university of toledo minors

Academic Minors

An academic minor is a student’s declared secondary field of study or specialization during his or her undergraduate studies. As with an academic major, the college offering the minor specifies the prerequisites, number of required credits, GPA, classes, or types of classes that a student must complete to earn the minor. The requirements for an academic minor will vary from college to college or even department to department. Academic minors and majors differ in that the former is subordinate to the latter. Majors are required, minors are optional. The credit hours required for an academic minor are normally “in addition to” those required for the degree in a major. Most often, a given course cannot be counted both as part of the major and as part of the minor.

Some students will prepare for their intended career with their major while pursuing personal interests with a minor. For example, a student might major in Information Technology and minor in art, music, or a foreign language. Other students may pursue a minor to provide specific skills and thus make themselves more attractive to employers. For example, a civil engineering major might chose to minor in computer science and engineering.

Minor in Cyber Security

Students may earn a minor in Cyber Security by completing six required courses. For additional details and lists of these courses, consult the College of Engineering Catalog and the CSET/IT Program Director, Dr. Jared Oluoch. To be eligible to register for any minor in the Cyber Security course, a student must be coded as a Cyber Security minor candidate and maintain a GPA of 2.0 or better in the courses used to satisfy the requirements of the minor.

Minor in Software Engineering

Students may earn a minor in Software Engineering by completing five required courses. For additional details and lists of these courses, consult the College of Engineering Catalog and the CSET/IT Program Director, Dr. Jared Oluoch. To be eligible for any minor in the Software Engineering course, a student must be coded as a Software Engineer minor candidate and maintain a  GPA of 2.0 or better in the courses used to satisfy the requirements of the minor.

Minors in Business

IT students are advised on coursework required for academic minors. For example, College of Business and Innovation students (which IT students are considered) can minor in every field offered as a major in the College, in addition to several other fields. In the COBI, a minor consists of three courses (9 semester credit hours) at the 3000/4000-level, unless otherwise noted in the University catalog.

Available COBI minors include those listed in the table below.

Minors Available to COBI Students:

• Accounting
• Business Law
• E-Commerce
• Entrepreneurship, Family and Small Business
• Finance
• Financial Services
• Information Systems
• International Business
• Management
• Marketing
• Operations Management
• Professional Sales
• Supply Chain Management

Detailed information about the courses required for each of these minors can be found on the COBI website.

Minor in Computer Science and Engineering

Students may earn a minor in computer science and engineering (CSE) by completing six required courses plus two advanced elective courses. For additional details and lists of these courses, consult the College of Engineering Catalog and an EECS department advisor, Ms. Christie Hennen. To be eligible to register for any EECS courses, students must be coded as a CSE minor candidate and have successfully completed MATH 1850 and MATH 1860. A GPA of 2.0 is required in the EECS courses.

No other department in the College of Engineering currently offers a minor.

Minors in Other Disciplines

Academic minors are also available from other colleges, including the College of Languages, Literature & Social Sciences, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The table below lists a few example minors from each college.

College of Languages, Literature & Social Sciences

• English
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Linguistics
• Communication

College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Geology
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Astrophysics

College of Visual & Performing Arts

• Art
• Art History
• Film
• Music
• Theater

These and other possible minors are described in the University’s online catalog which can be found on the web at. Look under the College of Arts & Sciences (the predecessor college for each college in the table above) at the department offering the minor in which you are interested.

Declaring a Minor

If you are interested in declaring a minor, start by speaking with your major advisor (the IT undergraduate program director, Dr. Jared Oluoch) or the ET academic program coordinator, Ms. Myrna Rudder. These individuals will help you determine if an academic minor is in your best interest. To declare a minor you must consult an advisor in the department offering the minor. Your minor advisor will complete the paperwork necessary to make your declared minor official (i.e., appear on your transcript).