"How To" ... Select a Major

If you’ve come into Hopkins undecided (or even if you think you have a pretty good idea of what you’d like to study), choosing the major (or majors) that you’ll graduate with can seem at first to be a daunting process. Luckily, there are a lot of ways that you can explore all of the offerings available and find an academic department that’s right for you.

1. Talk to Your Advisor: The Office of Academic Advising (for Arts & Sciences) and the Engineering Advising Office (for Engineers) are the best places to start looking for information about majors that might be of interest to you. They can show you what courses are required in each major and give you an idea of what kinds of courses a student considering that major might want to take (this information will also be in a handbook of information sent to you over the summer before your freshman year). For a list of major and minor requirements, check out these web sites:

Arts & Sciences: http://www.jhu.edu/advising/majors.htm
Engineering: http://engineering.jhu.edu/undergraduate-majors-minors/

2. Take a Variety of Courses: During your freshman year, you should take advantage of the opportunities available to you in a bunch of different courses. In high school you probably took an English course, a math class, a foreign language, some sort of social studies, and a science class each and every semester. Thanks to Hopkins’ academic flexibility, and lack of a core curriculum, if you really wanted to, you could take multiple science courses in a semester and never step foot in an English classroom again. But it might be overwhelming and might get a little (gasp!) boring. Don’t rule anything out from the beginning; courses you hated in high school might become your favorites.

3. Don’t Forget the Smaller Departments: Think about signing up for an Anthropology, Classics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Civil Engineering, or Cognitive Science course. They’re subjects that you probably didn’t take in high school, so you might not know what they are all about. But that also means you haven’t had a chance to fall in love with them yet! Small departments can be a great place to get your academic footing, because there are relatively smaller class sizes and more opportunities for personal interaction with professors and other students.

4. Ask for Recommendations: Don’t go around saying, “I don’t know what to major in! Help!!!” Instead, ask upperclassmen friends or your resident advisor about what courses, professors, and departments have been their favorites. Don’t enroll in the classes just yet, though; find out WHY those are their favorites. Were the lectures crystal-clear? Was the topic thought-provoking? Is cutting-edge theory in a groundbreaking field thrilling to them? You can also check out the ACE guide (a student-generated book of class and professor reviews) for more general guidance. (You can always ask the Hopkins Interactive students for thoughts too ... plug, plug, plug.)

5. Look at the Catalog, and Shop Around in Class: The few days after the course listings come out for the following semester are some of the most exciting on campus, because everyone begins to pour over the options. Check out the cool descriptions and interestingly-titled courses, of course, but also look for courses that just seem interesting or those that fall in line with passions you may have forgotten about. Go through the catalog and highlight anything that seems interesting to you. Then go to a number of different classes during the first two weeks of the semester (“add/drop period”) and see what it’s like. Even if you’re *good* at chemistry, if sitting in the lecture makes you want to cry, you might want to try something new. Look in the catalog to see where you highlighted a number of courses and where you stayed engaged in class- you may have found a good academic home.

6. Don’t Get Caught Up in “Shoulds:" What you “should” major in has largely become a thing of the past, especially for Arts and Sciences students. Professional schools, including medical school and law school, care more about your passion and dedication to academics than the choice of a specific, stereotypical major (Pre-meds don’t have to major in Biology! Future lawyers don’t have to focus on Political Science!) Of course, you should talk to your advisors about your plans, but generally, it’s more important to do well in a subject you enjoy than it is to major in something just to make your resume look better.

7. Be a Little Daring: Mix it up! Think about adding a minor, or even a double major, if you’re having a hard time deciding between a few different areas of interest. Many majors are extremely flexible with only minimal requirements and many options for fulfilling them, meaning it’s easy to combine your interests to create something that “fits” you best. You can also declare a general “area” major in things like “Natural Sciences” and “Social Sciences”, if you prefer a wider variety of academic offerings. If even that doesn’t suit you, you can design your own major too. A senior this year graduated with a “design your own” major in Social Justice, combining History, Sociology, Political Science, and ‘Women, Gender, and Sexuality’ classes. There are lots of options so you can be sure to find something that works for you.

8. Don’t be Afraid of Change: It’s ok, even expected, that you will change your major at least once, if not many times, during your college career. New, interesting classes and summer internship experiences can open your eyes to new opportunities you may not have thought about. In most cases, it’s quite easy to change your major, both within and across the two undergraduate schools. Just talk to your advisors and let them know what’s going on; they can work with you to make a plan that will aid in your transition to a new department.

9. Don’t Define Yourself by Your Major: Though your major (along with your home state) was probably how you introduced yourself to everyone during Freshman Orientation, you’re not bound to define yourself that way for the rest of your life. Your extracurricular activities, your other interests, your work experiences, and your general personal goals will help to shape you into a complete person instead of just a department name. Don’t be afraid to take an acting class or try out for a play if you’re a BME major, and don’t shy away from a materials science guest lecturer just because you’re an art historian. College is a time for new experiences, and that requires a little initiative on your part to make yourself interesting!

10. Follow your heart: In the end, there are many factors that go into making a decision about what to major in, but if the classes don’t make you happy or you’re not engaged, it’s pointless. College shouldn’t be about what your parents want you to major in or about impressing those kids from high school- it should be about enriching your knowledge in a subject you enjoy. After all is said and done, make sure you’re happy and everything else will work out too.