By Anna Newnum
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers over 60 majors, 70 minors, and 16 certificates. Choosing a major is a big decision, and there's no single right way to do it. Whether you're still exploring or looking to build on the major you already have, here are two things worth considering.
What are you learning that excites you?
Go for your interests. You are investing a lot into earning a degree, so choose one that speaks to you personally and to your passions. Students who choose majors they love graduate with higher grade point averages.
Seren, a double major in biology and anthropology, added the ancient civilization minor to her program of study for the interest: “I love how I can take courses on topics that I have always been interested in but never had a formal class about it. I loved taking Egyptian hieroglyphics or classical mythology classes because they're things I wanted to learn more about growing up but never got the chance!”
Lauren, a double major in English and biology values the complementary nature of her majors and how they align with her career goals in genetic counseling: “In my STEM classes, I am learning the biological knowledge needed for [genetic counseling] and growing my understanding of genetics. In my English classes, I get to learn about how people communicate and develop my own communication style.”
Lauren’s double majors also speak to her passions. “In seventh grade I took a life science course where I first learned about Punnett squares. That was the moment I knew I wanted to study genetics!" said Lauren. "As for English, I love reading and would devour books as a kid. When I visited Iowa and fell in love with the campus, I knew I had to take advantage of the amazing writing program here. So, my choice to double major stemmed both from my passions and from a desire to engage in all the university has to offer.”
Do you have a particular career path in mind?
Most career paths can be taken from any variety of majors, but perhaps some would benefit from particular skills and knowledge you can gain through a major, minor, or certificate.
Even though her career interests have changed over time, “both of my majors have remained the same since my first semester at Iowa, allowing me to take many advanced courses and even other courses outside of my departments,” Seren said.
Most of what you learn at university will be transferable into a variety of skills and knowledge, such as critical thinking, communication, conflict resolution, and problem solving. These are useful skills in business, medicine, or public service, among many other fields. The study of the liberal arts and sciences sets us up to be lifelong learners. Most of us change our careers many times or continue to grow into new roles within the same career field. What you learn at UI will stay with you, but how you learned to learn will help you continue to grow long into your alumni years.
You can search all the majors, minors, and certificates on the CLAS website. Declaring majors will require advisor assistance, while minors and certificates can be declared by students in MyUI.
View all University of Iowa's majors, minors, and certificates here.