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Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Influences on Students' Choice of College Major
Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby
To cite this article: Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby (2005) Influences
on Students' Choice of College Major, Journal of Education for Business, 80:5, 275-282, DOI:
10.3200/JOEB.80.5.275-282
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Influences on Students’ Choice of
College Major
CHARLES A. MALGWI
MARTHA A. HOWE
PRISCILLA A. BURNABY
Bentley College
Waltham, Massachusetts
I
n this study, we examined factors that
influence incoming business students’
initial choice of college major, as well
as any later changes to that choice.
Many students enter business school
unsure of which business major to pursue, whereas others make an initial
choice and later change it. Because the
college experience is expected to have
an effect on the factors that influence
the student’s choice of major (Cohen &
Hanno, 1993; Mauldin, Crain, &
Mounce, 2000), it seems likely that
those factors would be different for
incoming freshmen as opposed to
upperclassmen, with possible further
differences related to gender. Although
previous research has clearly established that there are many influences
involved in a student’s choice of a business major (Cohen & Hanno; Kim,
Markham, & Cangelosi, 2002; Noel,
Michaels, & Levas, 2003; Pritchard,
Potter, & Saccucci, 2004), understanding how these influences may differ by
gender and by stage of the student’s
tenure at college can help college advisors work more effectively with students
to refine their major choices. In addition, business schools need to be aware
of the reasons for changes of major, particularly those that can be traced to dissatisfaction with the original major.
In this study, we examined the following issues:
ABSTRACT. In this study, the
authors surveyed undergraduate students at a large northeastern business
school concerning influences on their
choices of major. The authors examined factors such as why students initially select particular majors and
which positive and negative factors
relate to any later changes in those
choices. Results show that interest in
the subject was the most important
factor for incoming freshmen, regardless of gender. For women, the next
most influential factor was aptitude in
the subject. However, men were significantly more influenced by the
major’s potential for career advancement and job opportunities and the
level of compensation in the field. Students appeared to be driven to change
their major because of positive factors
about the new major, rather than negative factors related to the old major.
Q1. What general factors influence
the major selected by incoming freshmen and transfer students?
Q2. Are the factors that influence
freshmen and transfer students different
depending on gender?
Q3. What factors influence later
changes of major?
Q4. Are the factors that influence
changes of major different depending
on gender?
Previous Studies
Although research in this area stems
from many different settings, in this
study we focused on business students.
To date, research has established that
students choosing business majors (as
opposed to nonbusiness majors) are
affected by parental occupation and
socioeconomic status, with the strength
of that effect differing by gender (Leppel, Williams, & Waldauer, 2001).
Within the business school, choice of a
specific major is linked to personality
traits, values, and interpersonal behavior and is again mediated by gender differences (Giacomino & Akers, 1998;
Noel et al., 2003). Although factors
have been found to vary somewhat by
specific business major choice (Gul,
Andrew, Leong, & Ismail, 1989), in
general, students appear to be strongly
influenced by their interest in the subject, the availability of jobs, their aptitude for the subject, and the earnings
potential related to that major (Kim et
al., 2002; Mauldin et al., 2000;
Pritchard et al., 2004).
In an investigation of the differential
influences on students as they progress
through their academic career, Mauldin
et al. (2000) found that accounting
majors tended to decide on their majors
during the semester in which they took
the first accounting course. The course
itself was not particularly important in
making the choice, but the accounting
instructor was influential. Cohen et al.
(1993) found that the influences on
May/June 2005
275
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accounting majors changed somewhat
with the increased experience of the student in the major. Similarly, Strasser,
Ozgur, and Schroeder (2002) surveyed
both sophomore and senior business
majors. They found that although sophomores and seniors listed the same influences on choice of major, sophomores
placed more emphasis on interest in the
subject and seniors placed more importance on career objectives. The authors
pointed out that they did not examine the
influences on incoming freshmen, and
they suggested that their model may not
be predictive with that pool of subjects.
No researchers to date have examined
change of major and the influences that
relate to that decision. In particular, the
extent to which the change is driven by
negative factors about the original major
versus positive factors about the new
major is important for business schools
to understand. With this knowledge, it
may be possible for business schools to
address real or perceived shortcomings
in a particular major.
Gender differences in nonbusiness
majors have been studied fairly frequently, but there is less research related to business majors and gender differences. For example, investigating
nonbusiness majors, Lackland and
DeLisi (2001) found a gender difference in students’ perceptions about
their aptitudes for different majors,
their humanitarian concerns regarding
the various majors, and the utility of
available majors. Turner and Bowen, in
their 1999 study of gender differences’
relation to SAT score differences, concluded that abilities as measured by the
SAT did little to explain gender differences in choices of a nonbusiness
major. In terms of salary expectations,
students (both male and female) in
male-dominated majors tended to
expect higher salaries than did students
in non–male-dominated majors (Sumner & Brown, 1996). Giacomino et al.
(1998) suggested that there were significant differences in the values held by
different business majors and that gender differences further affected these
relationships. To extend that research,
we sought to examine the effect of gender differences on the influences that
relate to initial choice of business major
and later changes in that choice.
276
Journal of Education for Business
Method
We developed a questionnaire to collect data on factors that influence business students’ major selections. We tabulated the responses and compared them
in two ways. First, we determined the
percentage response for the total population for each influencing factor for
majors selected by (a) incoming freshmen and (b) for those students who
changed majors. Then, we compared the
factors for gender differences. We used a
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
to compare men’s versus women’s means
to determine their level of significance.
Survey Instrument
To ensure that the data gathered from
the questionnaire were reliable and
accurate, we developed the document in
three stages. The first stage consisted of
assuring that all the material factors that
influenced students were included in the
survey. We asked 70 sophomores in an
accounting course to list which factors
influenced them to select their majors.
We developed the list of factors for the
pilot questionnaire by using the information received from the students and
supplementing it with findings from
previous research.
In spring 2002, we tested the pilot
questionnaire using the Perseus Survey
Solutions software to collect the data.
