What SHOULD YOU study? Tips to help students choose a college major

Millions of students attend college after high school.

The Education Data Initiative says there were 18,939,568 people enrolled in colleges in the United States in 2023.

At some point in their pursuit of post-secondary education, students will need to choose a major.

Choosing a major can be challenging for students who have various interests and/or did well in multiple subjects in high school.

The good news is that once a major is chosen, it isn’t set in stone. Many students change their majors as they are exposed to different coursework in college.

Here are a few ideas for choosing a major:

• Don’t be pressured by family. Some students simply choose “the family business” route and select the same school and major as one or both of their parents. Make this a well-informed choice that considers various aspects and not just what Mom or Dad do for a living.

• Select a subject you enjoy. You do not want to be slugging through the next four or more years of school studying topics that bore you. Avoid potential burnout by choosing a major that interests you and offers a future.

• Research a related industry. Investigate which jobs have higher rates of openings and compare other factors like earning potential. While the goal is not simply to select the major that will lead to a job with the highest earning potential, you should consider majors that will lead to jobs that are stable and offer growth potential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a good start for data. It currently lists wind turbine service technicians and nurse practitioners as the fastest-growing occupations.

• Determine how rigorous the coursework will be. Some majors feature more rigorous coursework than others. If you know that marathon study sessions and lots of research or writing projects are going to lead to extensive stress, it is probably best to consider another course of study. Indiana University Bloomington determined the most difficult majors based on the average time students spent per week preparing included architecture, chemical engineering and aeronautical engineering. Public relations, communications and criminal justice were among the less demanding majors, though it’s important to note that excelling in any course of study requires hard work and commitment.

• Check in with your academic adviser. Academic advisers can guide you by offering career assessment quizzes and going over your grades. Such assessments may reveal skills that align well with certain fields of study.

• Delay the decision. If you truly do not know what you want to study, enroll in school undeclared. This will give you a chance to explore some general education “core” classes and feel out a school before making a larger commitment. Typically colleges will require a declaration of major by the end of sophomore year to allow enough time for completing that major’s required courses.

Popular majors among modern college students

College students’ choice of majors can set them on a path toward rewarding and lucrative careers.

Though a career may not be foremost on the minds of students as they graduate high school and inch closer to the start of college, choice of major merits consideration, even among students who have yet to receive their high school diplomas.

Many college students enroll in school as undeclared, while others may pick a major without realizing what it requires and which career path it might set them on.

That might explain why it’s so common for college students to switch majors.

Though data indicating how many students switch majors is somewhat dated, one study from the U.S. Department of Education indicated about one in five students changed their majors at least once while pursuing a bachelor’s degree. With that in mind, students may want to consider some popular majors as they try to determine which path to take in college.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than half of the 2.1 million bachelor’s degrees awarded at United States colleges and universities in the 2020-21 school year were concentrated in six fields of study.

In addition, the NCES reports that the following are the six most popular degrees from that academic year.

1. Business: Almost one in five bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2020-21 were in the field of business.

2. Health professions: This field accounted for 13% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2020-21. Common specializations include health sciences, health care administration, nursing and sports medicine.

3. Social sciences and history: NCES data indicates nearly one in 10 students majored in a social science in 2020-21. This includes specializations such as history, political science and sociology.

4. Engineering: Demand for engineers is expected to rise in the coming decades, and that should bode well for the 126,000 students who earned bachelor’s degrees in engineering in 2020-21.

5. Biological and biomedical sciences: Bachelor’s degrees awarded in biological and biomedical sciences increased by 46% between the 2010-11 and 2020-21 school years.

6. Psychology: NCES data indicates degrees in psychology accounted for 6% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2020-21.

— Metro Editorial Services