Washburn University hosted its annual Majors and Minors Fair on Oct. 1 at the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center, giving students a chance to explore more than 100 academic programs and connect with faculty.
The event featured representatives from about 40 academic units across campus, along with areas tied to the Washburn transformational experience, including Community Engagement, Leadership, Honors and Study Abroad.
“The Majors and Minors Fair exists in a lot of ways to help our students explore their options for different academic programs,” said James Barraclough, director of Career Engagement. “Maybe they’re interested in figuring out what they could minor in with the major they’re thinking about. Maybe they just want to visit with faculty from three, four or five different academic programs to figure out what they would actually study.”
Barraclough mentioned his partners in the First-Year Experience program help students prepare for the fair by visiting classes and sharing tips on questions to ask. The goal, he said, is for students to connect what they learn at the fair with insights from employers at the Career and Internship Expo.
“That way students can really start to map out, ‘I know this is what employers are looking for. I know this is what I’ll get in these programs,’” Barraclough said. “And they can also start to think about where there might be a little bit of a gap.”
For faculty, the fair also provides a chance to showcase programs to students who may not know about them.
“We don’t usually get a chance to market our majors or touch people that don’t already know about us, other than in our classes,” said Bill Fiander, lecturer in public administration. “So I think this is a good way, at least, if nothing else, to get some new eyes on a topic that maybe people haven’t thought about.”
George Frazier, associate professor of computer information sciences, said his department used the event to highlight careers in technology, including programming, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The department is offering a new course in the spring called AI 108: AI Fundamentals, which is designed to prepare students for careers in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
With dozens of programs and faculty under one roof, the Majors and Minors Fair offered students a chance to ask questions, explore their options and take steps toward shaping their academic journey.
Edited by Anson Appelhanz and Stuti Khadka