We used over 500 responses to refine the
document, clarify the questions and
instructions, and develop the final questionnaire. In the final survey document,
we asked students to indicate student ID
number, class standing, sex, age,
whether they had transferred to the college, and how many times they changed
their major. We instructed them to evaluate the influence of a list of factors on
their original choice of major on a 5point Likert scale. For later changes of
major, we asked them to again use a 5point Likert scale to evaluate a list of
positive factors related to the new major,
as well as negative factors related to the
original major. (See the Appendix for the
actual survey document.)
Subjects
The population consisted of approxi-
mately 3,800 undergraduate students at
the business college in April, 2003. The
business university offers business and
business-related majors and minors, all
of which are infused with information
technology and supported by an extensive preparation in the arts and sciences.
A total of 788 students responded to the
survey, for a 20% response rate. As we
show in Table 1, 184 freshmen, 283
sophomores, 225 juniors, and 182
seniors responded. Sixty percent (466)
of the respondents were women, and
92% ranged in age from 18 to 24 years.
About 16% of the respondents entered
the college as transfer students rather
than as freshmen, with female transfer
students outnumbering male transfer
students by about two to one.
The data in Table 2 show the breakdown of majors selected by the male
versus the female respondents when
they entered the college, either as freshmen or as transfer students. About two
thirds (n = 524, 68%) of the incoming
students chose a specific major, whereas 32% (n = 247) were undecided. Out
of the 18 business and business-related
majors offered at the college, accountancy attracted the highest number of
incoming students, with 14.5% of the
respondents selecting that major.
Accountancy was followed by finance
(10.8%), management (10%), and marketing (9.2%). A breakdown by gender
highlights differences in those choices—
for incoming female students, the most
frequently selected major was accountancy (selected by 17% of responding
women), and the women’s next most
frequent choices were marketing
(12.2%) and management (10.5%). In
contrast, incoming male students most
frequently chose finance (selected by
17.4% of responding men); this selection was followed by computer information systems (10.8%) and accountancy
(10.8%).
Procedure
We sent the survey by e-mail to the
undergraduate students of the college in
early April, 2003 and collected the data
over a 3-week period. We instructed the
participants to open and answer the survey only once. We reviewed the results
for duplicate student ID numbers and
Results
TABLE 1. Baseline Demographics of Responding Students
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Characteristic
Class
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Total
Age (yrs.)
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
>25
Total
Entered as
Transfer
Freshman
Total
n
%
Men
(n)
Women
(n)
Men
(%)
Women
(%)
183
183
225
181
772
23.70
23.70
29.15
23.45
100.00
70
85
81
69
305
113
98
144
112
467
38.25
46.45
36.00
38.12
39.51
61.75
53.55
64.00
61.88
60.49
69
199
195
148
80
13
7
62
773
8.92
25.74
25.23
19.15
10.35
1.68
0.91
8.02
100.00
23
75
85
57
29
6
6
25
306
46
124
110
91
51
7
1
37
467
33.33
37.69
43.59
38.51
36.25
46.15
85.71
40.32
39.59
66.67
62.31
56.41
61.49
63.75
53.85
14.29
59.68
60.41
126
642
768
16.40
83.60
100.00
43
260
303
83
382
465
34.13
40.50
39.45
65.87
59.50
60.55
TABLE 2. Majors Chosen at Entry to the College
Major
Undecided
Accountancy (AC)
Accounting information
systems (AIS)
Business communications
(BC)
Computer information
systems (CS)
Corporate finance and
accounting (FA)
Managerial economics
(ME)
Economics–finance (EF)
Finance (FI)
Information design and
corporate
communication (IDCC)
Management (MG)
Marketing (MK)
Mathematical science (MA)
English (EN)
History (HI)
International studies (INT)
Liberal arts (LA)
Philosophy (PH)
Public policy and social
change (PSC)
Total
Men
(n)
Women
(n)
Men
(%)
95
33
152
79
31.20
10.80
32.60
17.00
1.00
1
7
0.30
1.50
12
1.60
2
10
0.70
2.20
57
7.40
33
24
10.80
5.20
20
2.60
8
12
2.60
2.60
4
31
83
0.50
4.00
10.80
4
23
53
0
8
30
1.30
7.54
17.40
0.00
1.70
6.50
9
78
71
10
3
1
16
5
2
1.20
10.00
9.20
1.30
0.40
0.10
2.10
0.60
0.30
1
29
14
2
0
1
1
2
1
8
49
57
8
3
0
15
3
1
0.30
9.50
4.60
0.70
0.00
0.30
0.30
0.70
0.30
1.70
10.50
12.20
1.70
0.60
0.00
3.20
0.60
0.20
2
771
0.30
100.00
2
305
0
466
0.70
100.00
0.00
100.00
n
%
247
112
32.00
14.50
8
incomplete surveys, which we removed
from the database. The Perseus Survey
Solutions software summarized the data
Women
(%)
by total number of responses per question and percentages of responses by
question.
The first research question (Q1)
sought to ascertain which factors influenced incoming freshmen and transfer
students in their initial choice of major.
Omitting those who were undecided,
the data in Table 3 indicate the factors
that influenced students’ choice of
majors upon entrance to the college,
either as freshmen or as transfer students. Students used a 5-point Likert
scale to rate each factor’s influence in
their choices, with 5 representing a
major influence and 1 indicating no
influence. The most influential factor
overall was interest in the subject, which
had a mean of 4.36, followed by the
potential for career advancement (M =
3.95) and the major’s potential job
opportunities (M = 3.88). Three other
factors were rated highly: aptitude in the
subject (3.77), level of pay in the field
(3.74), and the college’s reputation in
the field (3.60). The students reported a
lower degree of influence from various
advisors, including parents, high school
guidance counselors, and high school
teachers/advisors. A related course in
the subject in high school was rated relatively low in influence, as was the college’s open house, at which information
about various majors was presented.
To gain more insight into the influences on major selected by incoming
students, our second research question
(Q2) examined the extent to which male
and female respondents differed. As the
data in Table 3 show, we found statistically significant differences in the relative influence of the level of pay in the
field (p = .001), the potential for career
advancement (p = .002), and the potential job opportunities (p = .008), with
men finding those factors more important than women did. Women were significantly more likely than men to be
influenced by their aptitude in the subject (p = .016), which was 2nd in importance for them but only 5th for the men,
and by a related course taught in high
school (p = .009), which was 7th and
8th in importance for men and women,
respectively.
