What Your College Major Says About Your Personality (Unless A Psych Major Already Told You)

Choosing a major is one of the first important life decisions that many people make. It’s a decision that will affect your education, your career, and your future life path (but, you know, NO PRESSURE), so it’s no wonder that many people take a while to decide. The major you ultimately choose will say a lot about, not only your future life goals, but also who you are as a person. Obviously, there are lots of different types of people in every major; after all, your college major is not some kind of magical mood ring that can perfectly describe your personality (Actually, all the mood rings I ever had didn’t work at all, so maybe your college major is better than a mood ring…). But, clearly, you put a lot of thought into choosing your major, and that choice in itself reflects the kind of work you enjoy, the kind of work you want to do, and the way you see yourself.

Some of the connections between one’s major and one’s personality are obvious: If you major in English lit, you clearly enjoy reading literature. If you major in math, well, obviously, you like math. But your major can also suggest whether you’re in introvert or an extrovert, how you like to solve problems, how you relate to others, and a host of other fun facts about you.

Scroll through to see what your major might be saying about you. Some of these personality traits may be eerily familiar (or not! I never said I was a psych major, did I?):

Education

You care about helping people learn, you like helping students break down difficult concepts, and, OK, you really like decorating bulletin boards, too. Your usual cheerfulness, cultivated for the benefit of elementary students, lures some people into assuming that you’re weak, but they soon learn that, as a future teacher, you’re already learning to take no sh*t from anyone.

Engineering

You want to know what makes the world tick — and then you want to figure out how to make it tick just a little bit better. Engineering majors are analytical and creative, excited about breaking things down, seeing how they work, and then building them back up again.

Business

Business majors are outgoing, socially savvy people who aren’t willing to sit around and wait for the world to come to them. If you’re a business major, you’re already working on making useful connections with people in the real world. Also, you seriously know how to rock a suit.

Political Science

You pride yourself on knowing what’s going on in the world right now, and you think it’s important for other people your age to know, too. You try to look at problems from all angles and find solutions, and your idea of a good time is debating policy issues for hours.

English

No one who knows you’re an English major will be surprised to learn that you’re a bit of an introvert — you can be plenty social, but you love having time to sit in a cozy nook and read monstrously long novels. You analyze everything, maybe a little too much — Your favorite part of going to a movie is picking it apart afterward.

Physics

Contrary to popular belief, scientists are not all socially awkward or antisocial. Physics majors are smart, curious people who like solving puzzles and figuring out how the universe is put together.

Studio Art or Theatre

As an art and/or drama major, you are tired of people assuming that your major doesn’t actually involve any work. You are working hard to perfect your craft and express yourself with as much creativity and skill as possible. You’re spontaneous, willing to take risks, and you like finding the theatricality in everyday situations.

Fashion or Interior Design

You appreciate beauty and want to make the world a more beautiful place. You are creative and practical at the same time and enjoy learning how to solve real problems with space and clothing while still ensuring that they are beautiful and original.

Math

You are someone who loves puzzles, and you find the black-and-white nature of mathematics soothing in a chaotic world.

History

You’re not only content to know how things are — you always want to know how they got that way. You’re someone who loves stories about the real world and learning about cultures different from your own. You have an active imagination that allows you to (attempt, at least) to see the world through the eyes of people in the past.

Pre-Med

You are a person with a plan. You’re someone who sets long-term goals and works hard accomplish them. You enjoy science, but you’re also interested in people. You’re fairly social (when you’re not studying, that is). (And, yes, I know that you're actual major is something like biology or chemistry, but we all know it's all about the med school).

A foreign language

You recognize that it’s a big world out there, and you want to explore. You are inquisitive, adventurous, and love learning about new people.

Psychology

To you, nothing is more fascinating that the human mind, and you like to analyze the people around you, as well as yourself. You are sensitive and empathetic toward others, and you always assume there’s more going on than meets the eye.

Images: The CW; Giphy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

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Valentine Belue

Update: 2024-05-04

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