Your Major
In an increasingly competitive and unpredictable marketplace, your investment in higher education needs to deliver more than a world-class academic experience; it also needs to give you the specific skill set, experience and mentality that will make you immediately marketable upon graduation and well prepared for life beyond college.
Our professional degree programs, which have long been the hallmark of a Champlain education, are informed by industry experts to ensure that they are both current and correctly focused. Each year we evaluate and refine our programs to meet the needs of emerging and changing career fields, industries, public-service organizations and graduate studies.
Our majors link directly to the professions with the greatest potential for future opportunities, and our curricula have been shaped by working professionals, which is a key reason our graduates continue to be in such high demand in the job market. We continuously integrate the trends in communication technology and industry best practices into the construct of each course to give you the most up-to-date skills.
Start Your Professional Education Immediately: The Upside-Down Approach
At Champlain, you start taking classes in your major in your first year. With our Upside-Down Curriculum, if you want to learn broadcasting, we’ll put you in front of the camera during your first semester. Want to write professionally? You’ll likely be published by your sophomore year. The same is true for each of our career-centered majors. Our unique Upside-Down Curriculum lets you explore your major, take internships earlier, determine areas of particular interest for specialization and have four full years to develop the skills essential for your professional success.
Extensive Opportunities to Work in Your Field
In our cutting-edge professional majors like Game Art and Animation, Environmental Policy, and Computer & Digital Forensics, as well as our traditional majors like Elementary Education, Accounting and Social Work, we ensure our students spend the maximum amount of time possible actually working in the field. Through Champlain’s experience-based learning approach, you will become not only knowledgeable about your field of interest, but also highly skilled in it.
Help & Guidance for Undeclared Majors
If you’re undecided about your major and want to explore a variety of interests within your field, you will find many options and much support at Champlain. During your first two semesters, you’ll participate in our Career Decision program. Begin by selecting one of our four Academic Divisions. Next, the Dean of that Division, along with staff members from the Career Services Office and the Advising & Registration Center, will have one-on-one discussions with you about your interests and professional options, help you structure your schedule with appropriate electives, and help you discover your strengths and define your goals. The Career Decision program includes other activities and testing designed to help you define and refine your career direction in a rational and structured way.
Senior Game work