WSU students know all too well the issues and social stigma involved with the act of changing majors. Many often view changing majors as a risky process that ultimately adds time and money onto an individual’s college education. In reality, changing majors is a simple and common process for students that can come with significant benefits.

Franklin Hill, academic adviser of the history department, said about 50 percent of students he’s interacted with have switched their major.

This in turn raises the question of why such a large amount of students end up deciding to change their major.

Hill said in his experience students were motivated to change their major by parental advice, significant personal interest in a new subject area, to take an alternative path to their ideal career or simply because they hated the subject matter they were originally in.

While each of these motivations may have their own unique role in a student’s decision to change their major, all of them have the student’s self-fulfillment in mind.

“Sometimes students come to WSU and they just don’t know what they want to do. And they might sample several different majors before they finally settle on the one that’s correct for them,” Hill said.

Regardless of why students switch majors, the potential benefits are significant, and not just in financial terms. Students often switch their major to find a career that they see as interesting, resulting in a productive, fulfilled career path. The value of going to work in a career in which an individual feels fulfilled and productive is immeasurable, and should be the primary consideration when a student changes their major.

WSU provides the option for students to explore alternate academic interests through ensuring that all students fulfill University Common Requirements, better known as UCORE classes. UCORE classes intentionally make students take courses outside of their normal field of study, which in turn exposes students to new subject areas.

Students may also come to WSU with an idea of what career field they want to work in but will switch their major to better fit their ideal career.

“I just knew that to get into the field that I wanted to get into, kinesiology was a path. But there were other paths to take and nutrition was just more of an interest,” said Max Sorenson, WSU nutrition major.

Sorenson switched his major from kinesiology to nutrition in order to complete his goal of becoming a dietitian, noting the change eliminated a large amount of personal stress.

Changing majors still is a major decision for a college student to make, and could come with additional years spent in school, and therefore additional money spent as well. Financial circumstances play a large role in motivating students to either keep or change their major, especially considering the major financial investment that comes with getting a university education. However, these consequences can be avoided if a student changes their major at the right time.

“It all depends when,” Hill said. “If you’re gonna make the change, make the change early. So that you can still graduate in four years.”

The decision to change majors is likely something that every college student considers at some point in their educational experience, which makes perfect sense. With the amount of money that must be poured into a university education, it is normal for students to sometimes debate the rewards of remaining in their major, especially at moments of academic struggle.

Ultimately, while the decision to change majors is a significant decision with potentially significant consequences, the benefits and results of graduating with a degree in a major that one is content and fulfilled in are invaluable.