You are more than one thing. So are we.
Exploring your many interests in class and beyond is the purpose of your first year. Every student, even those who have a major in mind, starts in a place of discovery — finding focus and making connections is what a liberal arts curriculum is all about.
Undecided? We get these questions. A lot.
For ambitious students, the pressure to specialize early is real. At Kenyon, you are invited to prioritize curiosity and inquiry before focusing in a specific area of study.
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Will not knowing what I want to major in hurt my chances of admission?
Absolutely not. We look for applicants who are curious, open and interested in many things. And, in fact, most students are undecided about their major when they enroll at Kenyon.
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If I’m undecided about my major, will I fall behind on requirements?
Not at all. Your first two years are designed to help you explore. The classes you take early on almost always help meet the diversification requirements for any major you declare.
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What if I’m still undeclared in my second year?
Our curriculum is built so you can easily pursue double majors, minors, or interdisciplinary programs. Your advisors will help you connect your interests to a major, or majors, by the start of your junior year.
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What if I choose a direction and change my mind?
Our liberal arts curriculum ensures that trying something new doesn’t mean starting over. Instead, we help you make connections between what you’ve already started and where you want to go.
Finding focus with advisors and mentors
In addition to your faculty advisor, you will be guided by career counselors, experiential learning advisors and peer mentors who will help you connect to opportunities that support your specific interests and goals.
Every first-year student is connected with a faculty advisor before registering for any classes. This allows you to talk with your advisor before selecting your courses about what matters to you and to discover your interests and how they connect with all the opportunities at Kenyon.
Once you choose your area of study, you are connected with a faculty advisor within your major. Your major advisor will help you navigate the discipline and connect you to courses and opportunities that make the most sense for you.
Our award-winning Career Development Office offers continuous career advising through all stages of your Kenyon education — from first-year to senior year and even well-beyond. Career and post-graduate advisors help you navigate the internships, jobs and experiences that will position you to reach your post-graduate goals.
At Kenyon, mentorship is a way of life. Our upperclass students are eager to pay good mentorship forward through formal, discipline and interest-based peer mentor roles — and in our proudly we-not-me, people-centered community they’re as invested in mentoring up as in being mentored.
Experience that shapes direction
At Kenyon, your campus jobs, internships, research, community engagement, study abroad and travel-embedded courses are hands-on experiences that shape your education and inform your direction.
Applying what you learn
If you are drawn to more than one field of study or undecided about what you want to major in at college, let’s connect. We can share how our first-year experience and advising systems are built to support exploration and finding focus.