Step 1: Embrace an Exploratory Mindset
TME gets you connected with the resources and tools you need to explore majors, but these tools might be ineffective if you're not feeling ready to explore. This is why it's important to get yourself in the right mindset before you begin your exploration process and understand why exploration may be valuable for you. The best way to do this is to address myths/misconceptions and educate yourself on what choosing a major really is and isn't.
Step 2: Complete the Self-Exploration Activities
Major exploration always begins with self-exploration. It's important you have an understanding about your interests, strengths, values, and priorities. Knowing yourself on a deeper level can help you find majors that are a strong fit and align best with your own goals. We recommend engaging with self-exploration resources as you begin major exploration to help with answering bigger picture "why" questions.
Step 3: Complete the Major Elimination Activity
Now that you have a better understanding of what choosing a major really is, it's time to start exploring your possibilities. This step gives you the opportunity to eliminate majors in which you have no interest, providing you with a list of only the programs that are real possibilities. It also allows you to educate yourself on all of the majors offered at UConn!
Even if you're declared or have a specific major in mind, it still benefits you to complete this activity. By doing so, you're taking the first step in the exploration process, which will either help you confirm your current major OR realize you want to try a different path. This is the best way to find your best fit!
Be sure to read the instructions and complete BOTH elimination phases. Click here to get started!
Step 4: Explore Major Profile Pages
Once you've narrowed down your options through the Major Elimination activity, it's time to start taking a deeper dive into exploration. We have a major profile page for every major here at UConn. Each profile page has information on what the major is, links to the department pages, how to declare, major requirements, related major/minors, and helpful career exploration resources. Some even have a short video where a TME mentor shares more about the major. Use these pages to collect information, and develop questions to research further. As you explore these pages, you can keep your major elimination page updated!
You can also search for majors using the "Major Exploration Groups" feature, which help sort majors into broad exploratory categories.
Step 5: Connect with someone about your interests
Once you have an idea of what you are interested in, and have your list of questions, it may be time to connect with someone about your interests. There are a few different ways you may choose to connect:
1. TME Student Mentors: If you have questions about the student experience--what it's like to be in this major, what the coursework is like, how they decided their major and what their hoping to do when they leave UConn--who better to ask than a student actually in that major? TME has over 80 mentors from various majors that you can send questions to in Nexus. You can connect to TME Mentors here!
2. Department Advisors/Faculty: If you have specific questions about a department's resources, faculty research, or want to speak directly to an expert in that area, we recommend connecting to departments directly--each major profile page has a department link you can follow to explore further!
3. Career Coaches: If you have specific questions about career exploration, consider connecting with a Career Coach in the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills!
4. Exploratory Advisors: If you are looking for a general conversation about your interests, interested in a wide variety of programs, want to discuss parallel planning for space-limited majors, want support on using TME's resources further, or are just looking for someone to bounce ideas off of, meeting with an Exploratory advisor in ACES is a great next step! You can see the different ways to meet with exploratory advisors on your campus here