As another quarter comes to a close, the application process for certain majors and minors draws nearer for numerous Bruins.

With upward of 125 majors offered at UCLA through the College of Letters and Science, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and other professional schools, students have abundant academic routes to explore. For some, however, the process of committing to a major may become additionally complicated when certain departments have designated barriers to entry.

Although admittance to most majors within the College does not require a formal application – other than potentially a minimum GPA requirement or satisfying pre-major course requirements – a select few do.

Among the fields of study that require an application with an essay component, majors include but may not be limited to communication, global studies and human biology and society, while minors include entrepreneurship, creative writing and professional writing.

The application process into the human biology and society major, which offers both a bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degree, exists solely because of the excess of demand in comparison to the supply of seats this major can offer, said Aaron Panofsky, the director of the Institute for Society and Genetics.

Pia Svenson, an undergraduate advisor in the communication department, said the communication department also does not have the space for everyone who applies.

The number of available faculty affects departments’ capacity for students, Panofsky said. In comparison to political science or sociology, for instance, the human biology and society department has fewer faculty members. Panofsky added that since the human biology and society major is interdisciplinary with an emphasis on intersecting issues between society and biology, it takes immense coordination and training for the staff to offer the curriculum at UCLA.

“We target about 220 students per year, roughly,” said Panofsky, who is also a professor of public policy and sociology. “If we were starting to let in more students than that, we would unfortunately end up in a situation where students might not be able to get all their classes in the normal four-year graduation period. … Then, we end up having roadblocks to their success.”

For Bruins interested in majors with a competitive application, there is a specific timeline to follow. Applicants interested in human biology and society must apply during the spring quarter of their second year, and are not allowed to reapply if denied admission, Panofsky said. Interested communication applicants can apply once a year in June to earn one of approximately 200 open spots, Svenson added.

In past years, the human biology and society application has consistently comprised of a resume or CV, including a list of classes taken, and a couple of short essay questions, Panofsky said. The committee reviewing applications designs this application to determine how an applicant would contribute to the conversation on human biology and society.

“It’s not about necessarily only the highest grades,” Panofsky said. “It’s about, ‘Okay, what’s your commitment and passion to this subject? What’s your contribution to the conversation?’”

Similarly, the communication application also asks for 250-word responses to two short answer questions, Svenson said, and the process is intended to understand the applicant’s background better.

Once a student has determined their primary field of study, there are several minors students can pursue that also require competitive applications.

Elena Alimin, a fourth-year economics student, said when she applied into her entrepreneurship minor, she framed her leadership experiences in the context of the start-up scene to show how she would fit in. For instance, in her application she discussed her background as part of Bruin Entrepreneurs and an internship at a venture capital firm.

Submitting an entrepreneurship minor application – which is available every quarter – allowed Alimin to realize the benefits of filtering out students who do not demonstrate commitment to the minor, especially for capacity reasons, she said. Enrolling in classes for social data science – another minor she had previously been considering and one that can be declared without undergoing an application process – was difficult at times because of the demand for classes compared to the supply of seats, Alimin added.

“Maybe having an application to certain minors is helpful, in order to establish that kind of status that helps you enroll in those classes,” Alison said.

However, Bruins may still have the opportunity to engage in these subjects, even without being declared in an application-based major or minor. Despite priority being given to those in the entrepreneurship minor, non-declared students still have access to register for some classes, Alimin said.

Overall, however, Alimin said she believes that if the Bruin student community demonstrates sufficient interest in entrepreneurship, UCLA may implement the needed infrastructure to accommodate accordingly to let more people in the minor.

“I hope that we’ll definitely be more inclusive in the future,” Alimin said. “If there’s an incentive for the university to invest more resources in the entrepreneurship program, then there might be a case – which I’m really hoping there would be.”

Panofsky said the university is regularly holding conversations about where to allocate its resources. Svenson said if more resources were available to the communication department, there could be potential for growth.

Panofsky also said if there is higher interest in human biology and society, the major may sustain moderate expansion – although it will likely never be as big of a major as larger departments such as psychology.

“It’s not like anyone is trying to be exclusive for the sake of exclusivity,” Panofsky said. “I think quite the opposite – almost every faculty member that I have talked to in ISG and elsewhere really wishes they could meet all the demands of all the students that want to do it.”