The third research question (Q3)
focused on influences on students’ later
changes of major. For these changes, the
factors that influenced students could
May/June 2005
277
TABLE 3. Factors Influencing Majors Chosen Upon Entry to the College,
With Gender Differences
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Factor
Interest in subject
Aptitude (skill) in the subject
College’s reputation
Parent/guardian
High school guidance counselor
Related subject in high school
College open house
High school advisor/teacher
Potential job opportunities
Potential for career advancement
Level of pay (compensation) in
the field
M
Women
Level of
significance
n
M
Men
526
516
516
522
526
526
526
526
525
526
4.36
3.77
3.60
2.37
1.66
2.55
1.77
1.95
3.88
3.95
4.32
3.63
3.53
2.36
1.61
2.36
1.71
1.84
4.05
4.13
4.41
3.88
3.67
2.35
1.68
2.68
1.83
2.02
3.77
3.82
.255
.016*
.207
.938
.416
.009*
.223
.101
.008*
.002*
526
3.74
3.95
3.60
.001*
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
*F test showing significance at the .05 level.
TABLE 4. Positive Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Differences
Factor
Interest in subject
Discussion with other students
College advisor
Advising nights
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
Career and job opportunities
Parent/guardian
High level of compensation
n
M
Men
365
360
359
360
363
362
358
363
365
363
4.48
3.12
2.14
1.72
2.93
3.35
1.54
3.71
2.31
3.45
4.49
3.06
2.01
1.72
2.87
3.31
1.64
3.77
2.30
3.62
M
Women
4.47
3.16
2.24
1.72
2.97
3.37
1.47
3.69
2.30
3.35
Level of
significance
.791
.432
.096
1.000
.473
.684
.130
.516
.986
.055
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
either be positive or negative. For example, students could be switching majors
owing to (a) their dissatisfaction with
the previous major or (b) their positive
expectations about the new major.
About half (52%) of the respondents to
the survey had not changed their majors,
41% changed their majors once, and 7%
changed their majors more than once.
In Table 4, we present the descriptive
statistics for the positive factors that
influenced students who changed their
majors. In addition to students who
changed from one specific major to
another, this analysis includes the 170
students who were originally undecided
278
Journal of Education for Business
and later changed to specific majors. Of
the 10 choices listed as possible positive
factors, respondents identified interest
in the subject, career and job opportunities, and high level of compensation as
the three most influential factors
prompting their choice of the new
majors, with means of 4.48, 3.71, and
3.45, respectively.
It is also possible that students’ decisions to change majors might arise from
negative factors related to the old major.
(Those changing from “undecided”
were not included in this analysis.) The
overall mean response for each of the
negative factors, as shown in Table 5,
ranged from a low of 1.40 for the 150hour requirement to a high of 2.68 for
level of career opportunity.
The fourth research question (Q4)
examined gender differences related to
changes of major. For positive factors,
in Table 4 we present an F test of oneway ANOVA for gender differences.
The data in Table 4 show that there were
no gender-based differences that were
significant at the .05 level, but the high
level of compensation in the new major
was marginally more influential for men
than women (p = .055).
In Table 5, we present an ANOVA Ftest statistic for testing the gender differences associated with the negative
factors influencing the change of
majors. Although none of the factors
were evaluated as being more than a
minor influence for either gender, some
differences between men and women
were significant at the .05 level. Female
students’ decision to change majors was
more strongly influenced by the difficulty of that major (p = .021) and by
advice from their college advisor (p =
.024). Also, the influence of discussions
with other students was marginally
more important for women in their decision to change from their original
majors (p = .054).
Summary and Implications
Although many researchers have
examined the issue of college major
selection in general, in this study we
focused on business students, analyzing
their major choices as they entered the
college, as well as their changes of
major later in their academic careers.
We also studied gender differences
related to both initial and later major
changes.
In relation to the choice of major
made by incoming students, our findings are generally consistent with those
of earlier research. For both genders,
interest in the subject is the primary
influence, as found by Kim et al. (2002)
and Strasser et al. (2002). Strasser et al.
also found, to their surprise, that high
school courses, high school advisors,
and even parents do not appear to be
particularly influential in the initial
major choice. Interestingly, although
Strasser et al. used sophomore subjects,
in this study we found essentially the
TABLE 5. Negative Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Differences
Factor
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Discussion with other students
Prior major was too difficult
Prior major not challenging
College advisor
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
Level of career/job opportunity
Parent/guardian
Low level of compensation
n
M
Men
195
195
193
194
194
190
190
195
194
195
2.40
1.90
1.93
1.56
2.13
2.57
1.41
2.68
1.88
2.20
2.18
1.64
1.70
1.36
2.10
2.38
1.31
2.68
1.79
2.14
M
Women
2.55
2.08
2.03
1.70
2.17
2.69
1.48
2.68
1.91
2.24
Level of
significance
.054
.021*
.076
.024*
.735
.168
.221
.991
.503
.663
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
*F test showing significance at the .05 level.
same result with freshmen, who might
be expected to be even more heavily
influenced by those factors. Although
both men and women were most strongly
influenced in their initial major choice by
their interest in the subject, there were
several gender differences in other factors. For example, women were strongly
influenced by their aptitude in the subject and men significantly less so,
whereas men were significantly more
influenced than women by the level of
pay in the field. These results present
opportunities for researchers to explore
the sources of those differences.
The results related to later changes of
major extend the previous research in
interesting ways. Previous research has
not focused on changes in major in any
depth, but, because almost half of our
respondents changed their majors later
in their academic careers, it is important
to understand the factors that influence
such changes. First, interest in the subject is a very strong and enduring influence for both men and women. Our
results indicate that, as with the initial
choice, interest in the subject is the primary influence for later changes of
major. This finding contrasts with that of
Strasser et al. (2002), who found that
seniors are less influenced by their interest in the subject than are sophomores,
and with Mauldin et al. (2002), who
found that sophomore and junior
accounting majors rated interest in the
subject as less important than career
opportunities. In this study, we found
that career and job opportunities ranked
second to interest in the subject in terms
of relative influence in changes of major.
