There are hundreds of different university and college educational programs in the United States. Specializing within a field is also referred to as choosing a major. When choosing a major, consider what is most important to you.
What are you interested in? Are you logical, artistic, technical, or business minded?
What are the opportunities in the field today and in the future? What are your chances of getting a job using your education?
What kind of compensation can you expect? Is it a high or low paying occupation?
Where would you like to live after graduation? What is the opportunity to find a job in the area where you want to live? If you are moving back or to another country, how do they evaluate my education and does it require accreditation to be valid?
As an undergraduate student, choosing a major is not as important as for a graduate student. The reason is that undergraduate studies take four years (of which the first two years are dedicated mostly to general education). During this time, students have the opportunity to change majors as many times as they like. Some undergraduate students are undecided until graduation when they finally choose a major.
M ore useful stuff: Choosing your Major
As an undergraduate student, choosing a major is not as important as for a graduate student. The reason is that undergraduate studies take four years (of which the first two years are dedicated mostly to general education). During this time, students have the opportunity to change majors as many times as they like. Some undergraduate students are undecided until graduation when they finally choose a major.
Graduate students, on the other hand, usually only study for two years. These students have to decide from the start which field they would like to study. Graduate students do however have some time to decide their specialization within the major field of study they have chosen. For instance a graduate business student might decide that he wants to concentrate in finance. In other words, graduate students do have some flexibility but not as much as undergraduate students. Please read more about undergraduate and graduate degrees in the sections below. For a list of common undergraduate majors, refer to the Undergraduate Major List appendix.
Graduate students, on the other hand, usually only study for two years. These students have to decide from the start which field they would like to study. Graduate students do however have some time to decide their specialization within the field they have chosen. For instance, a graduate business student might decide that he wants to concentrate in finance. In other words, graduate students do have some flexibility but not as much as undergraduate students. Please read more about undergraduate and graduate degrees in the sections below.
Many students are not sure exactly what they would like to study. Other students begin with one major just to realize that they don’t enjoy it. One advantage with the educational system in the United States is that it is fairly easy to change the direction once you have already begun. This is especially true during the first two years when students complete the general education requirements of a four-year degree.
One good way to find out if you actually like one field over another is to actually try it. Let’s say that you always been interested in law. By picking only one or two law classed during a semester, you will get a good idea if this would be something you would like to concentrate on. Best of all, you can use these classes as electives which means that you will not have wasted any time or money on giving it a try. We will be discussing electives next.
Another advantage of the American educational system is that it makes it possible to customize your degree in a number of different ways. Most majors require students to complete selected course work but gives the student the option of selecting the remaining. Take a look at the Example of General Education Requirements in the appendix for example. For instance, you might be a Political Science student with International Relations as a major but your real interest is within international trade. After completing the mandatory major course work, you still have 30 units to complete. These courses are often referred to as electives. You can now choose from a number of different classes that can make up the 30 units and several of them probably relates to your particular interest within your field.
