The 10 Most Popular College Majors

Still trying to decide what to study in college? We have you covered with some of the most popular majors out there.

These majors can be popular for lots of different reasons. Some majors like engineering and healthcare pay well but are incredibly rigorous, and others like communications, journalism, and visual and dramatic arts may pay less but are popular passions. And within the top 10 majors, there are specializations you can choose from that likely cover at least one of your interests.

Whatever your career priorities are, check out our list to see what new, high-paying, and growing careers are available.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Business programs are one of the most universal majors. You’ll learn about the intricacies of leading and managing a business in courses like legality, ethics, and management. Business programs also intersect with economics, marketing, and finance to teach you how to lead or run a successful business.

Undergrad business majors typically pursue a specific field like marketing, analytics, financial services, and business administration.

While there aren’t many majors labeled “healthcare,” there are a few “pre-health” majors you can pursue in undergrad to prepare you for medical school or to work in the health sector.

Biology, chemistry, and sports medicine can prepare you for medical school, physical therapy school, occupational therapy, and other healthcare fields that require more than a bachelor’s.

A bachelor’s in nursing can launch you right into a nursing career with no more school needed. Other majors like nutritional science and public health may only need certifications to enter the field without a master’s or doctorate.

The social sciences are liberal arts majors that investigate society and its institutions. They study government, economics, geography, history, and sociology. Many of these majors explore ethics, research human behavior, and use science and methodical procedures to understand the economic market, political world, and criminology.

Biological and biomedical sciences explore the research and development side of healthcare and less on the provider-to-patient care services side.

These majors study life and anatomy and learn how to collect and analyze data. Bachelor’s degrees in biology prepare students for further education in master’s and Ph.D. programs to research vaccines, artificial organ development, and other health-related fields.

Some of the most common places biological sciences majors work after graduation are in pharmaceuticals, vaccine development, animal research centers, plant research centers, and other biologically diverse fields.

If you’re interested in how the brain works and are passionate about mental health, majoring in psychology can open doors for positions in which you care for clients, research human development, or medicine. You’ll study how the brain works and develops, investigate mental illnesses, and examine the best practices in mental healthcare.

A bachelor’s in psychology is almost always paired with a master’s or Ph.D. to become licensed psychologists, mental health counselors, clinical psychologists, or other mental health professionals.

Engineering is the design, creation, and construction of scientific, technological, structural, or mechanical systems. This major heavily applies math and science to creating systems and products. There are five main types of engineering: civil, chemical, mechanical, electrical, and industrial.

Of all the popular majors, engineering degrees are some of the hardest to complete but yield some of the highest salaries. Petroleum, computer hardware, and aerospace engineers made the highest salaries of all engineers, each earning a median of more than $130,000 in 2023, according to the BLS.

Computer scientists make the digital world work. These majors learn how to write code, develop software, design websites, and more to create and manage computer software. Computer scientists are valuable at any company with a digital face, but some of the most lucrative careers are within the tech industry. These professionals develop smartphones, emerging technology, and computers.

Information sciences graduates handle the backend of computer systems by running and maintaining servers and interconnected systems that compile, hold, and distribute data to authorized clients and users.

If you’re artistically inclined or want to explore all the ways you can work with multimedia, try visual and performing arts. Many visual arts departments host dark rooms, theaters, and podcasting rooms to build your skills.

The visual and performing arts are among the most creative majors, covering everything from fashion to film, graphic design, animation, music, photography, and drama.

These careers can lead to many different fields, from Hollywood and Broadway to freelance work or graphic design for any media-facing company.

Education majors often go into pre-school education, K-12 education, administration, and postsecondary faculty positions. Education careers can look like directly educating students, creating curricula, or running schools, departments, or districts.

In an education bachelor’s degree program, you can decide which grade levels and topics you’d like to teach or pursue more education to become a professor or researcher.

In communications and journalism majors, you’ll learn how to communicate concisely and clearly in writing and media production. Communications majors learn how to communicate with others and listen to clients, consumers, and coworkers in public relations-oriented positions.

Journalism programs will teach you how to tell accurate stories ethically and prepare you for ethically interviewing sources and researching to write articles, produce videos, and take pictures for news outlets.

Both prepare you to write well and can lead you into careers in marketing, public relations, news production, and other media-related fields.

Note: The insights on this page were reviewed by an independent third party compensated for their time by BestColleges. Page last reviewed August 12, 2024.