As a University Division student at IU, you are required to declare a major
other than exploratory by the time you complete 56 credit hours. Typically,
this will occur by the end of the sophomore year. It is strongly recommended, however,
that you set a goal to choose your major by mid-April of your freshman year. That is when
you will be pre-registering for your sophomore fall semester classes. Some students do not
make their major decision until they are sophomores, and others decide to change their major
as late as the sophomore year. Many of these students still graduate in four years. While
this can be done in some cases, it is important to note that there is no guarantee for this.
It depends very much on what courses you have taken and the curriculum requirements of
the major you choose. Thus, while you may be able to have more time, it is best to
decide by the end of your freshmen year.
Yes! You definitely can start at IU as an exploratory student, choose your
major, and graduate in four years. Obviously, there is a limit as to how long
you can stay exploratory and still be able to complete your bachelors degree requirements
on time. It always depends on what courses you have taken and what major you choose.
If you decide on your major by the end of your freshman year, you should be able to
graduate in four years. It is very important for exploratory students to take
courses that will keep their options open. Always see your academic advisor
for help in course selection while you are exploring your major choices. And,
it is important to begin your exploration process early in your first semester.
Contact your academic advisor and browse through Exploratory Student Resources (ESR) website
for help in getting started. Also, see the Checklist for Exploration Activities
for a list of recommended exploration activities.
Exploratory students should take courses from three categories:
introductory courses in majors of potential interest, general education
courses that are broadly applicable to the requirements of many majors, and
elective courses that are specifically designed for exploratory students.
Your academic advisor will help you select the right courses. Look at Courses for Exploring Students for
additional information about general education courses and recommended
introductory courses for exploratory students. Also, the Courses for
Exploratory Students web page describes the elective courses designed to
help exploratory students.
On the Indiana University campus, you will find many services and resources available
to help you throughout your major exploration process. There are academic advisors,
career counselors, professors, fairs and expos, libraries, workshops, the Health
Professions and Prelaw Information Center, and the Majors & Careers Series Website
Click on Campus Resources and Services for more detailed information.
For most students, there may not be just one right major. Unless you decide to pursue a career
in a field that requires a specific degree (i.e. occupational therapy, elementary education), you
actually have a lot of flexibility in choosing your major. Thus, there could be several majors
that would be good choices. For this reason, it is important to consider both the academic and career
aspects of prospective majors. First, you need to learn about the degree requirements, course descriptions,
faculty, and related career fields. Then, you should utilize some decision-making tools to evaluate
your alternatives. You do not have to make a "perfect" choice, but you can maximize the probability that
you will make a good decision by making a "well-informed" and "well-thought-out" decision. Thus, after
you have completed a thorough exploration and decision-making process (see the Decision Making Process and
the Checklist for Exploration Activities on this website to find out how to do this), you will know with confidence
that you have made a good choice of major.
There are more than one hundred majors offered at Indiana University and
each of these majors is excellent. Many are highly rated among colleges and
universities in the United States. Thus, you can't choose a bad major at IU.
Most likely, there are several majors that could be a very good match for you.
However, there could be one or more majors that would not be a good choice for you
as an individual. For example, while an excellent major at IU, mathematics is probably
not a good choice for every student. It is important for you to complete a thorough
exploration and decision-making process to find the major that is a good fit for you.
Is there a one-to-one link between the career you plan to pursue and the college
major you choose? Generally, at the bachelor's degree level, there is not just one
specific major required to enter a career field. There are, in fact, many appropriate
majors related to most careers. It is important to recognize that there are some
professional fields that do have qualifying or licensing requirements that indicate
the need to choose certain undergraduate majors. Most professional fields, however,
do not have such specific requirements and therefore you have considerable flexibility
in your major choice. For example, you can be admitted to law school or medical school
with any undergraduate major. Other typical examples are the business management and
marketing career fields. U.S. corporations hire college graduates from a wide range of
majors for these and other positions all the time. Thus, you should always determine
whether the career field you plan to enter has any specific requirements that indicate
certain major choices. At the same time, it is important to know that in most cases, there
is not one specific major required and you can choose from all IU majors.
Yes! And, in most cases, you can! A minor usually requires completion
of 5 courses (15 credits) in a field of study. With a little careful
planning, one or more minors can be completed in addition to your major
without having to take any additional credit hours of coursework by double-
counting the minor's courses. Your advisor can show you how to do this. One
advantage of adding a minor to your academic program is that you can study in
multiple academic fields. Also, a degree program that includes minors is much
stronger as a credential for graduate school or job application, and expands
potential career opportunities as well.
If you complete a thorough exploration and decision-making process during
your first year in college, starting out as an exploratory major will increase
the probability that you will make a good choice of major. Also, many exploratory
students graduate with more breadth in their degrees because they complete double
majors or add minors to their majors as a result of their exploration. Finally,
exploratory students learn how to research options, evaluate alternatives, and make
decisions, and this can be a valuable lesson learned in college.
