Students may apply for a major at any time after the drop/add period in the semester in which they have reached second-semester sophomore standing.  Students are encouraged to declare a major after the end of drop/add and before the start of on-line pre-registration.  Students are encouraged to have conversations with their faculty advisors, the sophomore class dean, department chairs, advising experts, professors, parents, and other students as they make this decision.  Other forms of support for students at this stage are:

  • Department- and program-sponsored Open Houses in October/November for prospective majors, hosted by faculty.
  • Resources in the Career Resource Center that allow students to discover the many different opportunities and "next steps" after graduating from a liberal arts institution.
  • The many student organizations and events, on campus and in the community, through which students can explore different interests and develop leadership and other skills.
  • Workshops on major declaration offered jointly by the Career Resource Center and Deans' Office

What next?

My plan was to eventually become a high school English teacher, and I was afraid that majoring in religion (which I was going to do solely, at first) would prevent me from doing so. I even called the Teachers College at Columbia University, and spoke to an Admissions officer there about my concern. He reassured me that it does not make a difference, and I realized that I should make the most of my time at Wesleyan by studying out of interest, not out of need. That's what I did, and I was extremely happy as a religion and English double major.

--Lily Traub '04