Criteria and Procedures for Selecting and Changing a Major

Students of the College of Science may specialize in one of the majors listed below. Students can apply for a major once they have met the major requirements (Table 1) and provided that seats are available for their cohort (check major vacancies). The application period for major selection opens twice a year (after the announcement of Fall and Summer semester results). Accordingly, vacancies for each major and each cohort are updated and announced to students before the start of the application period.

List of  College of Science Majors

• Artificial Intelligence 
• Applied Chemistry
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Data Science 
• Earth Sciences
• Environmental Biology
• Geophysics
• Mathematics
• Medical Physics
• Physics
• Statistics

Assignment of Major Programs

1. A student applies to join a major after fulfilling its requirements (Table 1).
2. Applications for major selection are submitted twice a year (after the announcement of Fall and Summer semester grades). Accordingly, vacancies for each major and each cohort are updated and announced before the application period begins.
3. The student submits the application through the Sultan Qaboos University portal → Major Selection. The application period is open for three working days, during which the student may modify or change the selected majors.
4. The student may choose up to three majors to be considered, subject to meeting the requirements and the availability of seats allocated for each cohort.
5. For each cohort, 30% of the allocated seats are assigned in the first phase of major selection, followed by 55% in the second phase, and the remaining seats are assigned in subsequent phases.
6. The Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the College of Science screens applications in three phases (corresponding to the three choices). Applications not accepted in the first choice are considered for the second and then the third choice accordingly. After screening all first-choice applications, majors with remaining vacancies are considered for second-choice applications. If seats are still available after processing all second-choice applications, third-choice applications are considered for those majors that still have vacancies.
   Note: If Student (A) selects a major as a first choice and seats are available, they will be given priority for that major over Student (B), who selected the same major as a second choice, regardless of their grades.
7. After completing the screening process, a list of students preliminarily accepted into the various majors is sent to the department representative on the College of Science Major Committee for final approval.
8. After approval, the Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the College of Science updates the student’s record in the Student Information System (SIS) with the assigned major.
9. The ADUGS Office issues an announcement notifying students to check the updates to their academic records on the Student Information System.
10. Within one week of the announcement, any student who is not satisfied with the assigned major may send an email to the Office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the College of Science (sci@student.squ.edu.om) to request deletion of the major. This is permitted only once per student.

Tiebreaker Policy for Major Selection Decisions

In the event of a tie between applicants competing for a limited number of seats in a specific major, the following tiebreaking criteria shall be applied in sequential order:

1. Grade in the first required course for the intended major.
2. Grade in the second required course, if applicable.
3. Grade in the third required course, if applicable.
4. Cumulative GPA (cGPA).

The following are cases for illustration: 

Environmental Biology – Case Scenario

Requirement:

• C in BIOL2101
• Two introductory science courses  
• Completing LANC2058

Applicants:

Tiebreaker Process:

1. BIOL2101:  both have B → Tie.
2. CGPA:  Student 1 = 2.90, Student 2 = 3.20 → Student 2 selected.

Chemistry – Case Scenario

Requirement:

• C in CHEM2101
• C in MATH2107
• One introductory science course 
• Completing LANC2058

Applicants:

Tiebreaker Process:

1. CHEM2101: both have B → Tie.
2. MATH2107: Student 1 = C+, Student 2 = A+ → Student 2 selected.

Applied Chemistry – Case Scenario

Requirement:

• C in CHEM2101, PHYS2101, MATH2107
• Completing LANC2058

Applicants:

Tiebreaker Process:

1. CHEM2101: both have B- → Tie.
2. PHYS2101: both have B+ → Tie.
3. MATH2107: Student 1 = C, Student 2= C+ → Student 2 selected.

 * NOTE: Starting from cohort 2024 onwards, priority for major assignments will be given to students who are not repeating the required courses.

The following are cases for illustration: 

CASE 1:

• Student 2: scored A on COMP2101 without repetition → gets top priority.
• Student 1: repeated COMP2101 and earned A, so his priority is lower than Student 2. The reason of giving Student 1 priority over Student 5 despite scoring an A on second attempt of  COMP2101 is that considering the second required course as a tight breaker for competition. Student 1 scored B+ on MATH2107 without repetition while Student 5 got B+ on the second attempt of MATH2107. 
• Student 5: scored A on second attempt of  COMP2101 → will be given priority over Student 3, 4,5 and 6 as his grade in COMP2101 is higher. 
• Student 4: scored B+ on second COMP2101 attempt → will be given priority over Student 3 who scored B on COMP2101 without repetition
• Student 3 and Student 6: Since both Student 3 and Student 6 scored a B on COMP2101 without repetition and an A on MATH2107 without repetition, the CGPA serves a tight breaker for the competition. Therefore, Student 3 whose cGPA is 3.1 will be given priority over Student 6 whose cGPA is 3.07.  

*The application is pending approval of the concerned department at the case by case level. 

Assignment of major for probation and late students:

CHANGE OF MAJOR PROCEDURES

1. Student not satisfied with the previously assigned major can apply for a change of major only once during their study in the college.
2. Application subjects to the availability of seats allocated for each cohort as well as fulfillment of the student of the requirements of the major (Table 1).
3. Application for change of major happens twice a year (along with choice of major applications) and students apply online via a link activated for the process over three days and pre-announced to the students.
4. The ADUGS office process the change of major applications once the assignment of majors for pre-major students is completed since they are given priority.