Changing Your Major
If your thinking about changing your major, here are some things to consider.
In the US, it is very common for a student to change majors.
Why do people change majors?
- They find a new interest. Most universities require all students to take a group of general education courses (GenEd). Someone may take economics as a GenEd and discover that they love it!
- They are not successful at their major courses. For example, someone plans to major in engineering but the physics courses are very difficult for them.
- Their first major was not carefully chosen or someone else chose it for them and they do not like it.
- They have friends in a different major which sounds interesting.
What are the dangers of changing majors?
- Every major has specific courses and a certain number of credit hours that must be taken before graduation.
- If a person has already taken quite a few courses, they may have taken courses that they did not need for the new major. This can be a waste of time and money.
- Changing majors can make a person have to spend more time in university. Instead of finishing in 4 years, it might take 4.5 or 5 years.
It is important to major in something that you are good at, something in which you can get a job, and ideally something that you enjoy. Switching majors can be useful, but don’t do it too late in your studies unless you have lots of time and money.