dual objective. Free elective credit may not be included in the curriculum guide unless they are required to meet the minimum number of credit hours required to complete the dual objective.
• Using the curriculum guide, report the number of credits the veteran has already earned towards the dual objective and the number of credits the veteran must still complete. A responsible school official (e.g., Registrar or Degree Audit Specialist) must prepare the curriculum guide and complete the credit evaluation.

The student must submit the written request with the information noted above. The School Certifying Official must also submit a request for the dual degree/major approval to the SAA with the student's request.

Approval for the dual objective must be obtained from the SAA before the student can be certified in the dual program.