In United States colleges and universities, roughly 2,000 majors are offered. And within each major is a host of core courses and electives. When you successfully complete the required courses in your major, you qualify for a degree.

Where did the term major come from? In 1877, it first appeared in a Johns Hopkins University catalogue. That major required only two years of study. Later, in 1910, Abbott Lawrence Lowell introduced the academic major system to Harvard University during his time as president there. This system required students to complete courses in a specialized discipline and also in other subjects. Variations of this system are now the norm in higher education institutions in the US and Canada.

Why is your major important? It’s important because it’s a defining and organizing feature of your undergraduate degree. Ultimately, your major should provide you with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or behaviors you need to fulfill your college goals and objectives.

In this section, we look at how to select your major and how your college major may correlate with a career. Does your major matter to your career? What happens if you change your major? Does changing your major mean you must change your career? Read on to find out!

How to Select Your Major

Selecting your major is one of the most exciting tasks (and, to some students, perhaps one of the most nerve-wracking tasks) you are asked to perform in college. So many decisions are tied to it. But if you have good guidance, patience, and enthusiasm, the process is easier. Here are some tips to follow as you consider your college major.

Seek Inspiration

Inspiration is all around us. Maybe there’s somebody in your life (a friend, a mentor, or someone else) who inspires you with what they do, how they spend their time, or their passion for their work. Maybe you’re inspired by a celebrity or a person you admire whom you learned about from the news or a documentary. Maybe there’s a historical figure that you remember from grade school that you really admire. Think about what or who inspires you, and what that says about your passions and your values. When you’re inspired, you will find motivation. It’s worth it to consider that inspiration reason enough to pursue a college major, considering the amount of time and effort you’ll put into completing your degree!

Consider Everything

Don’t let preconceived notions of what you think you can do hold you back from considering all the options. Think about it: you probably already have a list of majors you think you would never consider, whether it’s because you think you couldn’t do well, you think you don’t like the topic, or you believe it’s not a good choice for you. You may be right, but before you go ahead and let your assumptions get in the way, really take a look at all your options and consider them! Try to challenge the beliefs you have about yourself, your abilities, and those majors, before you make any fast choices. You might be surprised what can happen after taking an intro course in a field you’d never considered before.

Identify Talents and Interests

What are your talents and interests? Think about what used to just light up your life when you were a child. What did you like to do when you were a teenager? What do you come back to again and again, as the years go on? What do you enjoy doing to pass the time? Maybe you love playing music or making art. Maybe you love writing. Think about how your talents and interests can connect to a potential college major. If you love keeping up with and writing about current events, journalism might be a good option for you. If you’ve always loved math, you might want to consider accounting or statistics! If you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas, consider asking some people who know you best. We often can’t see ourselves as clearly as those who love us best.

Explore Available Resources

There are lots of resources available to you to learn more about choosing a college major. You can learn more online about how college majors map into certain careers, you can talk to other students who are farther along in their college career, and you can talk to your professors about what it’s like to enter certain fields of study. Every person is different, so take others’ advice with a grain of salt, but it’s always worth it to get another person’s perspective, especially if they are doing something you think you might want to do in the future.

In-depth Career Exploration

You can learn a lot about a career before you ever accept a job offer. Talk to people in your prospective career and see what it’s like for them. You can find people to contact through your school’s alumni network or through LinkedIn. It might seem hard at first, but people are generally more open to spending 30 minutes of their time talking to you about their experience than you might initially think. Another way you can explore in-depth career exploration would be to shadow someone for a day at their job. This option requires more of a commitment from you and the person you’re shadowing, but if you’re genuinely interested in a career path then it could be really important information for you to gain by watching or joining someone on their job for the day.

The next video shares nine more tips on selecting your college major:

1. Narrow your choices by deciding what you don’t like.
2. Explore careers that might interest you. Ask questions.
3. Use your school’s resources.
4. Ask your teacher, counselor, and family about your strengths.
5. Remember, 60 percent of students change their majors.
6. Your major isn’t going to define your life. But choosing one that interests you will make your college experience much more rewarding.
7. Go on informational interviews with people in careers that interest you.
8. There’s no pressure to decide now.
9. Take new classes and discover your interests.

You can view the transcript for “How to Select Your College Major – WiseChoice” here (opens in new window).