Another interesting conclusion of our
study is that men and women appear to
become more alike in the factors that
influence their major choice over time.
Although there were several significant
differences noted in the factors that
influenced the initial major selections
for incoming students, there were no
significant gender differences related to
positive factors in later changes of
major. In fact, if the positive factors are
ranked, the top five are the same for
both genders, except that the third and
the fourth exchange places.
Our findings also indicate that positive factors are far more important in the
decision to change majors than are negative factors. Strasser et al. (2002) found
this to be true for accounting majors,
and this study extends that finding to
business majors in general. Thus, business schools may be relieved to find that
students do not appear to leave a major
because of dissatisfaction but instead
tend to gravitate to a new major because
of its positive factors.
This study was not free from potential
limitations. Our use of a single business
college and our focus on business majors
limit the generalizability of the results.
Further research could also involve stu-
dents from across the liberal arts and
other schools. More research related to
gender differences in choice of major
would be beneficial, especially as related
to the apparent convergence of influences on men and women over their academic careers. In addition, researchers
could follow up with graduates who are
now working to see whether their expectations were met regarding their major
choices. Results of such additional studies would be beneficial to students, advisors, business schools, and employers.
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of criteria and choice using the analytical hierarchy process. Mid-American Journal of Business, 17, 47–56.
Sumner, K., & Brown, T. (1996). Men, women,
and money: Exploring the role of gender, gender-linkage of college major and career-information sources in salary expectations. Sex
Roles, 34, 11–12, 823–840.
Turner, S., & Bowen, W. (1999). Choice of major:
The changing (unchanging) gender gap. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 52(2),
289–313.
May/June 2005
279
APPENDIX
Survey Document: Influences on Choice of Major
The purpose of the survey is to ascertain the factors that influenced your academic
major choices. Please open, complete, and submit only once. This is expected to take
less than 5 minutes to complete.
1. Student ID #
2. Gender
Male
Female
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3. Age
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 or more
4. Are you a transfer student?
Yes
No
5. Indicate your current academic status/class code.
First semester freshman, Class code 1
Second semester freshman, Class code 2
First semester sophomore, Class code 3
Second semester sophomore, Class code 4
First semester junior, Class code 5
Second semester junior, Class code 6
First semester senior, Class code 7
Second semester senior, Class code 8
6. What was your major when you came to this college as an incoming freshman or
as a transfer student?
Undecided. If you choose this, please skip question #7 and go directly to
question #8.
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems
BC = Business Communication
CS = Computer Information Systems
FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting
ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance
FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication
MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences
EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies
LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences
PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
(appendix continues)
280
Journal of Education for Business
APPENDIX (Continued)
7. As an incoming freshman or transfer student, to what extent was your choice of
major influenced by the following factors? Please evaluate the degree of influence
of each factor using a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major
influence.
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1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence
Interest in the subject
Aptitude (skill) in the
subject
College’s reputation in
the subject
Parent/guardian
High school guidance
counselor
High school related
subjects
College Open House
High school
advisor/teacher
Potential job
opportunities
Potential for career
advancement
Level of compensation
(pay) in this field
8. How many times have you changed your major? (including from undecided)
Not changed—my major is the same as when I entered this college. If you choose
this, please go directly to the end of the survey and submit.
One time
Two times
Three times
Four times or more
9. What is your current major?
Undecided
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems
BC = Business Communication
CS = Computer Information Systems
FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting
ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance
FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication
MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences
EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies
LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences
PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
If you have never changed your major, please go directly to the end of the survey
and submit. If you came in as a freshman or transfer student as undecided, please
answer question 10 only and then submit. If you have ever changed your major
from one area to another, please answer questions 10 and 11 and then submit.
(appendix continues)
May/June 2005
281
APPENDIX (Continued)
10. Positive Influences: In selecting your current major to what extent were you
positively influenced by the following factors? Please evaluate each factor on its
level of influence leading you to change to your current major. Use a scale of 1 to
5, where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major influence.
1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence
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Interest in the subject
Discussion with other
students
College advisor
Advising nights
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
for the CPA exam
Availability of career/
job opportunities
Parent/guardian
High level of
compensation (pay)
in this field
If your most recent change of major was from “undecided,” please go directly to
the end of the survey and submit. Otherwise please answer question #11.
11. Negative Influences: For your most recent change of major, to what extent did
the following factors affect your decision to switch out of your previous major?
Please evaluate each factor on its level of influence leading you to drop your previous
major. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major influence.
1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
Discussion with other
students
Prior major too
difficult
Prior major not
challenging
College advisor/
instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirements
for the CPA exam
Level of career/job
opportunities
Parent/guardian
Low level of
compensation (pay)
in this field
Thank you for your time and participation.
282
Journal of Education for Business
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Influences on Students' Choice of College Major
Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby
To cite this article: Charles A. Malgwi , Martha A. Howe & Priscilla A. Burnaby (2005) Influences
on Students' Choice of College Major, Journal of Education for Business, 80:5, 275-282, DOI:
10.3200/JOEB.80.5.275-282
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.5.275-282
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
Submit your article to this journal
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http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=vjeb20
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Date: 12 January 2016, At: 22:43
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:43 12 January 2016
Influences on Students’ Choice of
College Major
CHARLES A. MALGWI
MARTHA A. HOWE
PRISCILLA A. BURNABY
Bentley College
Waltham, Massachusetts
I
n this study, we examined factors that
influence incoming business students’
initial choice of college major, as well
as any later changes to that choice.
Many students enter business school
unsure of which business major to pursue, whereas others make an initial
choice and later change it. Because the
college experience is expected to have
an effect on the factors that influence
the student’s choice of major (Cohen &
Hanno, 1993; Mauldin, Crain, &
Mounce, 2000), it seems likely that
those factors would be different for
incoming freshmen as opposed to
upperclassmen, with possible further
differences related to gender. Although
previous research has clearly established that there are many influences
involved in a student’s choice of a business major (Cohen & Hanno; Kim,
Markham, & Cangelosi, 2002; Noel,
Michaels, & Levas, 2003; Pritchard,
Potter, & Saccucci, 2004), understanding how these influences may differ by
gender and by stage of the student’s
tenure at college can help college advisors work more effectively with students
to refine their major choices. In addition, business schools need to be aware
of the reasons for changes of major, particularly those that can be traced to dissatisfaction with the original major.
