Major and Career Exploration offers many services such as free online assessments, individual career counseling with a licensed professional, workshops, and resources on the web to help you determine and investigate major and career options.

Yes. Guidance is available through our office. You can use our online assessment tools, attend workshops, and you can make an appointment with a career counselor to help you one-on-one in the process of selecting a major. Call (602) 496-0589 or email majorexploration@asu.edu.

Not entirely. Assessment tools help you clarify your interests, skills, and values. These tools are one part of the process of selecting a major or career and are often used with an advisor or counselor.

A major is a concentration of courses that give a student a basic knowledge of a field of study. A major prepares you to go on for graduate work in the same field or for particular types of professions. A chemistry major, for example, typically prepares a student to take a master’s degree in chemistry or to take a job as a chemist in a drug company. Another way to view a major is that it can provide you with more general skills that can lead to more a wide array of career goals after college, which may or may not be directly related to the content of the major. For example, while some students majoring in English will go onto graduate school in English or journalism, others may use this major to consider law school or to explore jobs after college that value literary and writing skills (such as advertising, marketing, public relations, teaching). Ideally, students should pursue majors that reflect some aspects of their interests and values as well as abilities. Naturally, you will not know all of these aspects of yourself immediately upon entering ASU; we provide many of the tools that you will need to help you move forward with your educational and career plans.

Majors are offered by departments within a college or school. An economics major may be housed within a college of arts and science or a college of business. The school or college will require you to take courses in the fields beyond your major. For instance, an economics major may be required to take specific statistics, history, and math courses. Contact an advisor in the major you are interested in pursuing to determine eligibility and to complete the change-of-major process.

Visit the Degree Search for a list of all majors, minors, and certificate options available at ASU.

Choosing a major does not lock you into a life sentence in one job or field. People change careers three to five times during their lifetime. But investing the time now in exploring and choosing a major or career direction can prevent unnecessary waste of time, money, or challenges down the road.

Yes. Many new ASU students are exploratory and at least half of all students change their major at least once.

Career fields are continuously being created and salary ranges and job market trends continuously fluctuate. Most people achieve long-term financial success when they choose a career they truly enjoy.

Some professions such as accountant, medical doctor, architect, or engineer require specialized expertise; however, you can follow many career paths with any major. By completing a degree, you will have knowledge, experiences, and critical-thinking skills that are valuable to a variety of employers.

You may want to start by making an appointment with a career counselor who can help you identify your interests, values, and goals and explore your many options in this emotional decision-making process. You can make an appointment by calling (602) 496-0589 or email majorexploration@asu.edu for free career counseling.

Yes. You may discover a major that you would have never considered before going through the process of exploring your many possibilities. And many resources are available to University College students to help you explore.

You can make an appointment with a Major and Career Exploration counselor to assist you with the process of exploration. You can attend one of the Major and Career Exploration workshops. Many resources are available on campus to help you in your career development.

Choosing a minor is a personal decision. A minor gives you the opportunity to study an additional area of interest.

If you have completed the Explore, Discover, and Decide process outlined on the Major and Career Exploration Web site and are still having difficulty choosing a major, we recommend that you meet with a University College advisor or contact Major and Career Exploration by calling (602) 496-0589 or email majorexploration@asu.edu for free career counseling.