Which Majors Match Your Personality Type?

Studies have shown that a student’s personality traits can play a significant role in the program of study they choose to pursue in college. At an institution like Concordia University, Nebraska, which offers 75 unique majors and pre-professional programs, choosing just one can be difficult. However, if you know your personality, you may have more insight into which program of study best suits you without even knowing it.  

Concordia offers many graduate and undergraduate degree types, although this article will focus on undergraduate degrees. Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Education, or cover all available majors at Concordia. Other options that students may add to their core program include pre-professional tracks such as pre-medicine or pre-seminary, as well as Christian or Lutheran Teacher Diplomas, Director of Parish Music certifications, DCE or DCE specialist diplomas, and Classical Lutheran Education certificates.  

With all these options, which one is the right path for you? Look no further – a glance into your personality traits may be a fun (and effective) way of discovering your academic calling.  

Are you creative, detailed and self-disciplined, appreciate originality, or classify yourself as independent or a free thinker? Chances are that you will enjoy completing a degree and finding a career in the arts field, which encompasses a wide variety of majors from music education to graphic design. At Concordia, arts degrees are highly versatile, but require a type of student that has a drive to create original works, both individually and in groups. Therefore, students who are very flexible and tend to “go with the flow” are likely to enjoy pursuing an arts degree.  

Closely related to arts degrees are those in the humanities, which include history, English, classical liberal arts, and more. Humanities majors must be analytical, investigative, open-minded, and often quite creative. Completing a degree in the humanities requires students to exercise their imaginative capabilities, solving complex problems or writing meaningful compositions as well as their investigative abilities, connecting facts and coming to solid conclusions. Like students in the arts, students in the humanities tend to be highly flexible and open-minded.  

Alternatively, would you describe yourself as flexible, sociable, compassionate, and a good leader? Although these personality traits can generalize to several different fields of study, if you possess the combination of all three, the field of education or theology may be where you find yourself feeling most fulfilled. In essence, many jobs in the ministry field are also jobs in education, and educators of all types never work the same day twice. Students or parishioners will present you with new problems each day and will need unique care and shepherding depending on their place in life. If you love caring for others and find yourself drawn to leading groups of any age, these fields may be the best fit for you.  

At Concordia, the discipline of the social sciences also calls for students to have many of the same traits as educators and pre-ministry students. However, overall, if your personality is more inquisitive, observant, and curious and you would describe yourself as a very patient person, then the social sciences will fit your skills especially well. This field encompasses degrees such as psychology, behavioral science, and criminal justice. If you are talented at working with and experiencing empathy toward other people, or if you are curious about the ways in which the human mind functions, a degree in the social sciences may provide a place for these skills to flourish and grow.  

If you are an effective communicator but function better speaking to larger groups, or if you are extroverted, adventurous, and imaginative, then you may enjoy pursuing a business or communications-related degree such as marketing, business administration, or applied communication. Business and communications degrees are highly versatile, but jobs in the field often emphasize human relations and interaction between partners or groups of any size. If you enjoy promoting or selling products, building convincing arguments, or creating advertisements, then a degree in one of these two highly interrelated fields is likely to be where you find your niche.  

Finally, maybe your strengths include your conscientiousness, drivenness, and ability to solve problems analytically. If so, then a degree in mathematics, computer science, or the natural sciences may fit your personality. Attention to detail is important when exploring the minutiae of God’s creation, so students who possess this quality are likely to excel in the “hard sciences.” Classes in these programs of study, however, can be intense and demanding, which require students to exhibit drivenness, determination, and perseverance. If your personality fits this description, however, the sciences will be lucky to have you! 

Of course, choosing a major isn’t just a personality test; it’s so much more! When you know your strengths and weaknesses, however, it can be a lot easier to make what is undoubtedly one of the hardest decisions you’ll have to make when preparing to go to college. So whether you’re analytical, self-disciplined, sociable, fun-loving, or possess any combination of the personality traits with which God could’ve bestowed you, your vocation is out there waiting.  

Interested in studying at Concordia University, Nebraska? Learn more here.