Resources for Undeclared Students
Tips for Selecting a Major
• Look at the list of possible majors. Cross off every major that you would never consider. Do not cross off a major because you don't recognize the title. (For instance, is Communication and Theater a major that is just stage production, journalism, or what? Look it up; it may be for you.) Look for descriptions of those majors in the Catalog that still appear on your list. Visit their each program's websites. Cross off those for which you know you do not have the skill, interest, or discipline. Leave on your list any questionable majors or those that arouse some further curiosity.
• Visit the departmental offices of each major still remaining. Obtain the available literature and read it thoroughly. Cross off further majors if appropriate. Use the online DISCOVER Program through the Career Services Office to help establish values, skills, and preferences for certain areas of study.
• Talk with departmental staff or faculty about the majors to clarify the nature of the major, the types of skills and course work required. Resolve any questions you have, such as, do I need a minimum GPA, or can AP credit fulfill a prerequisite?
• Make parallel lists of prerequisite courses for each major you are still considering. You will probably have narrowed the list to four or five majors. Frequently, these majors will have similar or overlapping prerequisite courses. Use these lists to select courses for future terms.
• If you are considering several majors, enroll in a test course in each over one or two semesters. Select meaningful courses that fulfill prerequisites or general education requirements.
• Narrow your list of possible major's term-by-term. Don't pursue one major at a time and discover you don't like it, switch to another and discover the same. Pick a selection of five, and after one term narrow to four or three. The following term, narrow the choices further. That way you don't get painted into a corner without a major prepared.
• Talk to other students in your courses as well as the faculty teaching them. Visit the Career Services Office and use the literature on majors and careers. Attend departmental undergraduate association events and pick up the undergraduate association newsletters that some departments publish. Gather all of the information you can. Don't count on one course to inform you fully.
DO NOT let a single course turn you off to a major. The entire major may not be reflected, for example, in English 102.
DO NOT let one instructor turn you off if you are interested in the reading, the general subject, and the future courses you would be taking.
DO rethink seriously, say, a social science major if you absolutely hated Economics or Political Science.
Try to use your first two years for experimenting and testing in an organized and thoughtful manner. Scatter-shot selection of courses doesn't work for many majors, especially if they have four or more prerequisites (many of which must be taken in sequence order.