10 Weeks To Go: Find out about Majors!  June 23, 2008

Start exploring!

Some students already know what they want to major in.  But for very many students, looking for and deciding on a major is challenging.  To help you find a major that is right for you, CLA Advising offers the How-To Guide: Choosing a Major (http://www.class.umn.edu/choosing_a_major/).  At the website, students can walk through a step-by-step guide tailored to their personality and get further information on how to explore majors.

You can also take a 2 credit course taught by the Career and Community Learning Center, ID 1201: Career Exploration. In this course, you will learn about career opportunities and thoroughly assess your skills, values, and interests to help you focus on career objectives. Go to http://careerservices.class.umn.edu/students/courses/careercourses/ID_1201.html for details.

Many students are assigned to the Society and Culture Student Community because they have expressed interest in one of our community majors.  Here are the links to the websites of CLA departments associated with this Community:

American Indian Studies (http://www.cla.umn.edu/amerind/)

American Studies  (http://cla.umn.edu/american/)

Architecture (http://arch.cdes.umn.edu/)

Chicano Studies (http://chicano.umn.edu/)

Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature (http://cscl.cla.umn.edu/)

English  (http://english.cla.umn.edu/)

Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies  (http://gwss.umn.edu/)

Individualized Degree Programs (IDIM or BIS-these are majors you design based on your interests) (http://idp.class.umn.edu/)

Jewish Studies  (http://jwst.cla.umn.edu/)

Philosophy  (http://www.philosophy.umn.edu/)

Religious Studies  (http://cnes.cla.umn.edu/)

Studies in Cinema and Media Culture  (http://cscl.cla.umn.edu/ugrad/scmc/requirements.htm)

Undergraduate certificates can be earned by students, no matter what major they are pursuing, to enhance their career preparation.  Education licensures must be earned after a student has completed a Bachelor’s degree and usually require prerequisite courses that students take during their undergraduate careers.  To learn more about CEHD majors, certificates, and licenses, to go http://education.umn.edu/SPS/prospective/admissions/default.html.  CEHD also offers a variety of information sessions on degrees they offer; to register for one, go to http://education.umn.edu/SPS/Events/InfoSession/.

Perhaps you haven't seen a major that interests you here. If not, you can find a list of all the undergraduate majors in all the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Campus colleges by using the Major and Minor Search Tool (http://onestop2.umn.edu/programCatalog/).  You can look up particular majors and minor or simply leave the fields blank and click “Search” to see a list of all the majors.  When looking at the full list, you can click on “Field of Study” to sort the majors into general academic fields such as “Art, Design, and the Performing Arts,” “Business,” Communications, Languages, and Cultural Studies,” “Education,” “Health Services,” “Math, Engineering, and Science,” and “Social Sciences and Human Services.”

Want to learn more about majors you can pursue at the U? Whether you have chosen a tentative major or not, checking out departmental web pages is a great way to begin exploring your options. Most department websites can be found by searching for them using the search tool at http://www.umn.edu.  After that, if the major sounds interesting to you, contact the department to talk with a departmental adviser, the contact information for which can also be found at the department website. You can formally "declare" your major later: "formal" declaration means you have met with a departmental adviser and submitted a Major Program Form to your college advising office (that's us!). All students must do this by the time they have completed 60 semester credits.

Once you’re back on campus, you can also watch for student workshops and information sessions that can help you investigate CLA majors.  You can find out when most of these information sessions are offered by going to the Campus Events link (http://events.tc.umn.edu/).  The Career & Community Learning Center also offers a site that lists useful information sessions and workshops at http://www.cclc.umn.edu/newsandevents/index.html.  Or you can go to the Society and Culture Student Community website (http://sandc.class.umn.edu/)and read the community newsletter.  In particular, watch for What Can I Do With a Major In… workshops, at which you can year from recent graduates from a variety of CLA majors, as well as the CLA Majors Fair.

Happy exploring!

You'll be on campus before you know it. Watch for our next Countdown item that addresses common questions about Minors!