Students are strongly encouraged to declare their major as soon as they have decided they have an interest in the major and have met the requirements for declaration.  Ideally, students should declare a major by the end of their sophomore year.  There are many advantages to declaring the major, such as access to the major advisor for recommendations on classes, access to scholarships only available to chemistry majors and access to announcements for chemistry majors.

The requirement for declaring the chemistry major is completion of General Chemistry (either Chem 103 and 104, or Chem 109, or Chem 115 and 116) and a minimum 2.5 GPA in all chemistry classes.  Transfer students need to complete at least one chemistry class at UW-Madison and have a minimum 2.5 GPA in all chemistry classes taken at UW-Madison.  Students who meet the requirements for declaration should make an appointment with the undergraduate advisor.  The advisor will provide a What-If Chemistry Major DARS report.