An academic minor is a college or university student's declared secondary academic discipline during their undergraduate studies. As with a major, the college or university in question lays out a framework of required classes or class types a student must complete to earn the minor – although the latitude the student is given changes from college to college. Academic minors and majors differ in that the former is subordinate to the latter - fewer courses are required to complete a minor program of study than a major program of study. To obtain an academic minor, a total of three years of study at a university in a selected subject is the usual requirement.