Major Exploration
Choosing a major can feel overwhelming, but there’s no need to stress—just pick the option that best matches where you are in your exploration journey.
How to use
Every student's starting place is different. Select the option on the left that most closely describes where you are now in your major exploration.
Completely undecided – Where do I start?
So, you're completely undecided. Many students are in the same position as you. The first step we will take is to gather information, both about yourself and what majors are out there so you can make the most informed decision for yourself.
Understanding your interests, strengths and values is the first step toward choosing the right major. Use these self-assessment questions to identify what aligns best with who you are.
Get to know yourself
Use the Wandering Map to explore your interests, values and skills—and start brainstorming majors that fit you.
| Interests | The ideal major teaches you a topic you want to learn about: How do you spend your free time? What do you do for fun? What kind of classes do you like? |
|---|---|
| Abilities | The ideal major plays to your natural strengths: What subjects come natural to you? Are there subjects that are particularly difficult? Outside of academics, what are your talents? In what areas have you received awards and recognition? |
| Values | The ideal major aligns with things that are important to you: What does meaningful work look like to you? What must you achieve in life to be happy? (money, prestige, service to others, etc.) What kind of lifestyle do you desire? (how much money might it require?) What does family want you to pursue/achieve? |
Assessments
- Interests: What do you enjoy doing—hobbies, activities or how you spend free time? Ideally, your interests align with your studies and career. Use the free O*NET Interest Profiler and Truity Holland Code Career Test to explore careers and majors that match your interests.
- Abilities: What skills do you have? These free tools—CA Career Zone Skills Profiler and CareerOneStop’s Skills Matcher—match your skills to careers and related majors.
- Values: Your values guide your actions. Find careers and majors that align with them using the free values assessment at Myplan.com.
Understanding your interests, strengths and values is the first step toward choosing the right major. Use these self-assessment questions to identify what aligns best with who you are.
Assessment results
While every student would love an assessment that tells them exactly what the right major or career would be right for them, no assessment is perfect. The results of the assessments should not be the only options to consider, but instead be used as a platform to build off of with ideas of your own. After completing at least one assessment, we recommend you print the results and bring it with you to review with your UAC Counselor who can help you think through options that might fit you.
Learn about majors
Major Myth Busters
Before we look into our majors, it is important to understand some of the common misconceptions about majors.
| Myth / Topic | Reality |
|---|---|
| Majors = Careers | The reality is you can study any major and pursue any career. It makes sense however, the more technical a field you're interested in, the more technical coursework you want to take. For example, it's hard to pursue an engineering job without an engineering degree. For most fields, you can study whatever you want and still pursue that career path. The reality is that most bachelor degrees are not teaching technical skills. You'll want to build on those through work, volunteer and internship opportunities. |
| I have to major in _ to make money | It may be true that computer science and engineering positions may pay more in general, but those fields only fit so many of us. Salaries for graduates within specific majors really vary greatly. It depends what you want to do for your career. If you want to make money in your field of study, you want to build skills you can market specifically for your field to be more successful. |
| I can't find a job with this major | Most of the time, a major isn't the most important thing when it comes to finding a job. What's on your resume? How have you been building your skills and gaining experience towards whatever your career path is? |
SFSU Majors
At SFSU, our majors are housed within 6 colleges. Identifying the college where your majors lie can assist you in narrowing your major options. Learn more about All SFSU programs through the tool in the callout box.
Once you’re familiar with the colleges, browse the list of SFSU majors and mark any that spark your interest in our Gut Check Exercise—even ones you’re only curious about.
Exploring – I need help exploring
Learn about requirements and timelines in SFSU’s program finder tool.
- Learn about the major requirements
- Find the Bachelor’s Degree option for your major, read about the major and look over the Overview of learning outcomes to see if the major matches your interests
- Go over the degree requirements and see if the courses match your interests
- Review the First-Time Student Roadmap to see a generic course sequence students typically follow to complete their degree
- Does the sequence fit your timeline to degree?
- Read about what types of fields students typically pursue after graduation
- Etc. can highlight Program learning outcomes or program scope to make sure it is in alignment with student interests
Take introductory courses
Some majors offer lower division introduction courses which are an excellent way to try out a major. If one of your potential majors offers one, take it next semester.
Talk to a major advisor in each area of interest
Every major department has faculty advisors who advise students about the major and discipline. They're not only your instructors, but also experts in the field. Speak to a faculty advisor to gain insight into your potential major.
Find your major department on SFSU’s program finder. Once you're there, go to your school/department where you can find contact information for your faculty advisor. Once you locate your faculty advisor, schedule an appointment or visit them during their drop-in advising hours.
Join related student organizations
Find a student organization that relates to your field of interest. You can join the actual student group/organization or just attend a meeting to find out what they're about first. Talking to students in your potential major and field of interest gives you the student perspective.
Conduct an informational interview
Job shadowing and informational interviews are great ways to learn about the day-to-day activities of individuals working in careers related to your field of interest. They can give you insight into the field and potential majors that would be a good fit for that field. Visit Career & Leadership Development website for additional information about informational interviews.
Explore internships and community-based opportunities
Search for opportunities that align with your career interests. These experiences can help you assess whether a field is the right fit while building valuable skills before you graduate. Visit these resources for support:
- Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) - Connects students with community-engaged learning experiences, including academic internships and service opportunities with local and global partners. Many positions provide meaningful work experience and/or academic credit.
- Opportunities are posted on ULink
- Career and Leadership Development (CLD) - Connects SFSU students with a wide range of internship and job opportunities through the Handshake platform, plus career readiness resources.
Deciding on a major
Deciding a major can be a challenge, but we've got some activities below that can help guide you through the decision making process. You should definitely talk them out with those who know you well and have your best interests in mind. These might be your friends, your family members or your academic counselor.
Check below for ideas that can help you decide.
- Create a pros and cons list: Use the Pros and Cons Exploration worksheet to identify the pros and cons for each of your potential majors so you can compare the majors.
- Rank your choices: Fill out the Ranking Your Choices: Major Decision Worksheet to rank your majors so you can quantify your comparison of your major options.
- Talk to your academic counselor: Schedule an appointment today! Undeclared students have academic counselors in the Undergraduate Advising Center or EOP who can help you review your options and make informed decisions.
Declaring a major
Congratulations! After all of the thought, research and exploration you put into this journey, you have decided on a major!
We recommend students declare their major as soon as possible. This will set up all of the online tools like your Degree Progress Report (DPR) and Degree Planner to keep you on track AND most importantly, connect you advisor who can make sure you're taking the right major courses each semester.
Now it’s time to learn what the actual process is to formally declare your major at SFSU.
All majors, with the exception of nursing allow any continuing student who has a 2.0 SFSU and Cumulative GPA to declare the major. Follow these steps to request your change of major online. You can go back on to the student center to check the status of your request.
If you plan on pursuing nursing, you can read more about the major and application process on pre-health advising.
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Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment
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Undergraduate Advising Center
The Undergraduate Advising Center supports all SFSU undergrads with academic advising, including degree planning, class registration, major exploration and more — available in-person and virtually.
Advising resources and tools
Find advising resources and tools to support students throughout the academic advising process at San Francisco State University. This content is curated by the Undergraduate Advising Center.
B.A. Special Major
The Special Major (B.A.) is a customizable, interdisciplinary program for students with unique academic goals not met by existing undergraduate majors.
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Academic Notice Support helps students understand their academic standing, identify challenges, and access resources to return to good standing.