Students must fulfill the requirements of the degree they are pursuing that were in effect at the time that they first matriculated (were formally accepted into the degree program). They are not responsible for fulfilling requirements that have been added or changed in subsequent catalogs. If you matriculated under the requirements of a previous catalog, you do not need to take the new required coursework in order to earn your degree. However, students are allowed to opt into new degree requirements that are advantageous to them, if they so wish, such as in the case of a decrease in required credits for the degree program.

Occasionally new courses are offered (usually electives) that had not been created at the time the catalog was published. When this happens, the descriptions are posted in a separate document alongside the registration information materials. Look for a file entitled "Courses not in Catalog," or similar.

Not every course is offered every semester, or even every academic year. Core required courses are generally offered at least once a year (and some are offered every semester); electives are usually offered less frequently, perhaps only every other year. If you are not able to find the course in the registration materials, it is likely that it is not being offered in the current term. Contact the Registrar's Office for more details.

When students are granted permission to change degree programs, they are responsible for satisfying the requirements of the new degree that are in place at the time that they change degrees. You would therefore be bound to the Fall 2019 requirements for the new degree, and not the Fall 2017 requirements. Note also that, if you decided that you wished to switch back to your original degree program, you would be bound by whatever requirements existed at the time of the SECOND switch - not the requirements of that degree when you originally matriculated in Fall 2017. This is one reason why it is important to carefully consider degree changes!