Advisement Resources

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 by using the QuickSearch feature or by using the list of majors. Students may find some combination of the following action steps useful in selecting a major:

1. 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.
2. 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.ccc.byu.edu/uac/openadv.php.
3. 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: