How to Choose a Major in College – Tips to Consider

Your major will shape your entire college journey and, after that, your career path. Many careers require a specific degree and specialized skill set, and AI job application pools can filter you out of the running if you don't have the degree employers are looking for. And while creating the foundation for a successful career is one of the most fundamental reasons to think carefully about what major to pursue, it's also important to consider your passions. What areas of study are exciting? What do you want to spend nearly one-third, or 90,000 hours, of your lifetime focused on?

Knowing how to choose a major in college will help you:

• Graduate on time or even early.
• Select your course load deliberately so you can pursue specializations and a minor that matters to you.
• Jumpstart your career by giving you more opportunities to network with people in your area of study and pursue internships.
• Enjoy college more, as you can move with purpose instead of feeling trapped by indecision.

Whether you're just beginning to apply to colleges and want to know how to choose a college major so you can pick the right school or classes have already begun and you want to zero in on your future path, choosing your major isn't easy. That's why we at UMass Global have developed this helpful guide. Use our five-step process for selecting your college major, fine-tune the journey with our quick tips if you're stuck, and complete an insightful 'how to choose a major' quiz to feel more confident about your final choice.

How to Choose a Major and a Career: A Brief Overview in Five Steps

Starting your unique journey of how to choose a major in college is overwhelming. You have the entire Internet at your fingertips, as well as dozens of majors and degree pages from your prospective colleges. But all these resources can make it even harder to move forward without wondering about what-ifs and missed opportunities. Use this simple five-step process to add structure to your decision-making process. 

1: Know what you're interested in.

Set aside a peaceful hour for yourself. Think about what you're interested in and what you like spending time on. Jot down whatever comes to mind, such as: 

• Specific topics
• Hobbies and activities you enjoy
• The jobs or tasks you like completing
• Your strengths, including valuable skills and personality characteristics—consider taking the strong interest inventory (SII) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicate (MBTI) tests to learn more about your interests and personality from an objective perspective

Also, consider what you aren't interested in. Knowing what activities, topics, and areas of study don't interest you is just as important. You can cross them off the list of possibilities, making the final decision easier, and assess majors to make sure they don't include elements you don't like.

2: Explore career paths and educational requirements.

Next, think about your future career. What do you want to spend your life doing? It's a big question to ask, and you can use your interests to shape your potential career goals. Jot down the career fields you think are the most interesting and which align with your life goals. Then, research what degrees you need, including graduate degrees or continuing education. Some universities, like UMass Global, offer career modules on their websites so you can explore potential job options for a specific degree, such as a BA in criminal justice. With these resources, you can learn about potential career paths, salary expectations, and demand for different jobs in the industry. You might find exactly what major is best for you, or you might find a major that opens the most doors in a field you care about.

3: Learn about the degree requirements.

When you have a handful of majors in mind, start looking into the degree requirements:

• Do you need to complete coursework in person, or can you complete an online degree program?
• Does the program accept transfer credits, MIL credits, and work experience for some of the courses?
• Are there strict course requirements, or are there plenty of options so you can choose classes that both interest you and fulfill your degree requirements?

Plotting out your unique degree journey is a helpful exercise, especially if you have some prior college courses. See how transfer credits work at UMass Global so you can start mapping out your path.

4: Talk to department counselors or reach out to your college and career center.

If you are in high school, attending a community college, or in the military, visit the career/transfer center of your prospective college to learn more about career paths and trends in the industries you're interested in. The ability to bring in prior credits, either prior college credits or military credits, can help shorten your program. Be sure to check out the credit transfer policy which includes the maximum number of transfer credits possible for programs to help narrow down on a program and prospective school. If you have some prospective schools in mind, especially if they are an online school, they most likely have enrollment coaches/counselors who can help you match up what program would be the best fit.

5: Chart out your future path in more detail.

After you've investigated your favorite majors and talked to people at your prospective college, you'll probably already know exactly which major makes the most sense for your interests and career goals. Take the time to explore the available courses, learn more about different careers that the major can help prepare you for, and imagine every step of the journey. If you're excited about moving forward, take the next step!

Still thinking about how to choose a major for college? Try these helpful tips for how to choose a college major when you're stuck.

