Baylor University Majors: A Complete Guide to Programs, Schools & Choosing Your Path
Choosing a major is one of the most consequential decisions you'll make as a Baylor student — and often one of the most stressful. The good news: Baylor's 11 undergraduate colleges and schools give you a wide range of paths, and this guide breaks down what each looks like on a day-to-day level, which buildings you'll spend most of your time in, and how your choice of major should influence where you live.
Baylor's 11 Colleges and Schools at a Glance
Baylor University serves roughly 17,500 undergraduates through 11 academic divisions. That variety means wildly different experiences depending on your program — a nursing student's schedule looks nothing like a business student's, and where you spend your time on campus shapes which apartment location makes sense.
Here's the breakdown:
- College of Arts & Sciences — largest by enrollment; home to biology, chemistry, psychology, English, political science, history, communications, and most pre-professional tracks
- Hankamer School of Business — second largest; BBA programs in finance, marketing, accounting, supply chain, and management
- Louise Herrington School of Nursing — consistently ranked among the top nursing schools in the South
- School of Engineering & Computer Science — fastest-growing enrollment at Baylor; includes mechanical, electrical, civil, and computer engineering plus CS and data science
- School of Education — teacher certification and education leadership programs
- Diana R. Garland School of Social Work — social work and human services
- School of Music — performance, music education, and music therapy
- School of Theatre Arts — performance, design, and directing
- Honors College — interdisciplinary curriculum for high-achieving students; pairs with any major
- George W. Truett Theological Seminary — graduate-level ministry programs
- Baylor Law School (BLS) — JD and LLM programs; three-year intensive commitment
The Most Popular Baylor Majors and What Daily Life Looks Like
Pre-Med and Biology: The Pre-Health Track
Biology is the most common major for pre-med students at Baylor, though biochemistry and chemistry are also popular entry points. Pre-med students spend significant time in Carroll Science Hall and the Baylor University Institute for Biomedical Studies.
A typical pre-med semester looks like this: two or three lab-heavy science courses that run two to three hours each, plus lecture blocks, a research position if you're proactive, and MCAT prep running in parallel — often starting sophomore year. The schedule is dense and the studying is cumulative. You need quiet, reliable study space, and you need it close to campus.
Baylor's pre-med track is competitive. Students who live farther from campus spend meaningful time in transit that could go toward studying. Carroll Science Hall is 0.6 miles from 19Eleven Apartments on S 8th Street — a 12-minute walk that beats any campus parking situation.
Business at Hankamer: Finance, Marketing & the FCBI Experience
The Foster Campus for Business and Innovation (FCBI) opened in 2019 as a 200,000-square-foot facility that's become the center of Baylor's business student experience. BBA students in finance, marketing, accounting, supply chain, or management spend most of their time here.
What distinguishes Hankamer is how heavily it leans on networking, speaker events, and career recruiting. That means your schedule isn't just classes — it's also firm presentations, case competitions, and professional organization meetings. Students who live close enough to walk back and change before an evening event have a real logistical advantage.
FCBI is 0.7 miles from 19Eleven, making it one of the most walkable commutes from off-campus housing in Waco.
Nursing at Louise Herrington
The Louise Herrington School of Nursing runs a rigorous BSN program with clinical rotations at Providence Healthcare Network hospitals. Clinical schedules are non-negotiable — you show up when you're assigned, regardless of traffic or parking.
Nursing students often need early mornings and late evenings at the library or in study groups outside of clinical hours. The BSN curriculum is demanding enough that where you live directly affects how much time you spend recovering vs. studying. A short, predictable commute to campus is one of the few variables within your control.
Engineering and Computer Science
The School of Engineering & Computer Science is Baylor's fastest-growing program by enrollment. The ECS Building, located 0.7 miles from 19Eleven, houses labs and project spaces that engineering and CS students use constantly — often late at night.
Computer science and data science students tend to work on projects in long, irregular sessions. Team-based lab work means you coordinate with other students' schedules, not just your own. Having a 10-minute walk back to your apartment (rather than a 20-minute drive home) lets you work later and leave when you're actually done, not when the parking garage closes.
Psychology, Communications, Political Science & the Liberal Arts Core
The College of Arts & Sciences houses most of the liberal arts and social science majors. Psychology is among Baylor's most popular undergraduate majors by enrollment. Communications, English, political science, and history are also large programs with significant overlap in the core curriculum.
These majors tend to have more scheduling flexibility than the science or professional programs — but that flexibility cuts both ways. Without lab requirements or clinical rotations anchoring your schedule, procrastination is a real risk. Students in these programs often benefit most from access to good study spots outside the apartment, including Baylor's Moody Library and on-campus study rooms.
