Exploring your academic options

Start your academic exploration at majors.osu.edu. You'll find information about about Ohio State's 200+ majors and links to all colleges, departments and programs.

Note: there are a few Engineering specializations that are not accessible for current students at Ohio State, as they are only accessible to students upon applying to Ohio State. Those majors are: Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Computer & Information Science in Arts & Sciences and Mechanical Engineering. You can read more about this policy on the College of Engineering's website.

Major cross-out activity 

This is a low-tech activity, but very effective as preparation for an Exploration advising appointment.

1. Print this list of majors.
2. Cross out the majors you are not interested in. Write down why these majors are not good fits for you.
3. Highlight majors that interested you. Write down why. What associations and assumptions do you have about these majors?
4. Finally, put a question mark next to majors that you're not sure about.
5. Bring your list to your next advising appointment and be prepared to discuss it.

Review majors by "area of focus"

Exploration categorizes Ohio State's majors into six areas of focus. You may find that it's easier to first narrow down which area or areas you're most interested in. Within each of the criteria to enter categories here, you'll see the list of majors grouped under the following areas of focus:

Management and industry

You may be interested in the numbers and data side of business or the relationships and persuasion side of things. You might want a major that prepares you for a specific industry or for a skillset you can bring into any industry. This area includes all business-related options. Students looking for an alternative to the College of Business may find appealing options here.

Health professions

This category includes majors that prepare students for health professions after earning a bachelor's degree and majors that typically lead to graduate or professional school. This area of focus also include chemistry and biology and majors focusing on the psychological, emotional and social side of health and wellness.

Science, technology and the environment

This area includes majors in engineering, technology, science and environmental science.

Behavior, culture and context

The majors in this area focus on human beings: our history, our cultures, our languages and our humanity.

Education and public service

Majors in this group may lead to teaching or public service. That could be teaching in or out of the classroom, developing public policies, advancing public health and all other majors that focus on sharing with others.

Arts, innovation and creativity

Majors in this area involve creating and appreciating art, architecture and more.

Explore minors, too

Undergraduate minors at Ohio State require 12-18 credit hours of course work in a specific area of interest. You are allowed to overlap up to 6 hours between the General Education curriculum and the minor requirements.

Searching for minors can sometimes illuminate your major exploration. For example, if you are deciding between a business-related major and an education-related major, you might consider a business-related major with a minor in education.