A Peer Advisor's Path: How to Find a Major and Enjoy your Time at UCSB

by Daria Thompson

I entered UCSB as a Biopsychology major, and I believe I am one of the few people who never changed their major. After high school, I knew I was interested in both Biology and Psychology, so Biopsychology seemed like a natural fit. By combining the basic sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics) with psychology, this major allows students to explore the biological basis of behavior with subjects such as pharmacology, neurology, and endocrinology.

A part of me has always wanted to be a doctor, but I always thought I would need to be a Biology major to get into medical school. However, with the help of the psychology department advisors and the pre-health advisor, I realized that I didn’t need to be any specific major as long as I took the science classes each medical school required. Biopsychology is a great major alternative to Biology, since it allowed me to complete all the science pre-requisites I needed to get into medical school while letting me take upper division psychology classes that I was interested in.

Although I always enjoyed taking Biopsychology classes, my favorite part of the major was being able to perform research with a Biopsychology professor. Sophomore year, I took Psy 115 with Dr. Karen Szumlinski, and I became interested in her research. I approached her after class, and started working as a student research assistant in her Behavioral and Neural Genetics Laboratory. Two years later, I’ve learned a lot about research and have even had my work published in scientific journals.

No education is complete without a major that you enjoyed. It may be the same one you declared as a freshman (like mine), or it may be the major that you stumbled on to after trying out three different ones. Either way, try to make the most of your major by exploring different opportunities within it, such as research experience with your favorite faculty member. You won’t regret it!