Changing your programme of study

Study advisor 
Always discuss your doubts with the study advisor of your programme as a first step! Perhaps your doubts are not so much related to the programme, but a result of your study approach or certain circumstances within or outside your programme.

Career advisor Career Service
The career advisor of your faculty Career Service can help you with your questions about reconsidering your programme of study. Together you will discuss your doubts about your programme and, if necessary, how you can orientate yourself towards a new study programme. Together with the career advisor, you will map out your doubts and situation and discuss your options and ways to move forward.

Study orientation consultation
During a consultation about study reorientation, various topics may come up for discussion, such as

• Clarify whether your doubts have to do with your study programme itself, or if they might be a result of your approach to studying, problems with settling in, or other circumstances.
• How you have previously researched the options for study programmes, and how that has led to your current choice.
• Uncertainty and fear of making a 'wrong' decision again.
• How to make a good/new choice. 
• The steps in the study choice process: orientation, exploration, reserching,comparing, decision. Where do you stand and what do you still need?
• Discussing (study choice) test results.
• Approach plan of action.

The outcome of the reorientation process could also be that your current study programme is actually a good fit for you, but that you may need to change a few things in your approach to prgramme, or develop certain study skills, in order to make it work. 

Making choices is part of life. In everything you do, you make bigger or smaller choices and from one choice/decision you go on to the next. Every decision consists of three elements: making a choice, experiencing a choice and reflecting on the choice. After first learning more about yourself (interests, competencies, characteristics, values etc.) making a choice is about:

• Exploring the options: the phase in which you investigate the possible options (in this case study programmes) in breadth and depth;
• Commitment to a choice (made): at a certain moment you come to a decision, a choice, to which you commit yourself. For example, you choose to study Psychology, and you go for it.

Once you have chosen, you will:

• Experience and reflect: you actually only know for sure whether you're in the right place after you've made your decision. Only then will you experience what it is like to study, reflect on it and decide whether this was the right choice. If it feels right, you stick with your choice, and if not, you decide to make a different choice (choose a new study programme). And then the decision making circle starts all over again.

(Source: A life-long choice, Evelyne Meens, 2020)

Doubts about your choice of study programme (reflection on motivation)
It's perfectly normal to have doubts about your studies. Since part of making a choice, experiencing what it is really like, only happens when you have already started studying, there is a chance that the study programme does not quite suits you.

In addition to properly researching various interesting study programmes, getting some first-hand experience with what the study programme is really like before making your final choice, considerably increases the chance that you will choose a study programme that suits you.
Universities/programmes often offer (online) trial study activities to accommodate this to some extent.

Besides experiencing a programme, there are ways to structure your search process to increase your chances of making a good choice. For this, see the section 'Looking for a new study programme'.

Motivation
If you feel that you are no longer very motivated for your studies, that your studies are not going well, that you do not feel comfortable, it is important to reflect on this. What is it exactly that affects your motivation? This can be due to various things.
For example, it could be that you are not as interested (intrinsically motivated) in the subject of your studies as you initially thought. Or perhaps you are lookng forward to the career you will be able to start after your studies, but you feel the road to get there is too long.
Sometimes your decisions are influenced by external factors, things outside yourself, and opinions of others. For example, if people close to you think it's important for you to choose certain study programme or career, you may be inclined to go along with it, because you want to make them proud.

People perform and feel best when they make choices that are in line with their personal interests, values and goals. Meaning, engaging in activities and making choices for things that really interest you, in keeping your values and motivations.

Other factors that can influence your motivation, or the lack of it, is the extent to which:

• you feel comfortable in a new environment
• you feel connected to fellow students
• you feel that you can manage your studies.

If you suspect your doubts have more to do these last aspects than with the topics and content of your studies, try to make some adjustments/improvements. Ask for help if you don't know how to approach this. Chances are that you will be able to succesfully continue your studies. Try to decide for yourself which form(s) of motivation played a role in choosing your current study programme.

If you want to investigate whether you are on the right track with the choices you have made, or those you are about to make, ask yourself the following questions about motivation:

• What activities do I find interesting and fun to do?
• What activities do I find important to do (values)?
• What activities do I do/would I link to do that contribute to achieving my personal goals?
• What activities do I do jusst to avoid feeling guilty, or to make me feel proud?
• What activities do I do in order to receive rewards or to avoid punishment?
• Which activities do I do without a particular reason?

(Source: Studiekeuzeopmaat).

Quitting your study programme and looking for a new one can feel very unpleasant. You feel you have to start all over again, while you had just begun a new chapter in your life. You may feel sad, restless and uncertain about what to do next. There may be an empty period in front of you before the new academic year begins, and how are you going to fill it? Take some time to process all this and to regain your energy to take the next step, i.e. orienting yourself towards a new study.
In any case, the advantage of choosing again is that you already know how 'it works'. You have been involved in the choice process before and you already have experience with studying, with the nice and less pleasant aspects of it. That makes it easier for you to get a better idea of potential new study programme.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• How did you arrive at your current choice of study programme?
• Ask yourself how and why you made your decision to start your current programme. Describe this process in as much detail as possible (e.g. with whom you talked about it, whether you went to the information days).
• What expectations did you have of the programme beforehand, what were looking you forward? Which of these expectations were met in your current study programme and which were not?
• What factors influenced your doubts about your study programme? (see also: Study choice doubts: reflection on motivation)
• What are the positive aspects of your current programme? Which elements would you like to see in a new programme?
• What kind of environment would you like to study in? And which type of education suits you best?
• Are there any important personal factors to take into account when choosing your new programme? 

