05-06 Undergrad Catalog

BYU undergraduates should develop competence in at least one area of concentration. Competence generally demands study in depth. Such in-depth study helps prepare students for their life’s work; it also teaches them that genuine understanding for any subject requires exploring it fully. Students normally acquire such depth from their major and minor fields. (The Aims of a BYU Education)

In addition to completing the university core, each student must choose a specialized area of study—a major. Requirements vary considerably from major to major, but all majors share in common a sequential development from introductory foundation courses to those that expect increasingly greater depth and sophistication. As the aims indicate, “By the time they graduate, students should grasp their discipline’s essential knowledge and skills . . . , and many should have participated in scholarly or creative activities that let them demonstrate their mastery.” Within this sequential development, prerequisites—whether within or outside the major department—help prepare students for subsequent, more focused work in the major. Some majors also require allied course work in related fields outside the major proper.

Aptitudes, Interests, and Objectives

Success in a major depends upon the right combination of interests, skills, effort, and aptitudes. Students who choose a major only because of its job possibilities and fail to consider their own interests and aptitudes will probably be disappointed. Some majors, particularly those in professional programs (e.g., accounting) lead directly to employment in a particular field; others (e.g., philosophy) provide a rich liberal arts preparation for subsequent graduate study or professional programs (e.g., law) but may not track as directly into employment in the field of the major. Liberal arts majors do open up a great variety of employment opportunities, but students majoring in such fields need to be more conscious of exploring such opportunities over the course of the major.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The only things that can be counted on in the future are change and a continued knowledge explosion. Some futurists have estimated that today’s high school graduates will be in five to seven different careers during their lifetime. Flexibility and adaptability, learning how to learn, and learning to think carefully and critically are the aims of a strong liberal arts education.

For some careers a degree in a particular major is not required. Employers respond favorably to applicants who have developed analytical skills, who have the ability to reason abstractly, and who have learned to communicate precisely and effectively.

Choosing a Major

Although some students may change their major several times before arriving at a “good fit,” bouncing from major to major can prove to be costly in both time and money. Careful and thoughtful consideration before choosing a major will reduce the time to graduation and help make the most of the time at BYU. Major requirements and course descriptions can be found in the Academic Departments/Schools/Areas, Degrees, and Courses section of this catalog. Students may find some combination of the following action steps useful in selecting a major:

Review catalog information pertaining to undergraduate majors. A list of majors can be found in the Alphabetical List of Undergraduate Majors at Brigham Young University section of this catalog. Detailed information on each major is included in the respective Academic Departments/Schools/Areas, Degrees, and Courses section of the catalog.
Meet as often as needed with an open major advisor in the University Advisement Center (UAC). Open major advisors are available to help students choose a major or career path. Contact them at 2500 WSC, (801) 422-3826, or e-mail to university_advisement@byu.edu. You can also access their Web page at http://www.byu.edu/ccc/uac/openadv.php.
Choose university core requirements carefully. Once a major is chosen, a college advisement center can help in the selection of classes that both satisfy university core requirements and expose students to the core subject matter of a major or career.
Enroll in a career exploration course or career workshop. Student Development (StDev) 117, Career Exploration, is a 2-credit course designed to help students choose a major and a career path. In addition, workshops on this subject are available in the Career and Learning Information Center (2590 WSC). These workshops last for one hour and are free of charge. Juniors and seniors may want to take StDev 317, Career Transitions, a 1-credit hour course designed to help upper-division students focus on career placement and take final steps into the workforce. This course is offered only on the block.
Visit the Career Learning Information Center (CLIC). The CLIC (2590 WSC) has hundreds of printed and electronic resources designed to help students educate themselves about majors and career options so that they can make informed decisions. Discover, a Web-based self-assessment and career exploration program, and the book From Major to Career, which contains many tips for turning academic majors into careers, are available in the CLIC. Both of these tools, along with several others, are also available on the Web at http://www.byu.edu/ccc/clic.
Complete a career interest inventory. The University Advisement Center (2500 WSC) administers career interest inventories that help students match their interests with a major or career. There is a small fee for these tests.
Learn, firsthand, about potential careers. Part-time work, summer employment, internships, and volunteer work provide useful opportunities for students to collect information about what a specific career entails and to make contacts that will help them further their career goals. In addition, students might ask relatives or friends doing the kind of work they are interested in if they can be their “shadow” for a day, or perhaps longer. Alternatively, students might interview individuals in these positions, asking them about their work, the associated academic prerequisites, and so forth. For more information, click From Major to Career at http://www.byu.edu/ccc/.
Take introductory or seminar courses for majors/careers being considered. BYU offers seminar courses for pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-optometry, pre-law, and many of the engineering majors. There are other introductory courses such as Introduction to the English Major (Engl 195), Historian’s Craft (Hist 200), and Introduction to International Studies (IAS 100) that may be helpful. Information on these courses is available through college advisement centers.
Pursue multiple options. When trying to choose between two majors, take courses that will fill major and minor requirements for both. When deciding which of the two will be the major, the other choice can possibly become a minor.
Seek advice from the faculty. Faculty members who teach and mentor in a particular major understand the purposes of the major program, its array of courses, and the opportunities available to those who complete it. Students should identify an appropriate member of the faculty and ask for assistance, which will often require an appointment.
Make a firm commitment. Pursuing a major with a firm commitment to go beyond its requirements will bring satisfaction and ensure future opportunities. Tentative or half-hearted completion of minimum requirements of any major will lead only to discouragement and detachment. Students are encouraged to choose carefully, trust their choice, and diligently pursue their studies in the major.
Learn about deadlines, prerequisites, and application requirements for limited-enrollment programs. Some majors have limited enrollment and only accept students by application. Limited-enrollment programs are identified with an asterisk (*) in the list of majors referred to in step 1. Students should become familiar with the prerequisite courses required for limited-enrollment majors several semesters before they plan to apply. When applying to limited-enrollment programs, students should have a backup plan in case they are not accepted. Advisors in the University Advisement Center can help develop alternative academic plans for reaching a given career objective.