Major Thoughts
Oct. 2, 2008 by ngarrett
If, entering your sophomore year, you have no idea what to choose as a major, you should actively explore your options.
- Ask yourself which courses you have most enjoyed and why.
- Ask yourself what kind of work you have enjoyed most (writing, working in a lab).
- Go through WesMaps and identify courses you are most interested in taking and ask yourself what patterns emerge. It is rare that a pattern does not emerge.
- Don’t think you are locked out of a particular major because you didn’t take any classes in that department in your first year. Many students don’t begin a major until their second year.
- Talk with your faculty advisor or class dean about the departments or programs you are interested in – even if you aren’t quite sure that you want to major in those departments. Then talk with faculty members whom they might recommend. Often these discussions will raise possibilities, or ways of thinking about potential courses of actions, in new ways!
- Talk to professors you know, even if your favorite professor does not teach in a field you are considering as a major.
- Make an appointment with the Career Resource Center (CRC) to think about your larger professional goals and how your academic choices might prepare and position you for those goals.
Your choice of major will guide and structure much of your education in the next three years, and the choice should be made with an eye both to what your current interests and passions are, as well as your future goals, not because it is determinative, but because you want to make the most of the time and energy devoted to your years here.
Most of you will declare your major(s) in the spring semester. Look for announcements in this newsletter and in Notes from Dean Garrett for major declaration workshops, faculty suppers, and department open houses. These events provide information to assist students in deciding about their major course of study.
