Choosing a major

Trinity College offers close to 100 majors, minors, and certificate programs. You must complete the requirements of one major in order to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.You can see a complete listing of Trinity College program offerings on T-Reqs.

Choosing a major is an important milestone in your undergraduate career, so before making a decision you should give yourself enough time to learn about Duke’s major offerings and consider how different majors complement your strengths, interests and plans for the future.

There are many resources available to you as you think about majors:

Your academic advisor: Your advisor can be a good sounding board as you consider majors that appeal to you, since he or she knows what academic interests you identified before you arrived at Duke and how these interests fit in with your long-term hopes and dreams. Your advisor also has access to your academic history and can help you evaluate which courses are helping you grow intellectually and become engaged in a discipline or subject area that could eventually become your major. Remember that it is not your advisor’s job to know all about the requirements of different majors – but he or she can refer you to other resources that can help you understand specific requirements for majors, minors, and certificate programs. Some of these resources are listed below.

Contact information for your academic advisor is available online .

Departmental and program Web sites: Departments and programs that offer undergraduate majors and minors will list course requirements and provide detailed overviews of policies, advising, and opportunities on their undergraduate Web pages. Many departments and programs also provide major and minor worksheets that can be downloaded and printed and used by students as they plan course work. Many basic questions about majors are answered on these Web pages, so you should consult them as you explore and compare majors.

You may view a complete listing of academic department and program undergraduate Web pages.

Directors of undergraduate studies: Every department and program that offers undergraduate courses will have a director of undergraduate studies (DUS). The DUS is a faculty member who is responsible for planning undergraduate course schedules, supervising academic advising in the major, clearing students in the major for graduation, and ensuring that major and minor requirements are accurately published in the
Undergraduate Bulletin of Instruction and on the Web. Because the DUSs are very familiar with major and minor requirements in their department or program, you should consult them when you have specific questions that are not answered on the Web or in other departmental materials.   

Contact information for directors of undergraduate studies is available in T-Reqs .
           
Peers: You can learn a lot about different majors and undergraduate programs from upperclass peers. We encourage you to ask current majors about their experiences, particularly with respect to advising, independent study, and faculty-mentored research, and integrating their major course work with study abroad. However, since major requirements can change over time, you should always check department or program guidelines or consult the DUS or your faculty advisor (once you have declared) when choosing courses for your major, rather than relying exclusively on the advice of older students.

Information sessions: Throughout the year departments and programs will participate in information sessions for prospective majors. You will learn about these info sessions through e-mails from the Academic Advising Center, your advisor, ads in the Chronicle and flyers in your residence hall. Upcoming info sessions will also be spotlighted on the Academic Advising web site. Keep an eye out for these events, as they can be a great way to learn more about majors from the DUSs and other experts.  The annual Majors Fair, held in the Bryan Center during the fall semester, is another excellent venue to learn more about undergraduate courses, majors, minors and certificate programs.

Career Center: Many students find the resources available at the Career Center extremely helpful as they explore majors, particularly if they are wondering how different Duke majors relate to future careers and professional goals. The Career Center also has resources and experts who can assist undecided students. We suggest that you browse the Career Center Web site, visit its Resource Room in 106 Page Building (West Campus) and schedule an appointment to meet with a career counselor (call 660-1050).

Learn more about the Career Center’s resources for first-year students here.

How to declare a major »