Should You Change Your Discipline? Reasons and the Implementation Process

The reason students wish to change disciplines while studying

Whether to change disciplines is a question many students raise when they realise the current discipline is not really suitable for them. Wanting to stop to switch to a new direction is not a momentary impulse but reflects real problems in career guidance and the change of the labour market.

The situation of students wanting to change disciplines or feeling they chose the wrong discipline is a common problem, not only in Vietnam but also around the world. According to the Vietnam Ministry of Education & Training (2024):

• High rate of wanting change: About 30–35% of Vietnamese students have had the intention or carried out changing disciplines throughout their 4 years of university.
• Actual action: Each year, about 12–15% of students actually carry out procedures to change discipline or transfer school.
• Alarming disorientation: A worrying reality is that more than 90% of students realise they chose the wrong discipline but… have no idea what discipline they will study next if they drop the old one.
• Long-term consequences: Nearly 50% of graduates say they are working in a different field. In the US, about 1/3 of students change discipline at least once in the first 3 years of university.

The demand to change disciplines usually stems from 3 main groups of causes:

• Lack of initial career orientation: Most mistakes stem from choosing a discipline based on exam scores or family expectations instead of clearly understanding the real requirements of the profession. