I am far too interested in many different fields of study. I have been unable to choose what I want to focus on, and I can feel that it is negatively affecting my studies and life. I have switched from everything between Architecture, Economics, Political Science, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Music, History, Foreign Language, Journalism, International Relations, Film, and plenty of others. I know quite a bit about each of these things. I can have long and interesting conversations about all of them with professors, other students, and professionals or enthusiasts. Once I decide to focus on economics, architecture begins to pique my interest, and then I cannot resist becoming distracted and learning about the history, meaning and method of architecture. It doesn’t take long for me to continue on to become infatuated with any other number of disciplines. But I still love all of them very much. I still love talking and thinking about all of them. What am I supposed to do! I know you will tell me to just pick one and stick with it, but it is so hard, I just wanted to see what others who may have had my problem have done and their impressions or advice.
So one of the hardest parts about a PhD is that people who are interested enough in a subject to do a PhD can find it hard to keep the focus on just what is relevant to their thesis: there are so many interesting tangents, sub-areas, different thinkers that it can be hard to stay on task. At some point, though, it becomes clear that in this sea of interesting things there is a narrow objective. The real work of a PhD is learning how to identify a question, do enough research to answer that question, and present the findings (aka the thesis).
Which is a long way around saying, you may find it easier to separate the question of your interests in life from the goal of finishing college. A major does not have to represent your lifetime commitment to one subject (CC parent posts will confirm how far many of us are from what we studied in college).
So instead of trying to pick your favorite color - er, subject- go at it from a pragmatic point of view: what do you need to do to be able to graduate? Look at the classes you have taken, figure out what is the easiest major to fit those into (including considering what further classes you will have to take). You may find that your college allows you to create your own major, as long as their is a thread and enough upper-level classes (my college had a major that was actually called ‘Liberal Arts’, which basically required a certain number of upper level classes from any 3(?forget the exact number) of the schools 5 divisions).
Remember also, that one of the truly best things about the American education system is that there are no last chances.
Instead of worrying about your major, try considering what you want to do as a career. Start thinking about what kind of career you would like to have and what fields you enjoy and are particularly good at. Consider what is important to you and research it for different careers–job outlook, salary, day-to-day activities, opportunity for advancement, work environment? Also, consider what field(s) you want to be in. Some you might really enjoy learning about, but the day-to-day work in a job in that field may not interest you. You might want a field that has a lot of job opportunities and room for growth with only a Bachelor’s. Or maybe you want to be an academic and get your PhD. Maybe you want to work directly with people or maybe you want to spend all day on a computer. Maybe you want a job that will allow you to work at home, maybe you want a job with a lot of travel, maybe you just want a job that pays well directly after college and has room for salary growth. Considering what job you want might help you narrow things down.
Once you’ve figured out what job or jobs you’re interested in pursuing after school, then consider what degree will get you there. It’s okay to have a lot of different interests. You have your entire life to learn about all of them, and learning does not have to begin and end in college. You do not have to major in everything you are interested in. Pick one that will get you the job you want and will let you graduate at a reasonable time, and either take elective classes in the other field or learn about them on your own time.
A good diverse major is psychology. I’m considering majoring in it, and it has the advantage of being able to translate into business, medicine, music, history, etc. Pretty much everything except the hard engineering sciences. Unfortunately, it is also highly limited in job opportunities unless you plan on going into grad school afterwards.
If there are numerous subjects which you have approximately equal interest and ability to do well in, perhaps you can consider the following as tie breakers:
a. Job and career prospects specific to the major. But be careful, since some common assumptions are incorrect, and economic and industry cycles mean that even the ones with better job and career prospects can do poorly some of the time. Also, the types of jobs and other non-economic aspects of the jobs should be considered here.
b. Which subjects are more difficult to self-learn or self-educate on your own later as you become interested in them. I.e. which subjects are the ones where having the assistance of instructors and other support (e.g. labs, field expeditions, etc.) that being at a college or university gives access to is most valuable.
Most people have wide and varied interests. The key to selecting a major is remembering that the major only represents one interest or one set of interests. You’re still allowed to pursue the other things you are interested in - just not as a major.
Which one can you see yourself doing a deep dive into for the next 4 years, and which one do you think will lead to the kinds of career opportunities you want? Keep in mind that out of those, only architecture and journalism are pre-professional majors that are intended to lead directly to careers in the field. There are varied options you can pursue with the other majors. But some prepare you better for certain careers than others (a CS major is much more likely to successfully become a software developer than a history major).