Working with an Undecided Student?
Here are a few tips for helping the undecided student make progress toward a major selection
- Review the complete list of majors and minors in the front of the Undergraduate Catalog. Perhaps the student can discover majors not yet considered. It’s also helpful if the student can eliminate certain colleges and departments that he/she has no interest in.
- Refer the student to the useful resources in the Curriculum Guide such as the academic/career planning schedule on page 8 and the undecided student section on page 54.
- Discuss courses the student enjoyed from the previous semester (or in high school) and try to plan other basic skills and divisional distribution courses in those areas.
- Recommend Counselor Education 205: Exploring Majors and Careers in the Fall (a one hour course taught S/NC grading).
- Refer the student to Career Services (100 Dunford Hall) for countless resources such as interest inventories and career counseling. Their website is an incredible source of info (http://career.utk.edu/)
- Show students how to use darsweb to preview possible major interests, and recommend that they explore UT’s website.
- Don’t forget to refer students to the major guides that are linked to our website.
- If you need more ideas, see a director or fellow advisor.