i. Charting Your Academic Plan

Photo by University of New Orleans

To set goals for your academic and career path, you must first have an understanding of the options available for you to pursue and the requirements you will need to meet. This module provides an overview of academic programs and opportunities that are offered at UNO as well as an introduction to academic advising, one of the most important relationships of your academic career. Please note that as programs change, the academic catalog is updated to reflect university policy changes, so always consult your catalog when making decisions.

What Your Advisor Does—and What They Don’t Do

Every undergraduate student at UNO is assigned an academic advisor to provide ongoing support and helps ensure academic success and timely graduation. The relationship between a student and his or her academic advisor is one of shared responsibility. While students are ultimately responsible for the choices they make in college, the University realizes that in order to make informed decisions, students need the mentoring and advice of academic advisors and others in the University community.

Academic advisors are your partners in navigating college. They’re here to help you make informed decisions about your academic path—everything from choosing a major and registering for classes to understanding degree requirements and exploring opportunities like internships or study abroad. A good advisor listens, asks thoughtful questions, and helps you connect your academic choices to your broader goals.

But it’s important to understand the limits of an advisor’s role. Advisors don’t choose all your classes for you, guarantee space in a course, or make decisions for you. They also aren’t responsible for tracking every aspect of your progress—ultimately, you are. The advising relationship works best when it’s built on shared responsibility. Your advisor brings expertise in curriculum, policy, and support resources; you bring your goals, questions, and initiative.

As a student, you have the right to respectful, accurate, and timely guidance. You also have the responsibility to come prepared to advising meetings, ask questions, follow through on referrals or next steps, and review your degree requirements regularly. Advising isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing conversation. When you stay engaged and proactive, your advisor can be one of your most valuable supporters throughout college.

You can view your assigned advisor on your Workday profile or visiting our academic advising website to find your advisor’s contact information:

https://www.uno.edu/admissions/accepted-students/academic-advisement.

Undecided: A Smart Starting Point

It’s perfectly normal—and even strategic—to begin your college journey without a declared major. At the University of New Orleans, many students start out in University College as undecided, sometimes listed officially as “Liberal Arts Undecided” or “Sciences Undecided.” This simply means that you’re in the process of discovering your interests, strengths, and long-term goals before committing to a specific academic path.

UNO recognizes that choosing a major is a significant decision that intersects with career aspirations, values, and personal growth. That’s why we encourage undecided students to approach their first year as an opportunity for exploration. During this time, you’ll work with professional academic advisors who will help you select courses that satisfy core curriculum requirements while also exposing you to different disciplines. You’ll begin to notice which subjects excite you, challenge you, or even surprise you—and that insight is invaluable.

One of the best resources available to undecided students at UNO is the Office of Career Services. They offer a range of self-assessments designed to help you clarify your interests, personality traits, values, and skills. Tools such as Focus 2 can connect your personal profile to potential majors and career paths. These assessments aren’t tests with right or wrong answers—they’re tools for reflection that can point you toward fields you might not have considered on your own. You can explore these career assessments by visiting uno.edu/career-services/self-assessments.

Other strategies for exploration include joining student organizations, attending academic department info sessions, and talking to faculty about their fields. Volunteering, part-time jobs, and internships can also offer real-world insights that help shape your academic decisions. The University Success course at UNO often integrate these kinds of exploratory opportunities into the classroom, helping you make connections between what you’re learning and who you want to become.

Remember: being undecided doesn’t mean being unmotivated—it means you’re open to possibilities and willing to take ownership of your academic journey. With the right guidance and resources, you’ll discover a path that fits your interests and sets you up for success.

Bachelor’s Degrees

When someone generally mentions “a college degree,” they are often referring to the bachelor’s degree, or baccalaureate degree. Because it takes four years of full-time attendance to complete a bachelor’s degree, this degree is also referred to as a “four-year degree.” Similar to an associate’s degree, to enter a bachelor’s degree program a student must have completed a high school diploma or its equivalent. Both associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees are considered undergraduate degrees, thus students working toward these degrees are often called undergraduates. A student with an associate’s degree may transfer that degree to meet some (usually half) of the requirements of a bachelor’s degree; however, completion of an associate’s degree is not necessary for entry into a bachelor’s degree program.

A bachelor’s degree is usually completed with a minimum of 120 credits, or approximately 40 courses. Some specialized degree programs may require more credits. (If an associate’s degree has been transferred, the number of credits from that degree usually counts toward the 120 credits. For example, if an associate’s degree was 60 credits, then a student must take 60 additional credits to achieve their bachelor’s degree.)

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) are the most popular degree titles at this level and differ primarily in their focus on exploring a broader range of subject areas, as with a BA, versus focusing in more depth on a particular subject, as with a BS, BSN, or BFA. Regardless of whether a student is pursuing a BA, BS, BSN, or BFA, each of these programs requires a balance of credits or courses in different subject areas. In the United States, a bachelor’s degree comprises courses from three categories: general education courses, major courses, and electives. A fourth category of courses would be those required for a minor, which we will discuss in more detail in the section on majors and minors.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

General Education

General education, also called core curriculum, is a group of courses that are often set as requirements by your state or by your individual college. These courses provide you with a foundation of knowledge across a breadth of fields and are also intended to help you further develop college-level critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities. You may be able to select courses from a general education menu of courses available at your institution. About one third of your bachelor’s degree program is likely made up of general education courses. You have to take all of the courses listed in some component areas, but you get to choose a course or courses in other component areas. Be careful, though, because sometimes you need to choose a specific course or courses for your degree plan. You can view the UNO general education menu at https://www.uno.edu/general-education/course-menu but you will take courses in categories like:

• English composition
• Humanities courses that study our beliefs and culture such as literature, philosophy, politics, history, and foreign language
• Social science courses that study human behavior such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, or economics
• Science courses such as biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science
• Mathematics
• Fine arts
• College success or first-year experience courses that provide introduction to your specific institution, discuss college-level expectations and skills, and/or provide assistance with academic and career planning

Major Courses

Major courses are courses in your field of interest and provide you with the foundational knowledge required for further study in that field or with the skills necessary to enter your career. Major courses often have a series of prerequisites, or courses that must be taken in sequence prior to other courses, starting with an introductory course and progressing into more depth. Major courses usually make up about a fourth or more of a bachelor’s degree (30 credits, or approximately 10 courses). Every degree will require a different number of major courses and the list of requirements can be found in the university catalog.

Electives

Electives are free-choice courses. Though you may have a choice to select from a menu of options to meet general education and major requirements, electives are less restricted. Some students may be able to take more electives than others due to their choice of major or if they are able to take courses that meet more than one requirement (for example, a sociology course may be both a major requirement and a general education social science course). Some majors intentionally allow room for electives in a program to ensure that students, particularly those students who are undecided about their major, are able to explore different programs without exceeding the total number of credits required to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, or so that students can easily add a minor or second major if they so choose. In other cases, students may have taken all of their major courses and fulfilled their general education requirements but still need additional credits to fulfill the minimum to graduate. Electives are an opportunity to explore your personal interests and intellectual curiosity.

Graduate Degrees

According to United States Census data published in 2018, 13.1 percent of the U.S. adult population have completed advanced degrees. Whereas associate’s and bachelor’s degrees are considered undergraduate degrees and require high school graduation for entry, advanced degrees called graduate degrees require prior completion of a bachelor’s degree. Some professions require graduate degrees as a minimum job qualification, such as pharmacists, lawyers, physical therapists, psychologists, and college professors. In other cases, students may be motivated to pursue a graduate degree to obtain a higher-level job or higher salary, or to be more competitive in their field. Some students are also interested in learning about some subject in greater depth than they did at the undergraduate level. Because graduate degrees do not include general education or free elective courses, they are very focused on career-specific knowledge and skills. Graduate degrees include master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees. Master’s degrees often require 30–60 credits and take one to two years of full-time attendance to complete. Some master’s degrees, like those for counselors, require supervised job experience as a component of the degree and therefore require more credits.

Accelerate Master’s Degrees are offered at UNO. The Accelerated Master’s (AM) Degree offers the opportunity for outstanding students to begin earning credit toward a master’s degree while still pursuing undergraduate studies. The accelerated programs allow a student to complete a master’s in less time and at a lower-than-average cost. The main feature of the program is that, while completing their undergraduate study, students may earn up to twelve semester hours of graduate credit that counts as dual credit for both the baccalaureate and master’s degrees. You can learn more about accelerated master’s programs at:

https://www.uno.edu/academics/grad/programs/accelerated-masters.

Doctorate and professional degrees are the highest level of advanced degrees. Approximately 3.5% of the U.S. adult population has completed a doctorate or professional degree. Very few careers require this level of education for entry, so fewer individuals pursue these degrees. Doctorates are offered in many subjects and primarily prepare students to become researchers in their field of study. This in-depth level of education often requires an additional 90–120 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree, and may or may not require a master’s degree prior to entry. (A master’s degree as an entry requirement may reduce the number of credits required to complete the doctoral degree.)

Professional degrees are a specific type of doctorate-level degree that focus on skills to be applied in a practical, or hands-on, career rather than as a researcher. The most common professional degrees are Doctor of Medicine (MD) for aspiring medical doctors, Juris Doctor (JD) for aspiring lawyers, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for aspiring pharmacists, and Doctor of Education (EdD) for aspiring school and college or university administrators. If the career you are pursuing requires a graduate degree, you should keep this end goal in mind as you plan for the timeline and finances required to meet your goals.

Majors and Minors

One of the most common questions an undergraduate college student will be asked is “What’s your major?” As we already noted, your major is only one part of your undergraduate (associate’s or bachelor’s) degree, but it is the part that most demonstrates your interests and possible future goals. At some point during your studies you will be asked to decide on, or declare, a major. You may also be able to select a minor or additional concentration. Whereas a major comprises approximately 10–12 courses of a bachelor’s degree program and is required, a minor is usually 5–8 courses, is often optional, and may count toward or contribute to exceeding the total number of credits required for graduation. Rather than take elective courses, some students will select courses that meet the requirements for a minor. When selecting a major and possibly a minor, you’ll want to consider how the knowledge and skills you gain through those fields of study prepare you for a particular career. Majors and minors can be complementary. For example, a major in business might be well-matched with a minor in a foreign language, thus allowing the student to pursue a career in business with a company that hires bilingual employees. It is important to research careers of interest to you when selecting your major and/or minor to determine what will best help you to meet your goals. A comprehensive list of all majors and minors offered at UNO, including links to their specific course requirements can be found in the University Catalog (Note: Until the 2025=-2026 catalog is released, this link may take you to the 2024-2025):

http://catalog.uno.edu/content.php?catoid=9&navoid=468.