Selecting A Concentration

Many transfer students already know their field of concentration. Whenever possible we will arrange for you to meet with a concentration advisor in addition to a general advisor during orientation. The concentration advisor can go over requirements with you and help you interpret any transfer credits you have in the field of concentration. When we cannot arrange a concentration appointment, your general advisor will be able to get you started. The LS&A Bulletin specifies the requirements for concentrating in all of the departments and programs in the College.

If you have not yet chosen a concentration, you will need to begin thinking about your areas of interest so that you can choose your concentration in a timely manner. Probably the most helpful hint we can give you in selecting your concentration is to choose one which satisfies you. Success in a concentration depends on a combination of interests, skills, and aptitudes. If you choose a concentration only because of its job possibilities while failing to look at your own interests, skills, and aptitudes, you could be heading for trouble. Before you decide, learn all you can about the re quirements demanded by your proposed concentration. If the concentration doesn't satisfy your interests and fit with your aptitudes, you may find it necessary to change.

Although you may have listed an anticipated area of study on your application to the University of Michigan, you still must meet with a concentration advisor to officially declare that concentration. The concentration advisor completes a Concentration Declaration form; you then turn in the form to the Advising Center so that this information may be posted on your transcript. Once you have formally declared a concentration you can change your mind without much difficulty. You simply discuss the new concentration with the appropriate advisor and file a new declaration form. If you change concentrations late in your academic career, you may add a term or two to the length of your degree. This is probably still preferable to continuing in an area that has ceased to interest you.

Our second bit of advice is to ask you not to be misled by today's job market in choosing your concentration. Many of you, understandably, desire economic security and mobility, but it is important to avoid using your College career only as a vehicle for gaining those ends. Using current job opportunities as a basis for choosing a career and determining a concentration may be ill-fated for two reasons. First, you may be dissatisfied with the career once you have entered it if you do not consider your personal needs, desires, interests, the type of person you want to be, and how that concentration or career suits you. Second, in a rapidly changing society, today's job market may change substantially in the next four years. You are better off choosing a concentration (and a career) that suits and reflects you as a person.

Finally, in selecting your concentration, we urge you to exhaust every informational resource at your disposal. These resources include the offices for the Academic Advising Center described on pages 3-4 above; the faculty who, even if they may not have the information you seek, can usually refer you to someone who does; and the Office of Career Planning and Placement (3200 Student Activities Building, 764-7460). Career Planning and Placement can assist you in making career decisions and conducting effective job searches. Seminars, career conferences, counseling sessions, and an extensive career library are among the resources available to help you in making and implementing career choices. Information is provided on preprofessional preparation, career fields, experiential opportunities, linking choice of concentration to career decision, and job search strategies.