In this study, we examined the following issues:
ABSTRACT. In this study, the
authors surveyed undergraduate students at a large northeastern business
school concerning influences on their
choices of major. The authors examined factors such as why students initially select particular majors and
which positive and negative factors
relate to any later changes in those
choices. Results show that interest in
the subject was the most important
factor for incoming freshmen, regardless of gender. For women, the next
most influential factor was aptitude in
the subject. However, men were significantly more influenced by the
major’s potential for career advancement and job opportunities and the
level of compensation in the field. Students appeared to be driven to change
their major because of positive factors
about the new major, rather than negative factors related to the old major.
Q1. What general factors influence
the major selected by incoming freshmen and transfer students?
Q2. Are the factors that influence
freshmen and transfer students different
depending on gender?
Q3. What factors influence later
changes of major?
Q4. Are the factors that influence
changes of major different depending
on gender?
Previous Studies
Although research in this area stems
from many different settings, in this
study we focused on business students.
To date, research has established that
students choosing business majors (as
opposed to nonbusiness majors) are
affected by parental occupation and
socioeconomic status, with the strength
of that effect differing by gender (Leppel, Williams, & Waldauer, 2001).
Within the business school, choice of a
specific major is linked to personality
traits, values, and interpersonal behavior and is again mediated by gender differences (Giacomino & Akers, 1998;
Noel et al., 2003). Although factors
have been found to vary somewhat by
specific business major choice (Gul,
Andrew, Leong, & Ismail, 1989), in
general, students appear to be strongly
influenced by their interest in the subject, the availability of jobs, their aptitude for the subject, and the earnings
potential related to that major (Kim et
al., 2002; Mauldin et al., 2000;
Pritchard et al., 2004).
In an investigation of the differential
influences on students as they progress
through their academic career, Mauldin
et al. (2000) found that accounting
majors tended to decide on their majors
during the semester in which they took
the first accounting course. The course
itself was not particularly important in
making the choice, but the accounting
instructor was influential. Cohen et al.
(1993) found that the influences on
May/June 2005
275
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accounting majors changed somewhat
with the increased experience of the student in the major. Similarly, Strasser,
Ozgur, and Schroeder (2002) surveyed
both sophomore and senior business
majors. They found that although sophomores and seniors listed the same influences on choice of major, sophomores
placed more emphasis on interest in the
subject and seniors placed more importance on career objectives. The authors
pointed out that they did not examine the
influences on incoming freshmen, and
they suggested that their model may not
be predictive with that pool of subjects.
No researchers to date have examined
change of major and the influences that
relate to that decision. In particular, the
extent to which the change is driven by
negative factors about the original major
versus positive factors about the new
major is important for business schools
to understand. With this knowledge, it
may be possible for business schools to
address real or perceived shortcomings
in a particular major.
Gender differences in nonbusiness
majors have been studied fairly frequently, but there is less research related to business majors and gender differences. For example, investigating
nonbusiness majors, Lackland and
DeLisi (2001) found a gender difference in students’ perceptions about
their aptitudes for different majors,
their humanitarian concerns regarding
the various majors, and the utility of
available majors. Turner and Bowen, in
their 1999 study of gender differences’
relation to SAT score differences, concluded that abilities as measured by the
SAT did little to explain gender differences in choices of a nonbusiness
major. In terms of salary expectations,
students (both male and female) in
male-dominated majors tended to
expect higher salaries than did students
in non–male-dominated majors (Sumner & Brown, 1996). Giacomino et al.
(1998) suggested that there were significant differences in the values held by
different business majors and that gender differences further affected these
relationships. To extend that research,
we sought to examine the effect of gender differences on the influences that
relate to initial choice of business major
and later changes in that choice.
276
Journal of Education for Business
Method
We developed a questionnaire to collect data on factors that influence business students’ major selections. We tabulated the responses and compared them
in two ways. First, we determined the
percentage response for the total population for each influencing factor for
majors selected by (a) incoming freshmen and (b) for those students who
changed majors. Then, we compared the
factors for gender differences. We used a
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
to compare men’s versus women’s means
to determine their level of significance.
Survey Instrument
To ensure that the data gathered from
the questionnaire were reliable and
accurate, we developed the document in
three stages. The first stage consisted of
assuring that all the material factors that
influenced students were included in the
survey. We asked 70 sophomores in an
accounting course to list which factors
influenced them to select their majors.
We developed the list of factors for the
pilot questionnaire by using the information received from the students and
supplementing it with findings from
previous research.
In spring 2002, we tested the pilot
questionnaire using the Perseus Survey
Solutions software to collect the data.
We used over 500 responses to refine the
document, clarify the questions and
instructions, and develop the final questionnaire. In the final survey document,
we asked students to indicate student ID
number, class standing, sex, age,
whether they had transferred to the college, and how many times they changed
their major. We instructed them to evaluate the influence of a list of factors on
their original choice of major on a 5point Likert scale. For later changes of
major, we asked them to again use a 5point Likert scale to evaluate a list of
positive factors related to the new major,
as well as negative factors related to the
original major. (See the Appendix for the
actual survey document.)
Subjects
The population consisted of approxi-
mately 3,800 undergraduate students at
the business college in April, 2003. The
business university offers business and
business-related majors and minors, all
of which are infused with information
technology and supported by an extensive preparation in the arts and sciences.
A total of 788 students responded to the
survey, for a 20% response rate. As we
show in Table 1, 184 freshmen, 283
sophomores, 225 juniors, and 182
seniors responded. Sixty percent (466)
of the respondents were women, and
92% ranged in age from 18 to 24 years.
About 16% of the respondents entered
the college as transfer students rather
than as freshmen, with female transfer
students outnumbering male transfer
students by about two to one.
