Refers to limited access to college majors. Restrictions typically occur when student demand exceeds the available resources to attract and pay for faculty and related infrastructure needs like classroom space and technology.  This practice often involves institutions imposing additional entry requirements, such as Grade Point Average (GPA) thresholds; minimum standardized test score; portfolios or auditions for performance-oriented majors; extra costs (tuition and/or fees); and waitlists. Students may be unaware when they are admitted to a higher education institution that there are additional hurdles to enter their chosen field of study'; admission to a college/university does not guarantee admission to an academic program (major).

A recent study found that restricting student access to certain programs of study is an increasingly common practice, and one that favors students who enter college with both social capital and a high school experience that includes rigorous classes and academic extracurriculars, compared to a highly capable student coming from a high school without college preparatory courses and other important resources. The study finds that the practice of restricting majors impacts and shapes student experiences:

• Restrictions on majors have a large impact on what students decide to study.
• Restrictions on majors impact some student populations more than others.
• The most common restrictions recent graduates experienced when selecting their field of study were academic performance thresholds; i.e., overall GPA, departmental GPA, and test score requirements.
• Most of the effect of restrictions happens upstream — discouraging students from applying for majors in which they are interested, rather than downstream — in the form of a rejected application (for every student who applies and is rejected, four more feel discouraged from applying at all).