Which Buildings Will You Actually Be In?
This matters more than students realize when they're apartment hunting. Here's where Baylor's major academic buildings sit relative to off-campus housing:
| Building | What Happens There | Distance from 19Eleven |
|---|---|---|
| Carroll Science Hall | Pre-med labs, biology, chemistry | 0.6 miles (12 min walk) |
| Foster Campus for Business (FCBI) | All Hankamer BBA programs | 0.7 miles (14 min walk) |
| ECS Building | Engineering & CS labs, classrooms | 0.7 miles (14 min walk) |
| McLane Student Life Center | Counseling, intramurals, fitness | 0.5 miles (10 min walk) |
| Sheila & Walter Umphrey Law Center | Baylor Law School | 0.5 miles (10 min walk) |
| Marrs McLean Gymnasium | Education, performing arts | 0.6 miles (12 min walk) |
From 19Eleven at 1911 S 8th Street, every major academic building is within a 15-minute walk. That's not a coincidence — the south corridor of Waco adjacent to S 8th Street is the most walkable stretch of off-campus housing near Baylor. Students who explore the neighborhood typically realize the proximity advantage immediately.
How Your Major Should Influence Your Housing Decision
Study Space Is a Non-Negotiable for Pre-Med and Law Students
If you're pre-med or in the Baylor Law School, you're going to study more than almost anyone else on campus. You need a place to study at home — not just a desk, but a quiet, climate-controlled environment when the library is full during finals. 19Eleven has 24/7 study rooms available to all residents, which fills exactly that gap during crunch periods.
Early Clinical Start Times Favor Short Commutes for Nursing Students
Nursing clinical rotations often start at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. at Providence Healthcare Network facilities. Getting ready and getting there on time is easier when you're not navigating a long commute or competing for parking. A 10-minute drive or 15-minute ride from S 8th Street to the medical center is manageable; a 30-minute commute in clinical attire is not.
Engineering and CS Students Need to Own Their Own Hours
Long project sprints, lab time that runs past midnight, and team meetings scheduled around everyone's availability — engineering and CS students don't keep traditional hours. A short walk home means you can work as long as you need to and leave when it makes sense, not when you hit a parking curfew. Check available floor plans if you're thinking about signing with a roommate from your cohort — splitting a 3BR or 4BR near campus is a common strategy in technical programs.
Hankamer Students Benefit from Being Close to Recruiting Events
Business students live and die by their calendar. If a finance firm is doing a campus presentation at FCBI at 5:00 p.m. and you have to change into business casual afterward, walking home and back is infinitely easier than finding parking twice. The 0.7-mile walk from 19Eleven to the FCBI is something Hankamer students use constantly once they're living at S 8th.
Changing Your Major: More Common Than You Think
According to national data, the majority of college students change their major at least once — and Baylor students are no different. The key consideration for housing is flexibility: you want to live somewhere that works regardless of whether you end up in biology or business.
Because 19Eleven is centrally located relative to Baylor's entire academic footprint — not just one building — it works whether you're studying nursing, computer science, or psychology. That's the practical advantage of living at the corner of S 8th and the Baylor south corridor: you're never farther than 15 minutes from any part of campus, no matter how your plans change.
Making the Most of Your Program
Whatever Baylor major you choose, a few things stay constant:
- Study groups are inevitable. You need a place nearby where you can host them without driving across Waco.
- Campus events are part of the experience. Homecoming Week, intramurals, Greek events, and department mixers — being close enough to walk or ride means you actually go.
- Burnout is real. Recovery matters as much as hustle. Having a coffee bar downstairs, a pool on-site, and a bark park for your dog are quality-of-life factors that compound over four years.
Baylor's academic programs are demanding across the board. The students who perform best aren't just the ones who study hardest — they're the ones who've set up their environment to support sustained effort. Housing is a bigger part of that equation than most incoming students anticipate.
Ready to Find Housing That Matches Your Academic Life?
If you're starting to think about off-campus housing — whether you're a freshman planning ahead or a sophomore who's done with dorm life — the right time to look is earlier than you think. Apartments near Baylor fill up fast, especially on the S 8th Street corridor.
Schedule a tour at 19Eleven to see the study rooms, check out the floor plans, and get a feel for the walk to campus. Or browse floor plans to see options from 1BR solos to 4BR roommate configurations. Whatever your major, the logistics of campus life are easier when home is 10 minutes away on foot.