There's no one path to choosing your dream major. You might need to explore different options during your freshman year by focusing on general requirements. You might choose a major and then change your mind, or you might feel stuck between two very different options. Try these helpful tips to get past the next hurdle. 

If you have two or three choices: Find overlapping course requirements.

When you simply can't choose between two majors you love, give yourself more time. Find the course requirements where the two degree paths overlap, and prioritize those courses first. One of the biggest risks of remaining undecided on your major is that it can delay your graduation. With this strategy, you can move forward and continue to explore your options.

If you're completely undecided: Take exploratory courses.

It's okay to not know your major. Instead of worrying about the decision or just making a decision to get it over with (an approach that might have you changing your mind in a year or two), choose courses that will let you learn more about likely career paths or areas of study. Practical courses in finance, intro courses in science, and other fundamental coursework outside of general academic requirements will tell you more about different subjects and, even more importantly, your feelings on the topics. It's better to take a semester now to experiment than to commit to a path you don't like later.

If you know you want to be in business: How to choose a business major

You might have a broad idea of what you want your degree and career to look like—this is especially common in business. However, a business program or business administration degree may not be specific enough for your favorite career options. Your school may also have business degrees that splinter sharply into specific specializations, such as an accounting degree or an organizational leadership degree. Once you know business is your core interest, a couple of tactics for how to choose a business major within that field are: 

• Focus on overlapping requirements as you research different trajectories.
• Start crossing off degrees you don't want to pursue to make the process simpler.
• Experiment with courses that will immediately give you insight into the specialization, such as tax fundamentals, supply chain courses, or marketing courses.

Questions to Ask Yourself: How to Choose a Major Quiz

Ready to start on your journey to finding the right college major? If you scroll back up to our five-step strategy, you'll see that the first step is considering your own interests and goals. Jumpstart the process with this quick quiz and read below for further questions to ask yourself.

What classes do you look forward to?

Whether you're graduating high school or you've taken college classes before, think back to the topics that were the most interesting. Also, think about the classes in your current courseload that you look forward to the most. 

What areas do you have work experience in?

You most likely already have some work, internship, or classroom experience, depending on where you are in your education journey, and are wanting to expand on your knowledge to grow within an industry. Maybe you have prior experience but want to pivot yourself to a different part of your industry or another industry altogether.  See what educational requirements may be needed for that next step.

What activities and extracurriculars are you looking forward to in college?

College can be about more than coursework. Some of the most important learning opportunities are the extracurriculars, clubs, and activities you choose to participate in. Think about activities you're looking forward to or the activities you currently enjoy. This tells you more about your interests than thinking about your favorite classes, as it shows what you want to spend your free time prioritizing.

And if participating in in-person extracurriculars isn't top of mind for you but rather prioritizing the freedom and convenience of an online program, consider online colleges like UMass Global. 

What do you want your job to be in five years? In ten years? What do you need to reach your goals?

Take a moment to imagine your future in five or ten years. Picture it in detail—if you're in an office, what your daily routine looks like, what you spend time thinking about, and even if you have time to balance work and other pursuits or if you want to be entirely career-focused. 

How do you set and achieve goals? 

Do you prefer to set your own goals and have a tightly organized to-do system, or do you like having a network of people and systems? Alternatively, do you prefer a more freeform approach to tasks and pursuits? Knowing your own work and goal-setting style can help highlight what types of careers and majors align best with your work style. UMass Global offers both self-paced programs for learners who prefer to set their own goals and instructor-led programs for learners who want active guidance and a clear path forward.

What's your education goal? What’s your motivation for starting or continuing your education journey?

Your education journey may look different depending on your needs and the degree you choose to pursue is an important building block for your career. It could be starting or finishing that first degree, the first step in a long academic journey, or the first step in pursuing a specialized degree like an MD or JD. Think about your educational goals, not just your career goals, so you can have a fulfilling, satisfying journey.

At UMass Global, We're Here to Help

At UMass Global, we're committed to helping our students find the majors and degree paths that will help them reach their dreams. If you want to explore more possibilities for your undergraduate degree or graduate degree, we offer over 55 online academic programs that fit our students' interests, career goals, and long-term educational ambitions. Explore our academic programs and degree pages to learn more about them, or request more information to get specific answers or speak to our counselors.