Sophomore year is a big time for Fairfield University students–it’s time to declare a major.
Many students come into Fairfield with a major in mind, but others may not be so sure, opting to go in undecided or even switch their major before the end of sophomore year deadline.
Sophomore Gabby Airo started at Fairfield as a Psychology major, but towards the end of her first year, she decided to switch to Biochemistry.
Airo expressed that she struggled to manage all of the extra work that she had, now being six classes behind. This work included pre-labs, post-labs, research and a job in the Fairfield Chemistry lab.
“Why are there level two classes only in the second semester and level one in the first? Just mix them up because we need level two in the first semester,” said Airo, referring to ways to improve the lack of class offerings.
Due to classes that she needs for her major, such as Biology I being offered only in fall semester, she had to take both general Chemistry I and II over the summer so she was able to take the other classes that she needed in the fall.
Since summer classes are a separate expense, she had to pay an additional $8,000 so she could graduate on time, a high price that some families may not be able to afford.
Junior Celeste Fernandez started off as a behavioral neuroscience major before switching into psychology in her sophomore fall semester.
Fernandez struggled to align her schedule with having to take both psychology electives and pre-med courses.
“Some of my psychology classes aren’t available for both semesters, so it’s hard to get into,” said Fernandez.
Fernandez also expressed frustration regarding some classes that she needs to take only being offered in one semester instead of both. She suggested having both 1000-level and 2000-level classes be offered in both semesters.
She also suggested increasing class capacities to ensure that students are able to take the classes they need in order to graduate on time.
However, switching majors did not cause issues for all students. Junior Katharine Gutkoski was initially a Women, Gender and Sexuality studies (WGSS) and Communication major but switched at the end of her sophomore year to WGSS and Theatre.
“I didn’t have any issues switching my major, but that’s partially because I was already taking theatre classes or taking classes that counted for WGSS or Communication. I can absolutely see why someone else would struggle switching though.”
There are several instances of majors that overlap with each other, either because their content is similar, like Communication and Digital Journalism, or because the major requires a course that simply has an attribute, not a specific class.
“Part of the theatre requirement is that I need to take five electives. This made the switch easier because elective classes give you more freedom to cross majors if need be. For example, I can take a theatre elective that has a WGSS attribute and that will kill two birds with one stone,” continued Gutkoski ‘26.
Junior Mary Rado switched her major early into her sophomore year from English to Social Work.
“I switched my major early enough that I had only ever really gotten my Magis Core done, nothing with my English major. So switching wasn’t too hard for me.”
The ease of switching majors appears to depend on when students make the decision and how closely their new major aligns with their prior coursework. This highlights the varying experiences students face when managing their academic paths at Fairfield.