Also look into:

• Which of these pitfalls do you recognise? 
• What kind of decision maker are you? Do you recognise your own decision making style(s) 

Deciding to quit your study programme and start looking for a new one will not be easy for everyone. Therefore, take your time to process this before you start working on your study choice again.
At the beginning of the study choice process where everything is still unclear, making a study choice can be quite unsettling and stressful. Some students who are thinking about changing their programme may already have ideas about what they would like to do, many others not at all. Realise that this feeling of uncertainty is quite normal at this stage.

There are many reasons why you might choose a particular study programme. These are different for everyone. Are you making your decision mainly based on your interests, in deepening you knowledge in a certain academic topic, or are the career propects after graduation a major factor in your choice?  Do you first decide in shich city or country you would like to study, and only then research the available study programmes in that location? It is important to carefully examine what is important to you. But also, who are you, what are you good at, what do you like?

In the next step, you will orientate on getting to know yourself and exploring the possibilities.

Orientation: Know yourself

In order to be able to choose a course of study that suits you, it is important that you know yourself.
If you know who you are, what you are good at, what you want and what is important to you (qualities, competences, interests, values etc), you can better determine what suits you and this helps you to give direction to your choice and make decisions.
You may already be able to formulate these things reasonably well for and about yourself, but it can also be useful to discuss this with others (parents, family, friends) to get a clear picture.  For example, you can ask them what they think are your best qualities at and what they see as your interests.
It may also be useful to take tests that can help you with this.

On the LU Career Zone you will find tests that will not only provide insights into the framework of your career, but also with regard to your choice of study:

• Career choices (interests/drives, what are you curious about, what do you want to know more about)
• Competencies (what are you good at, what do you do well, what would you like to develop further?)
• Personality (determine your personality type)
• Work values (what is important to you, in your life and in your work?)

But don't forget to take: 

• The Icares study choice test, which gives you an overview of suitable courses based on your interests.

Personal profile
It is advisable to write down your test results in a so-called Personal Profile document. For each part (interests/competencies/personality type/(work) values, other parts), list your 'highest' and 'lowest' scores. By putting the different aspects together, you get a total overview, your personal profile.

Orientation: look into the possibilities
Once you have a clear picture of yourself, you can move on to the next step: look into the possibilities, the choice options. 

The information about yourself that you have collected in your personal profile will now be used to define fields of study that might suit you. You will then further explore and compare these options. Which study programmes best fit the profile you have defined?

To start with, take a look at the following websites, if you want to have a broad orientation, and find as much information as possible about the programmes that interest you:

• The Global Study choice portal (Studyportals)
• Study in holland
• Study choice123 (in Dutch)
• Icares study choice
• Open days calendar (in Dutch)

If you are already thinking about certain study programmes or universities, you can start a more specific search.

• Within Leiden University? Check the bachelor's website.
• Outside Leiden University? Go to Studyportals.
• Be sure to visit Open Days as well, so that you can gain a broader perspective. 

You can start by writing down the themes that interest you and that match your personal profile. Within those themes, you can look for the study programmes that are on offer, at research universities, and possibly also universities of applies sciences. You can make a mind map of this, for example. This is a broad orientation to get an idea of what is possible with your interests.

Then you narrow it down by further exploring the programmes that really match your interests and conditions.

Do you have a list of potentially intersting programmes? Then explore them in more detail:

• Take a look at the content/ curriculum of the study programme, not only of the first year, but also the second and third year.
• Look at the courses in the study prospectus of the programme, what does the course entail, what kind of educational methods are used, etc.
• Think about what else you would like to do during your studies, such as a stay abroad, an internship, an honours programme, etc.
• Also take a look at the specialisations of the bachelors. Do they appeal to you?
• What career prospects does this programme offer? Where do graduates work?

You can find a lot of information online, but also take the following actions:

• Visit Open Days
• Take part in 'Information activities' - experiences help to make a better choice
• Spend a day with a student
• Discuss your considerations with your parents, friends, study advisor, etc.
• Talk to students who are doing / have done the study that appeals to you.
• Interview professionals in the field about the type of jobs the programme is training you for.

Comparing
After the exploration part, you can proceed with comparing the courses that are still on your list. In this phase, determine the most important factors on the basis of which you will make your decision. For instance, the type of education, the possibility of doing an internship, the options within the programme, the location, the educational institution or the job opportunities.

Still finding it difficult? Then make use of the Choice aid: T-model, a decision making tool.

Deciding

Once your have investigated the options and compared them you can move on and make a choice. Are you ready to make a decision?
Also realise the decision you now make for your study programme, will not etermine the course of the rest of your life. Research has shown, for example, that after 25 years, more than 75% of working people are no longer employed in the sector they initially studied! This is because you are constantly developing yourself and gaining new experiences. Based on these new experiences, you will keep on making new choices. So don't fear that you will be stuck with your choice of study programme for the rest of your life. Don't make this decision more difficult than it has to be. 

Did you find a study programme that appeals to you and are you ready to make your decision? Congratulations! You are now starting the next phase in your life!

Enrol in the programme of your choice via Studielink!