Factors That Impact Ssu Students Selection of a Major

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................4

PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................6

REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................................7

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

SAMPLING PROCEDURES

SURVEY INSTRUMENT .............................................................................22

DATA ANALYSIS .....................................................................................26

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY .......................................................................................27

REFERENCES SITED ............................................................................................28

Abstract

This paper investigates the factors that have the most impact on the selection of major for one thousand students at Savannah State University. The researcher developed a survey instrument to measure the impact of specific factors on the Savannah States student's choice of major. A random representative sample was selected from each of the colleges: COST, CLASS, and COBA. The researcher's hypothesis was that of the factors that impact the student's choice of major, compensation would be the factor most likely to have the most impact the student's choice of major.

Introduction

Choosing a college major is a very essential, but tough part of your academic journal. According to wikipedia.com an academic major is a mainly U.S. term for a university student's main field of specialization during his or her bachelor's degree studies. The student will typically select this focus during the second year of a four-year course, and is required to devote a substantial portion of his or her studies from that time on to courses, which are relevant to the major. Some students already have already chosen their course of study, when they arrive to college. Many students choose the college based on whether their chosen specialization in offered. Nevertheless, for most students, choosing a major is often very difficult. A major is usually chosen the second year in a four year program.

Several steps can be taken to help students to choose a major. The first step is to figure out where your interest and your strong points. There are several assessments designed to tell you what type of study that could bring you success. One such assessment is the Strong Interest Inventory. According to the website Careers by Design the Strong Interest inventory takes about 30 minutes to complete and contains 291 items that measure your interests in a wide range of occupations, occupational activities, hobbies, leisure activities and types of people. The second step would be to explore career options.

You should explore the different types of career options available. The University of California at Berkeley offers Career Exploration Links - Occupations, which allows you to explore a general list of occupations or search for a specific occupation and provides links to resources that give you lots of information about the occupation(s) you choose (Hansen 2006). Students should remember to be realistic about their career options. If you aspire to be a nurse, but can not stand the sight of blood. Students must ask themselves real questions and be honest about the answers. If you did not excel in math then, you may not want to be an accountant. Another consideration to explore is how the opportunities look in your chosen field. One way to explore this would be to look in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. The US department of Labor says that The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. The Handbook is revised every two years.

While, taking these steps will help to choose a major, the truth is that many students changed there majors at least once throughout their college career. Furthermore, many individuals change careers at least twice in their lifetime. Despite the inevitable changes, students should utilize the proper resources when choosing a major. Certain resources to use when choosing a major are your professors, college handbook, upperclassmen, and especially your college career center.

Problem Statement

This paper investigates the factors that have the most impact on the choice of major for SSU students. The study is significant due to the large number of students reported in previous research to have changed their major or are not working in the field of their undergraduate major. In addition, cost and time needed to complete college is rising. The study suggests that a link between the rise in cost and time needed to complete college correlates with the lack of guidance and accuracy of major selection.

Q1. What general factors impact the major selected SSU students?

Q2. Are the factors that impact SSU students differ depending on gender?

Q3. What factors had the most impact later changes if any of major?

Q4. Are the factors that impact changes of major different depending on the gender?

Q5. Did the major change cause a change to another department?

H1. Of the general factors that influence the major selected by Savannah State's students, compensation and parental influence are likely to have the most impact.

H2. Men will