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Explore at Siena

Explore at Siena

Not sure what you want to major in? At Siena, we wholeheartedly embrace exploring students—our official name for undecided students. In fact, nearly half of our freshmen in the School of Business, School of Liberal Arts and School of Science start out that way, and with good reason: this is the best place to chart your course.

WE GIVE EXPLORING STUDENTS A FLASHLIGHT 

Rest assured, you won’t navigate your journey alone at Siena. Unlike many schools, we invest time and resources to help you find your way and enjoy every second. Here’s how you’ll discover your major:

TALKING IT OUT

You’ll have lots of opportunities to chat with students about their majors, faculty across fields and career counselors who can make suggestions based on your skills, values, interests and personality.

DABBLING IN EVERYTHING

This is the best part! Take classes in subjects you think you might like, or topics you barely know anything about. We offer 1,200 unique program choices and more than 50 majors, minors and certificate programs.

HAVING A PARTNER

From the start, you'll have a dedicated academic advisor looking out for you—ready to help or answer your questions anytime you need guidance.

ATTENDING EVENTS

We hold awesome events on each major that highlight why students study that field and what graduates do with it. Consider this an open invitation.

IMAGINE

WHAT YOUR FIRST TWO YEARS COULD LOOK LIKE

  

MOST IMPORTANTLY,

YOU WILL JOIN OUR SUCCESSFUL ALUMNI

97% of our recent graduates who started out exploring were hired at their first full-time job within one year of graduating. Forty percent go on to receive a graduate, doctorate, medical, law or other professional degree. 

EMPLOYERS OF EXPLORING STUDENTS

Where a few of our exploring students landed jobs after graduation:

  • Bally Technologies (Director of Game Development)
  • Bose Corporation (Demand Planning Analyst)
  • Catholic Charities (Social Worker)
  • Comcast (HR Specialist)
  • Condé Nast (Marketing Manager, New Business)
  • Deutsche Bank (Vice President)
  • Gap International (Management Consultant)
  • GE (Marketing Communications Specialist)
  • Girvin & Ferlazzo (Attorney)
  • Intel Corporation (Process Engineer)
  • JP Morgan Chase (Analyst)
  • KPMG (Audit Associate)
  • Nestle USA (Category Leadership Manager)
  • NYS Senate (Policy Analyst)
  • PepsiCo (Associate Scientist)
  • Plainview Hospital (Resident Doctor)
  • Shelter Island School (English Teacher)
  • Sony Pictures Television (Writer/Script Coordinator)
  • U.S. Department of Commerce (Special Agent)
  • Unique Technical Services (Electrical Engineer)

GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS

Where a few of our exploring students continued their studies:

  • Albany Law School
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Columbia University
  • Georgia Tech
  • New York University
  • Northeastern University
  • Oklahoma State University
  • Pace University
  • Syracuse University
  • Union College
  • University of Florida
  • University of Massachusetts
  • University of Tennessee

AND YES,

YOU CAN...

Graduate in four years: Your advisor will help you stay on track with your core courses.

 Study abroad: With careful planning, you can still study abroad in London, Rome, Barcelona, Jamaica, Sydney and so forth.

Have internships: In fact, hands-on experiences are some of the best ways to figure out what inspires you.

Our Exploring Students Say...

“The great thing about the advisors at Siena was that they helped me figure out how to assemble my degree. My coursework in both business and Spanish actually made me eligible for an International Studies in Foreign Language and Business Certificate, so having entered as undecided definitely had its advantages.”- David Bissember ‘08: New York State Assembly

“Being undecided at college can sound daunting, but so far, Siena has helped me significantly. There are many resources for exploring students—like gateways classes and academic interest forms—and their faculty and staff make finding a major much easier. Also, since Siena is a liberal arts school, there are more opportunities to explore different areas of study and have them count towards the core classes needed to graduate.” - Kayla Balasco ‘19: Exploring Liberal Arts student

“I absolutely love how at Siena you do not have to choose your major until first semester of junior year. Coming in to Siena, I did not realize how helpful this would be. I can take any business course in any major I want to now, which is great because it allows me to explore each major and see if I enjoy taking those kinds of classes.” - Emma McDonald '19: Exploring Business student

LET'S HIT THE ROAD

Whether or not you've already visited Siena College, we invite you to come to our campus and chat with us about being an exploring student. See for yourself how many exciting paths lie ahead of you!