Dear Exploratory Parent,

The purpose of this Parent's Guide is to provide you with information about exploring majors at Indiana University, as well as recommendations for how you can help your son or daughter make good decisions about their major at IU. While I believe that starting out as an exploratory student is the best way for a student to begin their college education, exploring and choosing a major can be overwhelming at times. However, by following a step-by-step process, one step at a time, it can become exciting and rewarding to explore all the academic options at IU. And setting goals for when to complete each step can ensure that your student will stay on track to graduate on time. Your participation and encouragement can be very helpful. Here’s some information and suggestions for getting involved in your daughter’s or son’s major exploration at IU. If you have further questions at any time, please send an email to me at explore@indiana.edu or call me at (812) 855-0568.

Thomas Kenyon
Coordinator of Exploratory Student Resources
University Division, Indiana University Bloomington

Can students be exploratory and graduate in four years at Indiana University?

Yes, students can enter IU declared exploratory, then choose their major, and graduate in four years. There is a limit of course to how long a student can explore before declaring their specific major and be able to complete their bachelor degree on time. It depends on the courses taken and major chosen, but if a student decides by the end of their first year, they should be able to graduate in four years. In order to do this, it is important that students begin their exploration process early in the first semester. As a parent, you can help by checking with your son or daughter during the second or third week of the first semester to remind them to get started. They can get started at Steps to choose or change your major, or at Search for Majors by your interests. You should also encourage them to attend a Choosing Your Major Workshop on campus.

Majors, Minors and Certificates

Your son or daughter should be exploring all the academic options offered at Indiana University. This includes minors and certificates as well as majors. With minimal careful planning—and every student has an assigned academic advisor to help them—one to three minors or certificates can be added to many majors at IU, with graduation still achievable in four years. Adding minors and certificates to a major in a student’s academic program makes studying more interesting and enhances graduation credentials and career opportunities. So encourage your student to explore minors and certificates as well as majors. You will find a list of IU majors at Search for majors by degree-granting school, and a list of minors and certificates as well as exploration instructions at Enhance your major with minors, certificates, experience, and leadership.

Adding Leadership and Experience

In addition to studying well for good grades, and building breadth in their degree with minors and certificates, your daughter or son can enhance their career opportunities by adding leadership and experience to their resume. There are many ways to get experience and demonstrate leadership at IU. Students should consider Overseas Study, internships, volunteer work, and involvement in campus activities and organizations. You will find information about all of these opportunities at Enhance your major with minors, certificates, experience, and leadership.

How is a student’s major choice related to their career goals?

Many college freshmen think that they should make their career decision first and then base their major decision primarily on their career goal. There are, however, very few professional careers that require a specific major. It is important to know that there are a few professional career fields that have a licensing requirement or qualifying exam that indicates the need to pursue a specific undergraduate major. But most professional career do not have any specific requirements, and for all of those careers you have considerable flexibility in your choice of major. Good grades, communication and technical skills, writing and analytical ability, experience and leadership are typically more important than major for professional jobs or graduate school admission.

Resources and Services for Academic Exploration at IU

At Indiana University, students can meet with their Academic Advisor in the University Division.  The freshmen advising offices are located in each student's residence hall.  Students can also meet with Career Counselors at the Career Development Center. All of the academic departments have information available online for students, and every degree-granting school has a career services office as well. There is a Career Resource Library in the Career Development Center and a Career Reference Collection in the Herman B Wells Library. The Career Reference Collection is also available online. Major and career fairs, events, and programs are scheduled throughout the academic year. Exploratory Student Resources provides Choosing Your Major Workshops and this Explore Majors at IU website. The links on this website lead to academic information, career information, and step-by-step instructions for exploring all the academic options at IU and choosing a major.

Your Timely Reminders Can Help!

Here is a list of some times during the first academic year when you can help by talking with your daughter or son to provide a timely reminder or check to see if they are on track in their major exploration and decision-making process:

Welcome Week
During Welcome Week in August–on Thursday–students should attend the Exploratory Academic Information session. Students meet with their assigned Academic Advisor in their residence hall on Friday. Check Orientation’s Welcome Week schedule for locations and times.

By Mid September
Students should have visited this Explore Majors at IU website.

By End of September
Students should have attended a Choosing Your Major Workshop. They should have also attended or at least scheduled their first individual appointment with their Academic Advisor.

October to November
Students should be following the steps they learned about in the Choosing Your Major Workshop. They can also learn about or review these exploration and decision-making steps at Steps to choose or change your major on this website.

December
Study for final exams! Students should finish their preliminary exploration activities and meet with their Academic Advisor to review their progress and schedule their next advisor planning appointment for January.

January to April
Students should continue following their exploration and decision-making steps, getting help at each step along the way, by meeting with their Academic Advisor and continuing to utilize all the resources on this website. Their goal should be to choose their major by mid – April, which is when they will be registering for their fall sophomore semester classes. When they are ready to declare their major, they just need to see their advisor to officially declare their IU major!