Selecting a Business College Major: An Analysis of Criteria and Choice Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Sandra E. Strasser, Ceyhun Ozgur and David L. Schroeder
Additional contact information
Sandra E. Strasser: Valparaiso University
Ceyhun Ozgur: Valparaiso University
David L. Schroeder: Valparaiso University

American Journal of Business, 2002, vol. 17, issue 2, pages 47-56

Abstract: Abstract According to the Chronicle of Higher Education (2001), 15 percent of entering freshmen believe that there is a good chance they will change their college major and 8 percent are undecided. To gain insight into the criteria that students use to select a major, a model of the student decision making process was developed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This model predicted studentÕs first choice major with 88 percent accuracy for sophomores and seniors. An analysis of the criteria revealed judgement inconsistencies, particularly for accounting, finance, and decision science majors. Not surprisingly, sophomores were more inconsistent in their decision making than were seniors. It was also determined that students clustered the majors into two separate groups, viewing accounting, finance and decision science majors differently than marketing and management majors.

Keywords: Business education; decision making; selecting a major (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R00 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.bsu.edu/mcobwin/majb/?p=207 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in American Journal of Business from American Journal of Business (Formerly Named "Mid-American Journal of Business")
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by Judy Lane ().