As your student approaches their freshman year of college, there are plenty of people asking, “What do you want to major in?” More than others are asking, you may be asking them the same thing. Majors and careers are something we begin talking about in kindergarten, and now is the time to narrow it down. While the pressure can be immense, we want to encourage you in this process. It’s important to help our students be successful, but their choice of major may not be as dire as you might think.

If your student has a clear choice for a major, that’s awesome. Some students have a clear understanding early in life of what they want to study and how it will define their career. For many others, it’s much more complicated. So how can we help? At TFC, our personalized experience can give students an up close look at majors across the board to aid their decision. I entered TFC as a Biology major, thinking something in the medical field would aid me in serving overseas as a missionary. When I started classes at TFC, I started feeling the Holy Spirit shifting something in my heart, and I began questioning my previously decided major. Because of the accessibility of the professors here, I met with the chair of three separate departments during my freshman year. They spent time hearing about my story, God’s work in my life, my gifts and talents, and my hopes for the future. They prayed with me, gave me information on the major and where it might take me, and helped me discern if their department might be where God was leading. At the end of the process, I had so much peace about moving forward with Ministry Leadership as my major. I didn’t have a crystal clear picture of the career in which I’d end up, but I knew this was the direction God was calling me to go. 

Based on my experience and others I know, here are some tips for students and families as they consider a major.

  • Meet with professors prior to enrollment and during. The professors at TFC are highly relational and want to help our students follow God’s will for their life. We invite prospective students to set up meetings through our visit program with professors. If now isn’t the time, there will be plenty of opportunities once they begin as students.
  • Check out the academic catalog. In our academic catalog, you can see the entire class list for each major. Viewing the individual classes can give more specific ideas about each major.
  • Spend time in prayer together. In addition to praying separately about this issue, praying together will not only bring you closer together, but remind one another that each of your lives is up to God. He is trustworthy to take care of us.
  • Consider that major isn’t the definer of one’s future. It’s rare these days to work in one job, or even one industry, for an entire working life. Most people end up in sectors different than they ever considered during their undergraduate work. An undergraduate degree at TFC, no matter the subject, gives student an excellent education with a Biblical foundation.

If you have questions about majors or simply would like us to consider your family in prayer more specifically, please reach out to me. I’d love to talk with you or your student more about their college and major decision. 

In Christ,
Shelby Ryals
Director of Admissions
sryals@tfc.edu | 706-401-6891