Deciding Your Major
Did you know one in four WSU students are still deciding on a major?
If you are struggling to select a major, the advisors at the Warrior Success Center are here to help.
This process is designed to help students like you gain the information and confidence needed to choose a major:
Complete a Self-Assessment
Getting to know yourself is an important first step in deciding a major. Find out how to uncover your interests, strengths, and values, and how these can help you select a major that fits you best.
You can start by talking to people who know you best. They may have a great sense of the majors and careers that would be rewarding to you, and where you might do well.
Focus specifically on you and not a family “tradition” or parent’s dream. Discuss what makes you unique and how that could translate to your academic major and career path.
There are plenty of ways to learn about yourself, and you can start today with free online assessments.
Focus 2 is an hour-long survey that offers 5 assessments on:
- work interests
- leisure interests
- personality
- skills
- values
This can help narrow down your major options.
To get started, create an account for the Focus 2 website
- Use the access code “warrior”
- Select the group “Warrior Success Center”
- If you are taking Focus 2 for an Orientation 100 class, select the group that matches your OR section
When you are done, set up an appointment with an advisor in the Warrior Success Center and we will help you understand your results.
If you’ve already tried Focus 2 and met with an advisor, there are some other assessments you could explore.
Visit the Warrior Success Center in Maxwell 314 or call at 507.457.5878 to discuss these options:
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Take the most widely used personality assessment to get insights on majors well suited for you
- StrengthsQuest: Learn your top 5 talents and how to select a major that aligns with your strengths
- Strong Interest Inventory (SII): Find out your interests and discover the majors and careers that align well with those interests
Prefer a paper and pencil approach?
Try the Deciding Your Major Worksheet (PDF) to jump start your major and career exploration.
Explore Majors
It’s hard to choose a major when you don’t know what your options are, or what each major is all about. There are many ways to find which programs interest you.
The Program Finder is one way you can explore the different majors at WSU.
With this tool, you can look at over 200 academic programs, and narrow them down based on your interests, degree type, and keywords.
You can learn what the major is all about, how many credits it requires, and potential careers it can lead to. It will also show you related programs that might interest you.
A “What-If” DARS shows what courses you would need to take for a specific major and/or minor and the classes you have already completed.
To run this report:
- Log into Student eServices
- Select “Academic Records” and then “Degree Audit Portal”
Select the link “Click here to access Degree Audit Self-Service” and log in with your StarID and password.
Joining an academic club or organization will help you meet students with similar interests and give you more exposure to the majors and related careers that interest you most.
You can talk to the other students about their majors, why they selected the majors they did, what they like about them, and what they want to do with their degrees in the future.
You can also talk to the club faculty advisor for more insight about what that major involves.
Attend the Major and Career Exploration Fair
Each October, Winona State hosts a Major and Career Exploration Fair.
This event is a one-stop-shop for students to meet with faculty members, students, and alumni who represent the wide variety of majors and minors offered at WSU.
Try an Intro Class for the Major
If you are not sure about whether a major may be a good fit, why not try out a course? Many majors offer introductory-level classes that also count toward the general education program (GEP).
Since you must take gen eds anyway, why not use them to help you pick your major?
While it’s not part of the GEP, the course CE 200 – Career and Life Decision Making can be a great tool to help you decide.
