For undergraduates who plan to change their majors in Wuhan University, there is a chance for them now to get a better understanding of their target major before making the decision. An activity named “Major Exchange” is held by a student association this year. The participants are allowed to exchange their major with each other by choice. 1347 undergraduates signed up and 156 pairs were successfully matched out of the students. During this activity, the participants were offered a chance to take the core courses of their preferred major and hopefully better evaluate whether the major suits them or not with the help of their partners.
The university aims to assist the students who intend to change their major through the activity and some other measures. In this way, the students will be able to make a better-informed decision and less likely to regret the decision due to lack of information.
It is not uncommon for freshmen to feel unsatisfied with their majors, especially in China, where NCEE (National College Entrance Examination) scores and lack of advance planning might both hinder students from being enrolled in their dream majors. Therefore, it is partly down to the universities to help the students follow their dreams.
Besides efforts to make students better informed, Wuhan University also boasts a friendly system that allows undergraduates to change their major quite easily. According to this year’s list of students allowed to change their major, 711 undergraduates altogether successfully changed major into their ideal one. The number increased by 34.66% compared to last year, ranking the top among the universities across the whole nation.
“GPA is the only essential condition. It is the key to success in major-changing.” Zhou Zhenyi, an interviewee from School of Law said, “There will also be an interview on your understanding of the major, but you don’t really have to prepare for it beforehand if you are already familiar with your target major.”
“WHU has a well-developed system of credit transfer. A high GPA you have got in your previous major will still be accepted in your new major.” Zhou Zhenyi added, “In WHU, what we take during freshman year is mostly basic and general courses, so, students don’t really have to worry about lagging behind if they intend to change their major.”
Majors in the School of Law are among the most popular target majors and are thus more demanding than others. Zhou Zhenyi told us that this year’s acceptance rate of major-changing in School of Law approximates to 50%.
Law major is Zhou Zhenyi’s most desired major in her application for WHU, while her NCEE score failed her, so, she ended up majoring in Economics. Thanks to her diligence and WHU’s major-changing system, Zhou Zhenyi finally won another chance to follow her dream in the School of Law only half year after her admission to the university.
When asked about whether she deems the half year in Economics and Management School a waste of time, she said: “I would argue no. I made a lot of friends and joined a lot of associations there. What’s more, Economics is also one of WHU’s best majors. I find what I learned during that time very interesting and even helpful for my study in law.”
As a teacher from the School of Philosophy put it, “Undergraduate education should make undergraduates feel the beauty of knowledge and cultivate their curiosity of the world and their courage to explore. That’s why WHU as a comprehensive university is different from many others.” In Wuhan University, perhaps these multi-disciplinary study experiences can be seen as a memorable bonus for undergraduates who successfully change their major.
Edited by: Hu Yue, Wang Wei & Hu Sijia