The data in Table 2 show the breakdown of majors selected by the male
versus the female respondents when
they entered the college, either as freshmen or as transfer students. About two
thirds (n = 524, 68%) of the incoming
students chose a specific major, whereas 32% (n = 247) were undecided. Out
of the 18 business and business-related
majors offered at the college, accountancy attracted the highest number of
incoming students, with 14.5% of the
respondents selecting that major.
Accountancy was followed by finance
(10.8%), management (10%), and marketing (9.2%). A breakdown by gender
highlights differences in those choices—
for incoming female students, the most
frequently selected major was accountancy (selected by 17% of responding
women), and the women’s next most
frequent choices were marketing
(12.2%) and management (10.5%). In
contrast, incoming male students most
frequently chose finance (selected by
17.4% of responding men); this selection was followed by computer information systems (10.8%) and accountancy
(10.8%).
Procedure
We sent the survey by e-mail to the
undergraduate students of the college in
early April, 2003 and collected the data
over a 3-week period. We instructed the
participants to open and answer the survey only once. We reviewed the results
for duplicate student ID numbers and
Results
TABLE 1. Baseline Demographics of Responding Students
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Characteristic
Class
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Total
Age (yrs.)
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
>25
Total
Entered as
Transfer
Freshman
Total
n
%
Men
(n)
Women
(n)
Men
(%)
Women
(%)
183
183
225
181
772
23.70
23.70
29.15
23.45
100.00
70
85
81
69
305
113
98
144
112
467
38.25
46.45
36.00
38.12
39.51
61.75
53.55
64.00
61.88
60.49
69
199
195
148
80
13
7
62
773
8.92
25.74
25.23
19.15
10.35
1.68
0.91
8.02
100.00
23
75
85
57
29
6
6
25
306
46
124
110
91
51
7
1
37
467
33.33
37.69
43.59
38.51
36.25
46.15
85.71
40.32
39.59
66.67
62.31
56.41
61.49
63.75
53.85
14.29
59.68
60.41
126
642
768
16.40
83.60
100.00
43
260
303
83
382
465
34.13
40.50
39.45
65.87
59.50
60.55
TABLE 2. Majors Chosen at Entry to the College
Major
Undecided
Accountancy (AC)
Accounting information
systems (AIS)
Business communications
(BC)
Computer information
systems (CS)
Corporate finance and
accounting (FA)
Managerial economics
(ME)
Economics–finance (EF)
Finance (FI)
Information design and
corporate
communication (IDCC)
Management (MG)
Marketing (MK)
Mathematical science (MA)
English (EN)
History (HI)
International studies (INT)
Liberal arts (LA)
Philosophy (PH)
Public policy and social
change (PSC)
Total
Men
(n)
Women
(n)
Men
(%)
95
33
152
79
31.20
10.80
32.60
17.00
1.00
1
7
0.30
1.50
12
1.60
2
10
0.70
2.20
57
7.40
33
24
10.80
5.20
20
2.60
8
12
2.60
2.60
4
31
83
0.50
4.00
10.80
4
23
53
0
8
30
1.30
7.54
17.40
0.00
1.70
6.50
9
78
71
10
3
1
16
5
2
1.20
10.00
9.20
1.30
0.40
0.10
2.10
0.60
0.30
1
29
14
2
0
1
1
2
1
8
49
57
8
3
0
15
3
1
0.30
9.50
4.60
0.70
0.00
0.30
0.30
0.70
0.30
1.70
10.50
12.20
1.70
0.60
0.00
3.20
0.60
0.20
2
771
0.30
100.00
2
305
0
466
0.70
100.00
0.00
100.00
n
%
247
112
32.00
14.50
8
incomplete surveys, which we removed
from the database. The Perseus Survey
Solutions software summarized the data
Women
(%)
by total number of responses per question and percentages of responses by
question.
The first research question (Q1)
sought to ascertain which factors influenced incoming freshmen and transfer
students in their initial choice of major.
Omitting those who were undecided,
the data in Table 3 indicate the factors
that influenced students’ choice of
majors upon entrance to the college,
either as freshmen or as transfer students. Students used a 5-point Likert
scale to rate each factor’s influence in
their choices, with 5 representing a
major influence and 1 indicating no
influence. The most influential factor
overall was interest in the subject, which
had a mean of 4.36, followed by the
potential for career advancement (M =
3.95) and the major’s potential job
opportunities (M = 3.88). Three other
factors were rated highly: aptitude in the
subject (3.77), level of pay in the field
(3.74), and the college’s reputation in
the field (3.60). The students reported a
lower degree of influence from various
advisors, including parents, high school
guidance counselors, and high school
teachers/advisors. A related course in
the subject in high school was rated relatively low in influence, as was the college’s open house, at which information
about various majors was presented.
To gain more insight into the influences on major selected by incoming
students, our second research question
(Q2) examined the extent to which male
and female respondents differed. As the
data in Table 3 show, we found statistically significant differences in the relative influence of the level of pay in the
field (p = .001), the potential for career
advancement (p = .002), and the potential job opportunities (p = .008), with
men finding those factors more important than women did. Women were significantly more likely than men to be
influenced by their aptitude in the subject (p = .016), which was 2nd in importance for them but only 5th for the men,
and by a related course taught in high
school (p = .009), which was 7th and
8th in importance for men and women,
respectively.
The third research question (Q3)
focused on influences on students’ later
changes of major. For these changes, the
factors that influenced students could
May/June 2005
277
TABLE 3. Factors Influencing Majors Chosen Upon Entry to the College,
With Gender Differences
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Factor
Interest in subject
Aptitude (skill) in the subject
College’s reputation
Parent/guardian
High school guidance counselor
Related subject in high school
College open house
High school advisor/teacher
Potential job opportunities
Potential for career advancement
Level of pay (compensation) in
the field
M
Women
Level of
significance
n
M
Men
526
516
516
522
526
526
526
526
525
526
4.36
3.77
3.60
2.37
1.66
2.55
1.77
1.95
3.88
3.95
4.32
3.63
3.53
2.36
1.61
2.36
1.71
1.84
4.05
4.13
4.41
3.88
3.67
2.35
1.68
2.68
1.83
2.02
3.77
3.82
.255
.016*
.207
.938
.416
.009*
.223
.101
.008*
.002*
526
3.74
3.95
3.60
.001*
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
*F test showing significance at the .05 level.
