Student Perspectives: Changing My Major at USC
Hi! My name is Namratha Kasalanati (she/her) and I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition and a Bachelor of Science in Economics/Mathematics. I entered USC as a first-year student and am part of the Class of 2026. One of the biggest parts of my journey as a USC student has been having flexibility and support while pursuing such disparate fields of study.
As a senior in high school, having worked within city government and student leadership, I knew I wanted to go into something related to economics or public policy. At the same time, I’d been composing music since middle school and wanted to see how far I could go with that. When applying to USC, I spoke to representatives from both the music and economics programs. They suggested that I apply to the Thornton School of Music as my first choice, since it had a portfolio requirement, and apply to Economics within the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences as my second choice major. For reference, you can only initially be admitted to one major and can then apply to or add majors once at USC. I was overjoyed when I was accepted as Composition major in March 2022, but knew I didn’t want to give up my passion for creating change through policy and economic research.
When I came to USC, I immediately spoke to my music advisor about adding a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He suggested that I take a class or two in my first semester to see if it was right for me. By the midpoint of my first semester, I knew that economics was something I wanted to pursue further. I reached out to an economics department advisor and asked if I could talk about the process of adding a second major. For me, it was as simple as talking through the requirements of the Economics major in order to formally declare the major.
For other students, the process can be more in-depth based on the major they are changing to and their year. My classmate India Yeoh entered USC as a psychology major but knew from the beginning that she was also interested in the music industry. Debating between a dual degree and switching majors, she opted to switch into the music industry program after conferring with her advisors about the feasibility of completing both degrees in four years. To apply for the Bachelor of Science in Music Industry, she had to go through a complete application process, including a statement of purpose, written essays, transcripts, and recommendation letters. For other classmates, like my friend Benjamin Yu, who have pursued second degrees within the Viterbi School of Engineering, there is an established pre-Engineering process that involves taking prerequisite courses in the intended major of study. He had to pass certain prerequisite classes in computer science and mathematics to be considered for his second major in Computer Science.
With any change of major, the first step is to talk to your advisor. While there are great online tools to compute course plans and devise schedules, sometimes an advisor can catch small discrepancies and make sure your course plan is feasible. One of the many benefits to pursuing multiple majors is that I have an advisor for each of my majors. This way, each of my advisors is responsible for ensuring I have all the coursework for that respective major, while also serving as a second eye over my course plan in general. In my case, my music advisor and I created my four-year plan in my second semester at USC, and it was confirmed by my economics advisor.
While most students try to settle on a major within their first two years, it is not impossible to switch majors even after that. In my sophomore year, I discovered that I wanted to delve deeper into the mathematical processes behind economic theory after taking a very quantitative course on Behavioral Economics. At that point, I discovered my current major, the Bachelor of Science in Economics/Mathematics. Over the summer after sophomore year, I scheduled a short meeting with my advisor, which turned into an hour-long conversation where she created a new four-year plan for my new major.
One of the things I love about USC is how flexibility and inquiry are built into our academics. In every major, there is room for electives, minors, and even second majors. Switching majors is not a Herculean feat, and every advisor I’ve worked with has been so supportive of my goals and needs. USC is truly a place where I’ve been able to adapt my academic journey as I discovered new facets of myself and my passions.