Undeclared and undecided

Picking a major is not always easy. In fact, the decision can be daunting. Most students, whether they’re applying for college or starting their second year of college, feel like deciding on a major is something that is set in stone; that it’s a final decision that will map out the rest of their lives. This, of course, is not true. There are many boxes you could possibly check when applying to school and picking just one seems impossible when you don’t quite know what you want to do. And that is perfectly OK.

Those students who begin their first year at Rider without a major are placed in the General Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies (GLASS) Program. The program is designed to help those undeclared and undecided students find the best fit for their college careers. Students have the opportunity to attend freshman seminars and take advantage of linked advising, peer mentoring and other resources to ensure that they can receive the guidance they need while considering all their options. 

Starting college without a decided major allows students to try different things until they find the one thing that they really want to study. “The value in going to college undeclared is that you are better positioned to truly explore the array of options that are available,” says Dr. Jonathan Millen, the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences. 

One unique aspect of the GLASS program at Rider is the Classroom Visitation Program. This program allows students to visit classes in areas in which they have some interest or questions. There are currently more than 100 classes to choose from in 37 academic departments. For more information about the Classroom Visitation Program and to see which courses are included for the current semester, please visit http://cvp.rider.edu.

Sometimes students who decide on a major realize that the track of study isn’t quite right for them, and that is perfectly OK, too. Students are allowed to change their mind. Rider University does not lock students into a major permanently, largely because the University wants students to study in the areas in which they are most interested and most likely to succeed. 

This is something junior business major Rachel Anderson knows well. “I started as a psychology major when I came to Rider, but quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me," she says. "So I changed my major to business administration. Both my psychology advisor and my business administration advisor helped me a lot throughout the entire process, so I never felt like I was going at it alone.”

In fact, Anderson changed her major and minor two more times before finding the perfect balance. She is now a management and leadership major with a minor in psychology, a combination that will give her a unique perspective once she graduates.

Not everyone enters college with a set decision on what they want to do, and sometimes even those students who think they have an idea change their minds. And all of those things are perfectly acceptable and, in some cases, encouraged. 

For more information or questions regarding the GLASS program, email Dr. Millen at [email protected] or Terri Marriott at [email protected].