Declare a Major! Do I have to?

Representatives from top companies including Dell, Enterprise, Target Corporation, NASA and Geico conducted 1,473 on-campus interviews with students during the 2007-08 year.

If you are like most students entrenched in the college search process, you cannot count the number of times you have heard, “What is your major?” If you can easily answer that question—good for you! If you can’t—don’t worry! Thousands of successful students started their university careers without a major in mind. Here are some tips to help you through your personal exploration of the many options open to you.

1

You can learn a lot about a major just by browsing through some of the required textbooks, reading course syllabi and sitting in on a few class meetings. The UM Office of Enrollment Services, for instance, offers “Ole Miss Student for a Day” programs to give prospective students an opportunity to attend a class in a variety of academic programs.

2

Talk to students enrolled in the majors you are considering. Ask them about their favorite class, their least favorite class and their most challenging class. Ask them about their professors’ teaching styles, their availability to students and their class sizes. Most universities post teacher evaluations publicly on their Web sites. Admitted UM students can log on to their my.OleMiss.edu account to view teacher evaluations from past semesters.

3

Visit the academic support/advising center on your college campus. Advisers at the Ole Miss Academic Support Center (ASC) can help you select classes that will satisfy core university requirements while you explore potential majors. ASC advisers stay current with curricular requirements for all programs offered at the university.   

Major vs. Career

Picking a major and picking a career are basically the same things, right? Wrong.

Remember that choosing a major will not determine your lifelong career. Studies have shown that within 10 years after graduation, most people are working in careers that are not directly connected to their undergraduate majors. Just as some students change their minds about their majors, some graduates change their minds about their careers. Consequently, the current emphasis in career planning at the undergraduate level is on the development of general, transferable skills (for example, writing, speaking, computer literacy, problem solving and team building) that employers want and that graduates will need to adjust to rapidly changing careers.

The Career Center at Ole Miss offers valuable services that help UM students make informed career choices—take advantage of them:

  • Allow Career Center staff to help you build a resume and find internship opportunities that suit your personality and personal skill set.
  • Attend as many UM career fairs as possible.
  • Join the online network that allows you to get your name out to future employers. At UM, Career Links, a joint effort of the Career Center and the Alumni Association, is an online resource that connects students with alumni and friends of Ole Miss who volunteer to serve as mentors to students in a variety of fields.