Explore Majors & Minors

MYTH: Your major is what you study, not what you do! Most majors in the College of Letters and Science take a theory-based approach to studying a particular field, just like other top research universities around the world. This type of education prepares students to be critical and creative thinkers and provides students with a foundation for a range of careers after graduation.

Students, therefore, will supplement their education with hands-on experience outside of the classroom in the form of research, internships, volunteering, working, participating in competitions, and more, in order to explore and prepare for careers.

MYTH: A major can certainly help build skills relevant to a career (ex: quantitative skills from a Mathematics major or communication skills from an English major), but is never the only building block of your resume. Hands-on experience will be a critical part of your marketability after graduation and tends to be valued more than major choice by employers. Because of this, it is important to understand that majors are much more flexible in the job market than students commonly believe. 

Your major will provide you with a point of view and critical thinking skills that will help you approach future careers in a deeper way and give you flexibility when navigating the job market. It is important to find a major that you enjoy and do well in, hopefully one that makes you curious to explore it further. 

Visit the Career Library(link is external) and Career Center(link is external) to explore career options and to learn about how to incorporate career exploration and preparation into your plan for your undergraduate experience. 

MYTH: Having more majors has not been shown to increase one's competitive edge for graduate schools, professional schools, or career. Graduate/professional schools and employers want graduates who are well-rounded and have outside-the-classroom experience including internships, research with faculty, or leadership roles in student organizations. While adding a second major can diversify your education in wonderful ways, it can also make it challenging to fit in critical career-oriented experiences while completing requirements for two separate majors.

Read more about the pros and cons of multiple majors in the Double Major and Simultaneous Degree page. 

Our advice if you are considering a double major: take a prerequisite course (or sit in on upper division courses) for each field of study that you are considering to get a better sense of whether you want to pursue both majors or just one. This will also help you choose between the options if you decide to declare just one.

MYTH: All students enter the College of Letters and Science as undeclared students. Some students arrive on campus with a strong idea about their intended major and career goals, but the majority of students do not. Even students who are sure about their major intentions now are likely to make a change during their Berkeley career as they discover options. 

On average, students change their mind about their intended major 3-4 times. The best way to approach your first year is to explore major options broadly, both through your class schedules and through other methods of exploration (discussed below), and narrow that exploration as you move through your second year.