TABLE 4. Positive Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Differences
Factor
Interest in subject
Discussion with other students
College advisor
Advising nights
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
Career and job opportunities
Parent/guardian
High level of compensation
n
M
Men
365
360
359
360
363
362
358
363
365
363
4.48
3.12
2.14
1.72
2.93
3.35
1.54
3.71
2.31
3.45
4.49
3.06
2.01
1.72
2.87
3.31
1.64
3.77
2.30
3.62
M
Women
4.47
3.16
2.24
1.72
2.97
3.37
1.47
3.69
2.30
3.35
Level of
significance
.791
.432
.096
1.000
.473
.684
.130
.516
.986
.055
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
either be positive or negative. For example, students could be switching majors
owing to (a) their dissatisfaction with
the previous major or (b) their positive
expectations about the new major.
About half (52%) of the respondents to
the survey had not changed their majors,
41% changed their majors once, and 7%
changed their majors more than once.
In Table 4, we present the descriptive
statistics for the positive factors that
influenced students who changed their
majors. In addition to students who
changed from one specific major to
another, this analysis includes the 170
students who were originally undecided
278
Journal of Education for Business
and later changed to specific majors. Of
the 10 choices listed as possible positive
factors, respondents identified interest
in the subject, career and job opportunities, and high level of compensation as
the three most influential factors
prompting their choice of the new
majors, with means of 4.48, 3.71, and
3.45, respectively.
It is also possible that students’ decisions to change majors might arise from
negative factors related to the old major.
(Those changing from “undecided”
were not included in this analysis.) The
overall mean response for each of the
negative factors, as shown in Table 5,
ranged from a low of 1.40 for the 150hour requirement to a high of 2.68 for
level of career opportunity.
The fourth research question (Q4)
examined gender differences related to
changes of major. For positive factors,
in Table 4 we present an F test of oneway ANOVA for gender differences.
The data in Table 4 show that there were
no gender-based differences that were
significant at the .05 level, but the high
level of compensation in the new major
was marginally more influential for men
than women (p = .055).
In Table 5, we present an ANOVA Ftest statistic for testing the gender differences associated with the negative
factors influencing the change of
majors. Although none of the factors
were evaluated as being more than a
minor influence for either gender, some
differences between men and women
were significant at the .05 level. Female
students’ decision to change majors was
more strongly influenced by the difficulty of that major (p = .021) and by
advice from their college advisor (p =
.024). Also, the influence of discussions
with other students was marginally
more important for women in their decision to change from their original
majors (p = .054).
Summary and Implications
Although many researchers have
examined the issue of college major
selection in general, in this study we
focused on business students, analyzing
their major choices as they entered the
college, as well as their changes of
major later in their academic careers.
We also studied gender differences
related to both initial and later major
changes.
In relation to the choice of major
made by incoming students, our findings are generally consistent with those
of earlier research. For both genders,
interest in the subject is the primary
influence, as found by Kim et al. (2002)
and Strasser et al. (2002). Strasser et al.
also found, to their surprise, that high
school courses, high school advisors,
and even parents do not appear to be
particularly influential in the initial
major choice. Interestingly, although
Strasser et al. used sophomore subjects,
in this study we found essentially the
TABLE 5. Negative Factors Influencing Change of Major, With Gender Differences
Factor
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Discussion with other students
Prior major was too difficult
Prior major not challenging
College advisor
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
Level of career/job opportunity
Parent/guardian
Low level of compensation
n
M
Men
195
195
193
194
194
190
190
195
194
195
2.40
1.90
1.93
1.56
2.13
2.57
1.41
2.68
1.88
2.20
2.18
1.64
1.70
1.36
2.10
2.38
1.31
2.68
1.79
2.14
M
Women
2.55
2.08
2.03
1.70
2.17
2.69
1.48
2.68
1.91
2.24
Level of
significance
.054
.021*
.076
.024*
.735
.168
.221
.991
.503
.663
Note. Respondents rated factors on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 5 (major influence) to
1 (no influence).
*F test showing significance at the .05 level.
same result with freshmen, who might
be expected to be even more heavily
influenced by those factors. Although
both men and women were most strongly
influenced in their initial major choice by
their interest in the subject, there were
several gender differences in other factors. For example, women were strongly
influenced by their aptitude in the subject and men significantly less so,
whereas men were significantly more
influenced than women by the level of
pay in the field. These results present
opportunities for researchers to explore
the sources of those differences.
The results related to later changes of
major extend the previous research in
interesting ways. Previous research has
not focused on changes in major in any
depth, but, because almost half of our
respondents changed their majors later
in their academic careers, it is important
to understand the factors that influence
such changes. First, interest in the subject is a very strong and enduring influence for both men and women. Our
results indicate that, as with the initial
choice, interest in the subject is the primary influence for later changes of
major. This finding contrasts with that of
Strasser et al. (2002), who found that
seniors are less influenced by their interest in the subject than are sophomores,
and with Mauldin et al. (2002), who
found that sophomore and junior
accounting majors rated interest in the
subject as less important than career
opportunities. In this study, we found
that career and job opportunities ranked
second to interest in the subject in terms
of relative influence in changes of major.
Another interesting conclusion of our
study is that men and women appear to
become more alike in the factors that
influence their major choice over time.
Although there were several significant
differences noted in the factors that
influenced the initial major selections
for incoming students, there were no
significant gender differences related to
positive factors in later changes of
major. In fact, if the positive factors are
ranked, the top five are the same for
both genders, except that the third and
the fourth exchange places.
Our findings also indicate that positive factors are far more important in the
decision to change majors than are negative factors. Strasser et al. (2002) found
this to be true for accounting majors,
and this study extends that finding to
business majors in general. Thus, business schools may be relieved to find that
students do not appear to leave a major
because of dissatisfaction but instead
tend to gravitate to a new major because
of its positive factors.
This study was not free from potential
limitations. Our use of a single business
college and our focus on business majors
limit the generalizability of the results.
