Office of the Registrar
Anticipated Major
When students apply to enroll for the first time, they may choose to indicate an intended major on the Application. This is the anticipated major upon which advisors and early course selection may be determined.
Declaration of Major
Students may declare their majors by submitting the Academic Declaration & Update form to the Office of the Registrar. Students are encouraged to declare their major no later than the beginning of the fifth semester (or upon earning 60 credits). Students may not double-major.
Certain academic programs have additional application criteria. When applicable, the Academic Declaration & Update form is forwarded to the appropriate faculty member. Once the Academic Declaration & Update form is submitted or admission to the program is approved, the major has been officially declared.
Foreign Language Requirements
Foreign language ability is required of all PHC graduates. Students may increase their proficiency level through a variety of formal or informal learning methods including, but not limited to, online language learning, traditional classroom curriculum, independent study, immersion programs, and other overseas experiences.
Regardless of the method of instruction, students must demonstrate adequate foreign language ability in one of following ways:
1) Successfully complete the fourth semester course of a language currently offered at PHC.
2) Successfully complete the final intermediate-level course in a foreign language at a PHC-approve college or university.
3) Demonstrate intermediate mastery of a Classical or modern foreign language currently offered at PHC by taking a college-administered proficiency test. (See "Taking a PHC Language Proficiency Exam").
4) Score a 4 or 5 on both the Language and Literature Advanced Placement (AP) tests in the same foreign language.
Category I and II languages: Intermediate High
Category III and IV languages: Intermediate Mid
According to ACTFL, Category I and II languages include French, German, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; Category III and IV languages include Arabic, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Vietnamese.
Students who complete non-PHC college-level instruction must still satisfactorily fulfill one of these assessments without regard to how a language learning program classifies its language instruction or the number of credits earned. Students who earn credit from approved institutions may have the credit transferred to PHC as open electives.
Government (Political Theory, American Politics & Policy, International Politics & Policy tracks) and Journalism majors may choose either a Classical or modern foreign language. Government majors (Strategic Intelligence track) must study a modern foreign language. Classical Liberal Arts, History, and Literature majors must choose a Classical language.
Course Substitution Policy
The academic program of study serves as the approved guide to degree completion; however, in rare occasions, e.g., required courses not offered in a timely fashion, the academic department may grant special permission to enroll in a course that is not included in the academic program of study. To obtain said permission, the student will complete the Patrick Henry College Major/Track Course Substitution Request form before the end of the Drop-Add period for the term of enrollment in the course. The form will require the student to provide a detailed rationale explaining why the course substitution is requested, and to obtain approval from the Department Chairman and the Academic Dean. No other procedure, pracitice, or discourse will result in course substitution. Courses in the core curriculum may not be replaced.
