Undecided Students with 24 or More Credits

If you are changing to undecided after accumulating two or more semesters of coursework, then you need to actively explore your interests and skills, majors, and careers. Meet with an advisor in the CLA Student Affairs & Advising Center, 310 Kirby Plaza, to devise a plan for your major exploration.

Major Exploration Checklist

Explore how your interests and skills relate to majors and careers.

• Take a self-assessment survey through Career Services, 21 Solon Campus Center. Surveys include the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Meet with a career counselor to discuss the results.


• Discuss your interests, abilities and values with faculty, university staff, friends, parents and other relatives.

Explore Majors.

• Review the UMD Catalog. Pick up your copy at the Solon Campus Center Information Desk. Read course descriptions and relate interesting courses to potential majors.
  Review requirements for the majors you are considering.
• Explore CLA majors.
• Met with faculty to discuss the academic field(s) you are exploring.
• Enroll in an introductory course for the major(s) you are considering.
• Join academic clubs aligned with majors you are considering. A list of student clubs can be obtained at the Kirby Information Desk.

Explore Careers.

• Read written career information available in the UMD Career Information Center, 21 Solon Campus Center. Look for texts entitled "What can I do with a major in..." in order to explore typical career paths of specific majors.
• Explore online resources including the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• Initiate informational interviews with various career professionals.

CLA Declare Your Major (OT) Hold.
It is CLA's policy that students either declare a major or file a Plan for Major Declaration form once they have reached 45 or more semester credits. This includes both completed and in-progress credits.
The processes for declaring a major or filing a Plan for Major Declaration form are given below.

Declare a Major within CLA.
You may declare your major simply by stopping in the CLA Student Affairs & Advising Center, 310 Kirby Plaza. At that time, you may also indicate your preference of academic advisor within your major.

Declare a Major within SBE, CEHSP, SFA or CSE.
If your major is housed within a UMD collegiate unit other than CLA, you must complete a Change of College form. The form is available at the Campus Center Information Desk or in collegiate student affairs offices. You must submit the Change of College form to your new unit by the deadline noted. Once CLA Student Affairs is notified that you have been accepted into another collegiate unit, the OT hold will automatically be removed.

Undecided About Major Choice.
If you are still "undecided" about your major, then it is critical that you take an active role in exploring your interests, your skills, and potential careers. A number of campus resources exist to help you with this process, including the CLA Student Affairs & Advising Center, 310 Kirby Plaza, and Career Services, 21 Solon Campus Center. You are strongly encouraged to make an initial appointment with Mary Keenan, CLA academic advisor, in order to initiate your major exploration process. Stop in 310 Kirby Plaza to schedule an appointment with Mary. If you are unable to make a major selection prior to registration, you will be required to submit a Plan for Major Declaration form to CLA Student Affairs & Advising Center, 310 Kirby Plaza.

Unable to Declare Due to Admissibility Issue or Other Reason.
If for any reason you are unable to declare your major, you will be required to submit a Plan for Major Declaration form in order to have the "CLA Declare Major" hold released for registration. The form is available from CLA Student Affairs & Advising Center, Kirby Plaza 310.
The Plan for Major Declaration form requires a description of your plan for declaring a major. It also requires that you meet with your academic advisor or an advisor in the CLA Student Affairs & Advisement Center (KPlz 310) to discuss your plan. The advisor's signature must be included on the form when it is submitted to CLA Student Affairs.

Contact Mary Keenan, CLA Student Affairs and Advising Center (Kirby Plaza 310), 218/726-7009 with further questions.