Thinking about Changing Your Major?
Is your major not quite what you thought it would be? If you are feeling this way you are not alone.
Let the Office of Academic Advising help! We meet with many students considering a major change. Our advisors will help you connect your interests and goals with UNI major and minor options.
Reasons to Consider Changing a Major
- Lack of interest in your chosen field
- Discovering a strong interest for a different subject
- Finding a different academic program to be a better match for your interest and skills
- Desire for a different career path
- Could include higher salary and benefits
- Better direction for getting into a graduate program
- Academic challenges and difficulties in meeting the needs of a particular program
- Concern about graduating or gpa
- You have specific career goals that a new major could help you to better reach
- You feel impartial to your major but are afraid to explore other options
Questions to Ask Yourself First
- Will changing majors affect your graduation date? If so, would that be worth it?
- Can you double major or add a minor to reach your goals?
- Can you still reach your career goals with your current major?
- What implications come from staying in your major?
- What repercussions come from changing your major?
- Will you still feel this way in a week? A month? Next Semester?
In Which of These Areas Do You Need More Information?
- Knowing My Personality Better
- Myers-Briggs (MBTI) - the MBTI is a personality assessment that provides students a four-letter personality type. Students can take a free version of the assessment to get their personality type, then schedule an appointment with an academic advisor to review their results and discuss how this relates to their major.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
- Understanding My Interests
- Career Cruising is a free online career assessment with detailed career information and personal stories from current working professionals. Students can take the assessment and schedule a follow-up appointment with an advisor to review and interpret their results.
- Strong Inventory (Holland Code) - this self-assessment is an interest inventory to help students understand their interests and identify possible career paths based on their personality. Students can take the official assessment for $16, which is charged to their U-bill and includes an individual meeting with an academic advisor to provide an in-depth interpretation of your results. Students should contact the Office of Academic Advising at 319-273-3406 or academic-advising@uni.edu for more information on how to take the Strong Inventory.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
- Career Cruising is a free online career assessment with detailed career information and personal stories from current working professionals. Students can take the assessment and schedule a follow-up appointment with an advisor to review and interpret their results.
- What are my Values
Evaluate Work Values - complete this worksheet or online assessment to help identify which values may be more important for a work environment. After completing the one or both of these, students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with an academic advisor to review their results.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
- Identifying My Skills
Rate your level of expertise in key workplace skills on careeronestop skills matchmaker and to learn about career options that may be a good fit.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
- What Academic Major Options are Available
All UNI major, minor and certificate options can be found at majors.uni.edu. Another great resource to explore is the videos related to UNI majors on the University of Northern Iowa YouTube playlist.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
- I Need More Career Information
Through the Occupational Outlook Handbook, learn more about what workers do; the work environment; education, training, and other qualifications; pay; the job outlook; information on state and area data; similar occupations; and sources of additional information. Check out our Major Handouts and Senior Stories to learn more about what UNI graduates have done with their programs of study.
Connect with an academic advisor from the Office of Academic Advising.
How Have we Helped our Major Changers?
Kim
I started as a History major, but realized I was not enjoying the History courses I was enrolled in. That same semester I was also enrolled in a Political Science course and enjoyed it enough I began looking into changing my major. I completed Career Cruising, attended Majors in Minutes with my roommate, and reviewed the course catalog to compare major requirements. I also looked into careers in my major to know if it was the right fit for me. The discovery process, as frustrating as the journey was at times, was also a lot of fun. Let the fun guide you.
Adelyn
My original major was Vocal Performance, but once I realized I value consistent work, I began considering other options. The Office of Academic Advising reached out after I completed a survey saying I was thinking about changing my major so I set up a meeting to talk about my options. After meeting with an advisor I started the process of finding a new major that felt like a better fit for me. UNI is a really good place to be if you're thinking about changing your major!
