As you prepare to register for fall semester classes we encourage you to spend some time thinking about and exploring different majors as well as courses you may want to take. Here are three different ways to start exploring:

• Exploring Purdue Colleges, Schools & Majors
• Exploring "Interest Areas"
• Exploring Courses

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Exploring Purdue Colleges, Schools & Majors

There are twelve degree-granting colleges & schools at Purdue University, and more than 200 different majors.  That's a lot of options from which to choose for someone at the beginning of their college career.  Having so many choices can seem overwhelming, but it really is a good thing.  

Our goal in the Undergraduate Studies Program (USP) is to help you explore your options before making an informed decision about the college/school, major, and future career path that is right for you.  We encourage you to start exploring right now by looking at the web sites of those colleges/schools/majors that interest you.

• Start by viewing the list of the different colleges & schools at Purdue. Click on any of the names to view a list of the different majors offered by that college/school.  This will give you a good general overview of all that Purdue has to offer.

• To delve a bit deeper, click on the name of the major in which you're interested.  You'll link to a page with a general overview of the major, some career possibilities, plus information on who to contact for more information.

• To go even deeper, click on the name of the major, the name of the college/school, or "Plan of Study."  This will take you to more specific information, including such things as courses offered by that department, courses required in a given major, Study Abroad opportunities, student clubs and organizations, and more.

As you "surf" Purdue's web site keep these two things in mind: a) Don't limit your search to certain subject areas, such as those in which you've always been interested or ones your parents (or others) would like you to follow.  Allow yourself the freedom to investigate anything and everything that interests you;  b) Jot down on a piece of paper the colleges, schools or majors (or whatever) about which you'd like to learn more, and share it with your USP academic advisor when you talk with that person.

Ready to start your search?  We've set it up so that a new browser window will open, which will make it easier to return to this page whenever you want.  Click here to begin.

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Exploring "Interest Areas" to Learn About Possible Majors

Another way to learn about possible majors is to consider majors with a given "interest area." For example, say you want to find a major that is related to the environment or business or computers. The Office of Admissions has "grouped" majors from all twelve of Purdue's colleges/schools within these and other interest areas. You may learn about a major(s) that you never even knew existed.

To view a list of majors within different interest areas click on the link below.  Then click on any of the headings to go to the list of different majors under that heading.

Click here to open a new browser window and begin.

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Exploring Courses Offered at Purdue

Still another activity that can help you begin exploring your options at Purdue is thinking about the courses you may want to take your Freshman year.  There are a lot of courses to choose from - more than 6,000 are offered.  While many aren't suitable for incoming students (because of prerequisites and other requirements), there are a number of courses that allow you to explore a subject area and can count toward your degree at Purdue.

IMPORTANT!  Remember that each person is a unique individual.  Accordingly, there is no one single set of courses that is right for every entering student.  Your Academic Advisor will work with you to choose courses that reflect your individual interests and abilities.  In addition, registration in certain courses (i.e. - mathematics, foreign language, etc.) is dependent on your previous coursework in high school and on your results from placement tests taken online or during Day on Campus.

A Sample Set of Courses

• EDPS 105 (Academic & Career Planning)

• Mathematics

• G S 119 (Introduction to Academic Programs at Purdue)

• COM 114 (Fundamentals of Speech)

OR

• ENGL 106/108 (First-Year English Composition)

• Social Science (History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, etc.)

OR

• Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc.)

OR

• Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, etc.)

OR

• C S 110 (Introduction to Computers)

OR

• Band, Choir, etc.
  

Searching Online for Courses

Here's how to search for information about courses offered at Purdue:

1. Go to the online "Schedule of Classes" (there's a link at the bottom of this page).
2. Scroll through the list of academic departments and/or programs under the "Subject Area" heading.
3. Click on a "Subject Area" name that interests you and a list of courses offered by that department/program will appear.
4. Scroll through the list of courses and click on any "Course Number and Title" to read more about the course.
5. Use your browser's "Back" button to select and then view information about other courses.

Click here to begin your search for information about courses.  A new browser window will open so that it's easy for you to return to this page.

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