college 101 college majors
To Declare or Not to Declare …
Are you thinking ahead to your freshman year of college but feeling unsure about exactly what you want the focus of your studies to be ? You ’ re not alone !
Dr . Hal Fulmer , Troy University ' s Dean of Undergraduate and First Year Studies , and Director of the John W . Schmidt Center for Student Success , gave us some insight :
What would you say to a new student who may have some anxiety about choosing a major right away ?
We understand that choosing a major is among the most important decisions a college student will make . At Troy , we realize that students often pick their majors based on questionable reasons . Many times , I hear a student indicate that their mom or dad ( or both ) or a family friend told them , “ You need to major in ...” and so the student did . At Troy University , we remind students that we don ’ t expect them to know what they want to do for the next 40 years of their lives . What we do remind students is that picking a major is closely linked to identifying three critical areas about themselves :
1 What do you like and dislike ?
2 What are your skills and what skills would you be willing to improve ?
3 What do your likes / interests , along with skills , suggest for a particular major ?
What are the biggest downsides associated with declaring early on ?
In many ways , and at many institutions , it is a positive step for students to spend their first year exploring possible majors and career options , and making good progress through their university ’ s general studies / general education program . Obviously some students come to a university already clearly committed to particular fields of study . However , in many instances , students find themselves in majors where they increasingly are less committed and less interested , even at the introductory level of classes .
Student success , retention , and progression , to a degree , is closely tied to a student ’ s interest in and commitment to his or her major . In the long run , it ’ s probably worthwhile for many students to consider their first year as a kind of “ structured exploration ” before they commit to a major , especially before they take upper level major courses .
With current financial aid policies , as well as undergraduate degree programs that provide few , if any , free electives , a student who changes their major in their sophomore or junior year ( or later !) will likely have to stay in college longer , delaying graduation and incurring more student debt .
So it is okay to not declare a major right away ?
At Troy University , we offer incoming students the opportunity to be designated as “ Undeclared Majors ” for their first year . We have a special advising team in our John W . Schmidt Center for Student Success , and they work closely with our Careers Office to explore potential majors and career choices . Students can take TROY 1102 , which is a one-hour course designed to assist students in the selection of both their major and career .
Undeclared student majors have the chance to work through the university ’ s general studies program , which has been revised to provide more options for sampling potential majors by taking introductory level classes ( we think of it as a “ tasting menu ”!). They also have opportunities to become involved with our Office of Civic Engagement and connect to a variety of other students and stakeholder groups . At the end of your first year as an undeclared major , you are assisted in selecting an academic major and are connected by our JWS Center staff to your new departments and new advisors .
Dr . Hal W . Fulmer holds a Ph . D . in communication from Louisiana State University and a Master ’ s degree in speech from the University of Georgia . He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society , the Order of Omega , and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Circle .
14 | Winter 2017 www . potentialmagazine . com