Effective Fall 2025, DGS will become the Division of Exploratory Studies. Same mission; new name.

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Effective Fall 2025, DGS will become the Division of Exploratory Studies.

Same mission; new name.

Effective Fall 2025, DGS will become the Division of Exploratory Studies—or Exploratory Studies for short. Why the change? We are the academic home for exploring students at Illinois, after all, and we thought it was time our name reflected that.

As we begin the transition to our new name, rest assured DGS advisors will still offer the same outstanding support to students, guiding them through course registration, degree requirements, the process of declaring majors at Illinois, and more. As part of this process, we will be introducing some exciting brand updates as well as launching some new resources and programs, too.

For now, students will likely begin to see DGS listed as the "Division of Exploratory Studies" in a variety of places including on the admissions application for Fall 2025 and on our website. For current DGS students, please know there is no required action from you as part of the upcoming name change—your path remains the same in DGS.