Exploratory Pathways at KU

Jayhawk Academic Advising has six Exploratory Pathways for you to consider, as you make decisions regarding your major and career aspirations. Each pathway has curriculum and engagement recommendations based on the KU Core and other courses and opportunities at The University of Kansas.

Communication & Leadership

Experience new identities and ways of thinking, use media, sound, language, or objects to express your understanding of the world, brainstorm and experiment, produce works of art, video, or music, enjoy performance, design in its various forms.

silhouettes of three people in front of a globe

Creative Arts & Design

Manage and collaborate, strategically plan company and project outcomes, influence and guide employee development, motivate and network, sharpen communication skills.

video camera, film reel, and paint palette

Education & Public Service

Teach, facilitate, or train individuals of any age, advocate for others, evaluate and assess individual or community needs, help individuals thrive in their environments, law, and public policy.

weight scale with books on one end and an apple on the other

Health & Behavioral Sciences

Understand how humans grow and develop, help and heal, build healthy relationships and serve others, implement strategies that promote individual and group wellness.

Two hands holding each other in the shape of a heart

Languages & Cultures

Learn about people and cultures, strengthen your writing, reading, and communication skills, understand beliefs, art, and literature, understand our complex and diverse global society.

open book with two silhouettes of people on one side and a globe on the other

Science & Technology

Innovative construction and design, hands-on learning, explore how things work, experiment to determine what is possible, dive into data, solve equations using observation and analysis.

brain with three gears hovering above it

KU Core Breakdown: The Goals

Critical Thinking and Quantitative Literacy: 1.1 & 1.2

  • Requires two units. Unit 1.2 can be completed by ACT/SAT exemption.
  • Students will be able to analyze and evaluate assumptions, claims, evidence, arguments, and forms of expression; select and apply appropriate interpretive tools.

Breadth of Knowledge: 3S, 3H, and 3N

  • Requires three units. 
  • Students will be able to demonstrate basic competence in the principles, theories, and analytic methods used in each of the following: social sciences (3S), arts and humanities (3H), and natural sciences (3N).

Social Responsibility and Ethics: 5.1

  • Requires one unit. Unit can be paired with community service.
  • Students will be able to develop and apply a combination of knowledge and skills to demonstrate an understanding of social responsibility and ethical behavior.

Communication: 2.1.1, 2.1.2 & 2.2

  • Requires three units. Unit 2.1.1 can be completed by ACT/SAT exemption.
  • Students will be able to generate, explore, organize, and convey ideas in writing, using language and other media to present those ideas clearly.

Culture and Diversity: 4.1 & 4.2

  • Requires two units. 4.2 can be met by studying abroad.
  • 4.1 - students will be able to investigate the diversity of the human experience within the United States.
  • 4.2 - students will be able to examine a variety of perspectives in the global community.

Integration and Creativity: 6

  • Requires one unit. Unit can be a course or an approved experience. Unit usually completed within major.
  • Students will be able to analyze and combine information from different areas within or across disciplines to approach and explain existing questions and problems, pose new questions, and generate new ideas.

Experience

  • Enrollment – Meet one-on-one with your academic advisor during orientation
  • Advising – Check-in with your advisor during the first few weeks of the semester.
  • Mid-Semester – Talk to your advisor about how your journey is going and select potential classes for the upcoming semester.

Discover & Develop

  • HawkQuest Career Quiz
  • Career Assessments
  • Student Organizations
  • Self Reflections
  • Career Communities
  • Campus Involvement
  • Online Resources
  • Research
  • Employment

Declare

Develop a list of potential majors with your academic advisor.