Articulation Agreement

Purpose: This activity serves as an explanation of what you are looking for. It is an articulation of what criteria a major or career must meet in order to be a good match for you. It will include your values, interests, abilities, personal style factors and other conditions you require for a successful match. This agreement may change as you examine majors and careers and gain a more complete picture of what you need. Your Articulation Agreement will be your “measuring stick” to judge majors and careers.

As a result of this activity you will be able to:

• Judge majors as fulfilling or not fulfilling your criteria established in your Articulation Agreement.
• Rank-order options using the criteria in your Articulation Agreement.
• Clearly state what your chosen major and career will be like.

Process:

1. Review all your assessments and activities that have helped you discover your skills, interests, and values.

2. List criteria that are important to you and relevant for choosing a major and career. These may include things like:

   • Personal experience with the subject
   • General interest in the subject matter
   • Related career interests
   • Fit with your personality style
   • Use of your abilities and strengths
   • Support of your life goals
   • Alignment with your values
   • Your “feel” of the major and career
3. Write or list what you feel is important in your agreement over a period of several days. Describe why each criteria is important.
4. Select a major or career choice and compare it against each of your criteria areas. Pay attention to information that support your criteria and information that disagrees with your criteria.
5. Repeat this process for each major and career option.
6. Rank-order your major and career options listing those that support your criteria at the top of your list.
7. Describe why your top major and career options are a good fit for you using your criteria.

Example (from a student):

It was hard at first, but once the thinking started the words flowed. I came back the first time with a mess. My advisor helped me clarify my thinking and then it became fun. The first activity after my agreement was to tell people I was in different majors and watch them react. My parents were excited when I read them my agreement. I have now graduated and know that I made a good decision because my major matched me.