Why Explore?


Students gathered on a bench outside of Stauffer-Flint Hall

A Student Perspective

"The end result of my many major changes and 4-year plans is not as important as the process itself: the process of finding what it is that you love learning about, the process of finding the classes that make you excited to go to class, and the process of finding the path that will help you maximize your college experience." - Benji Hawkins, former JAA Peer Advisor and exploratory student

Benefits of Beginning College as an Exploring Student

Gather information and gain experiences to help you make an informed decision. There are so many opportunities KU has to offer you may not know exist yet! We want to help you find them before you make decisions. Discovering new options is a large piece of exploring.

You can save time and money by exploring now rather than years from now. We truly believe that the more informed your academic decision is - the more you will excel and feel passionate about it for life.

Exploring leads you to finding the best combination of majors, minors, and certificates that maximize your interests. Don't limit yourself to one thing!

Our Foundation: Appreciative Advising

As a student navigating their exploration journey, advisors are with them every step of the way. From admission events, new student orientation, enrollment, and declaration, advisors intentionally track the progress and movement of each exploring student. Students work one-on-one with a dedicated advisor at least two times a semester, if not more! Appreciative Advising guides our office within each milestone and appointment we have. We discover who students are, we help them design their own path, and we guide them on delivering their own feasible goals.

Jayhawk Exploratory Advising is a program within Jayhawk Academic Advising at The University of Kansas, a department within Academic Success.

Meet with an Academic Advisor to Learn about your Options 

At KU, Jayhawk Exploratory students have an academic home in Jayhawk Academic Advising (JAA) If you are a current KU student, and would like to meet with an academic advisor, please contact JAA today at 785-864-2834 or advising@ku.edu to schedule an appointment. If you have not started your KU journey yet, you can contact your KU Admissions Representative to get help scheduling an academic visit with JAA!