| Potential Major | Course | General Education Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | ACCT 211 - Financial Accounting Principles | Does not fulfill a General Education category |
| Athletic Training | HERS 191 - Intro to Athletic Training | Does not fulfill a General Education category |
| Biology | BIOL 241 - Basics of Life | Satisfies Goal 3 |
| Biology | BIOL 242 - Organismal Diversity | Satisfies Goal 3 |
| Business | BUSA 270 - Business and Society | Satisfies Goal 9 |
| Communication Studies | CMST 282 - Intro to Communication Studies | Satisfies Goal 5 |
| Computer Science | CS 101 - Exploring Creative Computing | Satisfies Goal 4 |
| Criminal Justice | SOC 210 - Crime & Justice in America | Satisfies Goal 9 |
| Engineering | CME 102 - Intro to Engineering | Does not fulfill a General Education category. |
| English | ENG 120 - Intro to Literature | Satisfies Goal 6a |
| English | ENG 211 - Writing in Communities | Satisfies Goal 9 |
| English | ENG 220 - Multicultural American Literature | Satisfies Goals 6a & 7 |
| English | ENG 222 - Introduction to Creative Writing | Satisfies Goal 6b |
| Finance | FIN 201 - Intro to Finance | Does not fulfill a General Education category. |
| Geoscience | GEOS 102 - Resources of The Earth | Satisfies Goal 10 |
| Geoscience | GEOS 103 - Natural Disasters | Satisfies Goal 3 & 10 |
| Geoscience | GEOS 105 - Astronomy with Lab | Satisfies Goal 3 |
| Geoscience | GEOS 106 - Astronomy | Satisfies Goal 3 |
| Global Studies | GS 200 - Intro to Global Studies | Satisfies Goal 8 & 10 |
| Law and Society | HIST 101 - Intro to Law and Society | Does not fulfill a General Education category. |
| Legal Studies | LGLS 101 - Intro to American Law | Satisfies Goals 6a & 9 |
| Marketing | MKTG 100 - Marketing and Society | Satisfies Goal 9 |
| Mass Communication | MCOM 100 - Mass Media and Society | Satisfies Goal 9 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | MATH 120 - Precalculus | Satisfies Goal 4 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | MATH 212 - Calculus I | Satisfies Goal 4 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | STAT 210 - Statistics | Satisfies Goal 4 |
| Nursing or Health Care | NURS 120 - Intro to the Health Professions | Does not fulfill a General Education category. |
| Political Science | POLS 120 - Intro to American Politics | Satisfies Goal 5 & 9 |
| Psychology | PSY 210 - Intro to Psychological Science | Satisfies Goal 5 |
| Recreation & Tourism or Therapeutic Recreation (RTTR) | RTTR 229 - Foundations of Recreation & Leisure Studies | Does not fulfill a General Education category. |
| Social Work | SOC 150 - Intro to Sociology | Satisfies Goal 5 & 7 |
| Social Work | PSY 210 - Intro to Psychological Science | Satisfies Goal 5 |
| Social Work | PSY 250 - Developmental Psychology | Satisfies Goal 5 |
| Sociology | SOC 150 - Intro to Sociology | Satisfies Goal 5 & 7 |
| Special Education | SPED 300 - Children and Youth with Exceptionalities | Does not fulfill a General Education category |
Explore Careers
Maybe you have a major and want to learn more about possible careers, or perhaps knowing about careers could help you pick your major. Either way, defining career goals is a step in the right direction.
Some degree programs prepare you to succeed in a variety of roles, while others train you for a specific career pathway.
Explore Careers OptionsEvaluate Your Options
Now that you have done your research, it’s time to narrow your choices and make your decision.
Creating a visual comparison can help reveal a top choice and simplify the decision process.
Consider building a table that compares each major based on:
- What interests me most about this major?
- What concerns me most?
- What are the application and graduation requirements?
- How many credits are required?
- Is a minor required?
- Is a practicum, internship or field experience offered?
- What careers interest me for this major?
- Is graduate school needed to get the job I want?
Also add any other considerations that are important to you.
Advisors in the Warrior Success Center assist students with major and career exploration every day.
They can help you navigate through the details to get to what is important.
They can even print you a “what if” DARS to help you see how your current coursework would apply to a given major and what else is needed to complete the degree.
Their passion is helping students just like you. Set up an appointment today!
Declare Your Major
Congrats! You’ve chosen a major. Now it’s time to make it official.
Complete the Declaration Form
Students use the Declaration/Change of Major Form to declare or change a major or minor.
Once the declaration form request has been processed, you will receive an email notification and your DARS report in Student eServices will change to reflect your new program(s).
Watch for Your New Advisor Assignment
Within a week of submitting your declaration online, a faculty advisor from your new academic program will be assigned. Once this is complete, you will see the name of your new advisor in your DARS report in Student eServices.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
This is not really a step, but it is worth saying that you may still not be 100% sure about your major at this point. That is totally normal.
Chances are very good that you will love your new program, but students do sometimes change their minds for a variety of reasons.
If you find yourself here in the future, officially changing your major is as simple as completing a new Declaration/Change of Major form.