Major Exploration is a process of exploring and deciding on a college major. The process looks different for each student. It can be repeated at any time in a student's undergraduate career, as the student learns more about themselves and their major of interest.
Major exploration is not a process of exploring careers and committing to one profession for the entire future. It is a nonlinear process of connecting one's knowledge of self to academic goals.
Many resources discuss major exploration as a series of steps. Here's an example of what it could look like in five steps:
Focus on self assessment. Think about your interests and goals, what do you excel at or find exciting?
Explore your major options. Use sites like experiential major maps or the TXST catalog to discover which majors are available.
Gather Information. Use the TXST catalog and departmental sites to research any requirements or expectations for the majors you find interesting.
Narrow down your options. Talk to friends and family and continue your research until you have a small number of majors to pick from.
Declare a major field of study. Continue exploring it in more detail with the help of your faculty and professional advisors.
While step-based approaches work well for some, major exploration isn't a linear process for most students. Students can begin at different steps of the process, repeat steps, do them out of order, and revisit them multiple times.
A universal plan oversimplifies the unique exploratory experience of each student. Over the next few pages, we'll explore major exploration in more detail.
Every student can benefit from exploring majors. It is a natural part of the college student experience, and it happens differently for each person. We invite you to explore some of our resources below and schedule an advising appointment to start the process.
