According to recent surveys, anywhere between 20 to 50 percent of college freshmen are undecided in their major from year to year and an estimated 75 percent of college students will switch their major while they’re in school. But uncertainty about your major is not something that you should be ashamed of. While selecting a major is a big choice, Marist students are not alone in doing so. Marist College provides students with numerous resources that can help them pick a major and decide on professional interests to pursue. Explore Options Using Academic Core Requirements Every student at Marist must complete their core academic requirement, which includes the Breadth and Pathway. The Breadth is completing one class in each of the following subjects: mathematics, history, fine arts, literature, natural sciences, ethics/religious studies, philosophy, and social science. There are a variety of courses in each category that you can choose to fulfill these requirements and you can use these courses to explore possible new passions. If you think you might be interested in majoring in economics, for example, you can take Introduction to Macroeconomics or Introduction to Microeconomics to meet your social science requirement. Pathways are sets of four courses that are centered on an interdisciplinary idea. Marist offers 23 different pathway options. Each pathway has more than a dozen different courses that can count toward the pathway. The only requirement for the pathway is that the four courses you choose must come from three different departments. There are pathways focused on languages, ethnic or religious studies, and other interdisciplinary areas. The Public Health Studies pathway links the science and psychology departments, while the Legal Studies pathway offers course options in political science, history, ethics, the paralegal program, and more. If you have questions about your pathway or would like to know more about your class options make an appointment with your academic advisor or visit the Marist College Center for Advising and Academic Services in Donnelly 224. The FOCUS Program The Marist College Academic Learning Center also offers the FOCUS (Future Options and Choices for Undeclared Students) Program. Any student who comes to Marist undeclared is placed in the FOCUS program in the fall in order to help them decide on their major. As part of your Spring 2020 course load consider taking Career Planning and Decision Making. This one-credit course teaches students how to identify their values and traits and align them with possible career paths that are related to majors at Marist College. Take Inventories Using Focus 2 The Center for Career Services offers a free online resource for all Marist students called Focus 2. If you are unsure of your career or academic interests Focus 2 offers five different assessments based on your personality, skills, values, and work interests. These assessments cannot definitively tell you what you should do for the rest of your life, but they can help provide clarity and insight on what you might be interested in moving forward. You can register for a free Focus 2 account using a specific Marist access code. By using Focus 2 you can also see possible career options for students in certain majors. You can also perform a reverse search by exploring careers and finding relevant skills often used in particular roles within a career cluster. Working the search filters will allow you to narrow down majors that are the best fit for you. The career coaches in the Center for Career Services also offer appointments for career advising and can give you information on how the major you may choose could relate to your future career path. Schedule a career coaching appointment in FoxQuest if you need additional assistance. Do Some Soul Searching Take some steps to figure out who you are and what you are best at. Think back on your past experiences. What clubs and activities were you involved in during high school? What did you enjoy about them? Look at the skills that you know you already have. What industries or careers might they be applicable in? You can also look to people that you admire and see what fields they are working in. Are they happy and successful in those fields? Get Advice from Additional Trusted Sources If you are still unsure about what to major in try getting a personal opinion. It’s a good idea to ask your friends, family members, former teachers, and other people that you’re close with for their input. They could provide insight on your top skills. You can also reach out to professors or academic advisors. If you are planning to do an informational interview you will need to think about what talking points you would like to discuss. You should do research on the company that the person you are speaking with works for. The graphic below provides some great examples of things that you can ask during an informational interview. You’re Not Trapped Within Your Major
Remember that your major is ultimately your choice and it should influence your own personal and professional goals for the future. Many of the majors at Marist have flexibility built into them and can take many different career trajectories. If you feel your major alone isn’t aligning completely with your aspirations look into adding a minor or concentration in order to complement and/or supplement the work that you are doing. Your major itself will not necessarily define your professional life after college. The work that you put into acquiring knowledge will.
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