The decision of declaring a major is both an exciting yet daunting task. At the University of Connecticut (UConn) there are almost 115+ majors you can choose from. And that also includes UConn’s offer of an Individualized Major (IMJR), a self-designed major allowing students the opportunity to create a program of study to fit their interests that are not met by existing majors at UConn. With the numerous majors offered, students will often find themselves at a crossroads, unsure of which path to take or if their selected path is in fact the correct path to take them where they want to go. Thus, I intend to provide a comprehensive guide to help students both prospective and current, navigate the maze of majors at UConn. From exploring interest all the way to declaring a major along with everything in between. Regardless if you’re a freshman brand new to the college journey or a junior contemplating change, I intend to provide you with the resources and information necessary for you to make an informed decision about your academic future at UConn.
Personality Inventories
To decide on what major you want to declare, you must first identify and understand your strengths, weaknesses, and areas of interest. This is where personality inventories come into play, short questionnaires designed to help uncover interest, aptitudes and skills. These all come together when deciding on a major as well as a career avenues in which you might want to go down. A popular and a very helpful inventory is the MBTI assessment, formally known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. This is a self-report questionnaire designed to help indicate differing personality types. This test is designed to help you better understand yourself as well as yourself in relation to everyone around you. With over 16 personality types, this test will be very beneficial to learn more about your personality and academic persona, which will help guide you to decide on what major you want to pursue.
Educate Yourself
UConn offers a unique resource which are selected students known as TME mentors. TME means “The Major Experience,” which are current UConn students majoring in various fields sharing their personal experiences to help you dive deeper into what majoring in your selected field would entail. TME gives you the opportunity to learn about the realities of being a student within that major field from first-hand experiences. And let’s face it, no one could offer better advice about a major of interest than a student living through it. TME mentors will connect you with the proper tools and resources to help explore given majors. In addition to the TME mentors, UConn also offers “Exploratory Advisors.” These are faculty who assist students throughout their exploration journey. They are well-versed in all UConn majors. It is recommended to connect with these advisors when you are ready to learn more about your selected major from an academic standpoint. This includes all of the fun stuff, content areas, course requirements, planning and admission requirements (this may be necessary if majoring in teaching, nursing, or majors that UConn offers specific tracks for), and most importantly contacts within the major like advisors who have specific expertise with students and content involved in the given major. Now, if talking with TME mentos and Exploratory Advisors wasn’t enough, UConn also has a class dedicated to “making major decisions.” UNIV 1820 is a one-credit course that is dedicated just to major exploration. Designed to encourage you to examine majors interactively and intentionally, with its main purpose to help you declare your major with complete confidence.Â
If you are switching majors or still undecided, that is OKAYÂ
Entering college, there is this underlying pressure that you are expected to know exactly what you want to major in and if you don’t, you are a failure. Well I am here to tell you that that is completely wrong. College is a journey. Throughout your four years at UConn you will be faced at crossroads in which you will have options to turn down multiple different avenues. Some may lead to dead ends and others may lead you right where you want to be. Switching majors or being undecided about your major is okay because it means this college experience means more to you rather than focusing on “just getting a degree.” Instead, you are thinking about where you want to make your impact and what you truly want to do as a profession. With that being said, I encourage you to block out the noise and focus on your end goal. And if that means switching majors two to three times or staying undeclared for a couple of semesters, so be it, this is your journey and what makes it special is that it is uniquely and unquestionably yours.
College is a time for students to expand their horizons, and investigate opportunities and explore interests. And if you have already completed some college or you’ve just reached college, your ideal major and or dreamed career path most likely changed, but that is okay as UConn has your back to help you make your “major decision.”