You Can Change Your Mind and Your Major!
What major should you choose? Considering the University of Maryland offers a multitude of degrees; how is one to choose? Most students begin college with some idea of what they want to study, but it is not uncommon for them to change majors. UMD has over 130 undergraduate majors across 12 colleges, so do not panic if you are unsure of what you want to do or the path you want to take. My own daughter changed her major twice and even added one to become a double major!
Changing and choosing a major isn’t always easy. There are several ways you can support your student as they are trying to decide or consider changing study focus. One of the main reasons students reconsider or hesitate to declare a major is because they do not understand the career options associated with it. Encourage your students to search the undergraduate catalog to see what courses are required in majors that are interesting to them. They should also meet with an academic advisor and visit the Career Center. Academic advising is a way to get a professional opinion and guidance that can help students make an informed decision when choosing a career path. The career center is a great resource for students to discover what job options go along with each major and what the demand is for those jobs.
Choose?
Students at UMD are encouraged to choose a major upon admission, but there is also an option to choose to be Undecided. When students come into the university as an undecided major, they have placed in the Letters and Sciences college. This option allows students to take a variety of classes, then declare during sophomore year, by the time they complete 60 credits. This declaration allows students to explore their interests in order to figure out what they are interested in pursuing. Students interested in this option can visit the Academic Advising Center. It’s important to make the most of any interests and skills while taking all those required general education courses. That’s the time to uncover avenues that may lead to a new study and career choices.
Should they decide to change their major during their time at UMD, they will need to speak to their Academic Advisor. To process a change, students must go to the college associated with their desired new major to obtain approval, advisement information, and process the change. The academic advisor can assist when making the change using the Major Change Processor. If students are interested in changing to Architecture, Business & Management, Engineering, Government and Politics, Journalism, Landscape Architecture or Psychology should contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 301-314-8385 for more information and an up-to-date list of majors with special admission requirements. If a student is considering majoring in Education, they should contact the College of Education.
There are so many classes out there that may change their lives, but they won’t know until they take them. Spending a little time surveying, investigating, and exploring can lead to some eye-opening adventures and life-changing discovery. Now is the time to do it.
Another great option for students is to consider a double major or minor. Students must obtain written permission from both the Dean of the primary major college and the Dean of the second major college. Forms for applications to a second major are available at all colleges and offices. If your student does not want to commit to an additional major, they can apply for a minor. Minors afford students the opportunity to pursue a limited but structured concentration in a study outside of their major. There are not minor options for every field of study at UMD, but there are so many great options that students can take advantage of!
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