Further research could also involve stu-
dents from across the liberal arts and
other schools. More research related to
gender differences in choice of major
would be beneficial, especially as related
to the apparent convergence of influences on men and women over their academic careers. In addition, researchers
could follow up with graduates who are
now working to see whether their expectations were met regarding their major
choices. Results of such additional studies would be beneficial to students, advisors, business schools, and employers.
REFERENCES
Cohen, J., & Hanno, D. (1993). An analysis of
underlying constructs affecting the choice of
accounting as a major. Issues in Accounting
Education, 8(2), 219–238.
Giacomino, D., & Akers, M. (1998). An examination of the differences between personal values
and value types of female and male accounting
and nonaccounting majors. Issues in Accounting Education, 13(3), 565–585.
Gul, F., Andrew, B., Leong, S., & Ismail, Z. (1989).
Factors influencing choice of discipline of
study—Accountancy, engineering, law and medicine. Accounting and Finance, 28(2), 93–102.
Kim, D., Markham, F. S., & Cangelosi, J. D.
(2002). Why students pursue the business
degree: A comparison of business majors across
universities. Journal of Education for Business,
78, 28–32.
Lackland, A., & DeLisi, R. (2001). Students’
choices of college majors that are gender traditional and nontraditional. Journal of College
Student Development, 42(1), 39–48.
Leppel, K., Williams, M., & Waldauer, C. (2001).
The impact of parental occupation and socioeconomic status on choice of college major.
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(4),
373–394.
Mauldin, S., Crain, J., & Mounce, P. (2000). The
accounting principles instructor’s influence on
students’ decision to major in accounting. Journal of Education for Business, 75, 142–148.
Noel, M., Michaels, C., & Levas, M. (2003). The
relationship of personality traits and self-monitoring behavior to choice of business major.
Journal of Education for Business, 78,
153–157.
Pritchard, R., Potter, G., & Saccucci, M. (2004).
The selection of a business major: Elements
influencing student choice and implications for
outcomes assessment. Journal of Education for
Business, 79, 152–157.
Strasser, S., Ozgur, C., & Schroeder, D. (2002).
Selecting a business college major: An analysis
of criteria and choice using the analytical hierarchy process. Mid-American Journal of Business, 17, 47–56.
Sumner, K., & Brown, T. (1996). Men, women,
and money: Exploring the role of gender, gender-linkage of college major and career-information sources in salary expectations. Sex
Roles, 34, 11–12, 823–840.
Turner, S., & Bowen, W. (1999). Choice of major:
The changing (unchanging) gender gap. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 52(2),
289–313.
May/June 2005
279
APPENDIX
Survey Document: Influences on Choice of Major
The purpose of the survey is to ascertain the factors that influenced your academic
major choices. Please open, complete, and submit only once. This is expected to take
less than 5 minutes to complete.
1. Student ID #
2. Gender
Male
Female
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3. Age
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 or more
4. Are you a transfer student?
Yes
No
5. Indicate your current academic status/class code.
First semester freshman, Class code 1
Second semester freshman, Class code 2
First semester sophomore, Class code 3
Second semester sophomore, Class code 4
First semester junior, Class code 5
Second semester junior, Class code 6
First semester senior, Class code 7
Second semester senior, Class code 8
6. What was your major when you came to this college as an incoming freshman or
as a transfer student?
Undecided. If you choose this, please skip question #7 and go directly to
question #8.
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems
BC = Business Communication
CS = Computer Information Systems
FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting
ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance
FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication
MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences
EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies
LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences
PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
(appendix continues)
280
Journal of Education for Business
APPENDIX (Continued)
7. As an incoming freshman or transfer student, to what extent was your choice of
major influenced by the following factors? Please evaluate the degree of influence
of each factor using a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major
influence.
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1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence
Interest in the subject
Aptitude (skill) in the
subject
College’s reputation in
the subject
Parent/guardian
High school guidance
counselor
High school related
subjects
College Open House
High school
advisor/teacher
Potential job
opportunities
Potential for career
advancement
Level of compensation
(pay) in this field
8. How many times have you changed your major? (including from undecided)
Not changed—my major is the same as when I entered this college. If you choose
this, please go directly to the end of the survey and submit.
One time
Two times
Three times
Four times or more
9. What is your current major?
Undecided
AC = Accountancy
AIS = Accounting Information Systems
BC = Business Communication
CS = Computer Information Systems
FA = Corporate Finance & Accounting
ME = Managerial Economics
EF = Economics–Finance
FI = Finance
IDCC = Information Design and Corporate Communication
MG = Management
MK = Marketing
MA = Mathematical Sciences
EN = English
HI = History
INT = International Studies
LA = Liberal Arts
LAMA = Liberal Arts with concentration in Mathematical Sciences
PH = Philosophy
PSC = Public Policy and Social Change
If you have never changed your major, please go directly to the end of the survey
and submit. If you came in as a freshman or transfer student as undecided, please
answer question 10 only and then submit. If you have ever changed your major
from one area to another, please answer questions 10 and 11 and then submit.
(appendix continues)
May/June 2005
281
APPENDIX (Continued)
10. Positive Influences: In selecting your current major to what extent were you
positively influenced by the following factors? Please evaluate each factor on its
level of influence leading you to change to your current major. Use a scale of 1 to
5, where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major influence.
1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence
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Interest in the subject
Discussion with other
students
College advisor
Advising nights
Instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirement
for the CPA exam
Availability of career/
job opportunities
Parent/guardian
High level of
compensation (pay)
in this field
If your most recent change of major was from “undecided,” please go directly to
the end of the survey and submit. Otherwise please answer question #11.
11. Negative Influences: For your most recent change of major, to what extent did
the following factors affect your decision to switch out of your previous major?
Please evaluate each factor on its level of influence leading you to drop your previous
major. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where: 1 = no influence and 5 = major influence.
1
No
influence
2
Minor
influence
Discussion with other
students
Prior major too
difficult
Prior major not
challenging
College advisor/
instructors
Introductory courses
150-hour requirements
for the CPA exam
Level of career/job
opportunities
Parent/guardian
Low level of
compensation (pay)
in this field
Thank you for your time and participation.
282
Journal of Education for Business
3
Somewhat
minor
influence
4
Somewhat
major
influence
5
Major
influence