Sophomore Year

Third Semester:

        Be prepared to :

• Declare your major before you earn 60 credits.  This is especially important if you receive financial aid from the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and/or Excelsior.

• Think about your major.  Are you still undecided?  Speak to your professors.  Speak to upper-classmen about their majors.  Go to the Career Professional Development Institute to  explore your interests. How do they align with your values and strengths? Become part of the Explorer Program of the CPDI

• Attend national scholarship and fellowship workshops, if you are interested.

• Explore  opportunities such as study abroad, internships that can enhance your educational experience.    

Fourth Semester:

        Be aware of all academic requirements!

• Structure your degree by deciding on all the courses you must take and those that you wish to take.  Are there pre-requisites or co-requisites for those?

• Declare your major by 60 Credits!

•  Explore your major by:

  • Establishing a relationship with academic and faculty advisors, or Teaching Assistants (TA’s) in your declared major; by making appointments with them, or visiting them during office hours. 

  • Determining what will be involved in  achieving honors in your major.

  • Attending lectures and events on campus relevant to your major.

  • Researching professional organizations in your field

  • Seeking vounteer experiences related to your major.

  • Becoming involved in student academic organizations and government.

• Increase your chances for outside academic opportunities by:

  • Taking a leadership role in a student organization.

  • Availing yourself of the opportunity to study abroad*.  Visit the CUNY Study Abroad website and CCNY Study Abroad Office.

  • Volunteering at an organization or company that will provide a significant learning experience.  

  • Interning in a field that you are interested in exploring.  .

  • Applying for programs at CCNY like Skadden Arps, and CUNY Summer Undergraduate Research Program (CSURP) (and many more!)  Many of these applications are due in the early spring of your sophomore year.

  •  Applying for  fellowships, such as City College Fellowships Program, Mellon Mays, Colin Powell Fellowships. **

• *There are outside scholarships available to help you: Gilman, NSEP Boren, Chancellor’s Global Scholarship, DAAD, Freeman-ASIA, Global E3, and many others.

• ** These are generally due in the Fall semester of your junior year; so you should start working on those in the late spring and over the summer of the preceding semester.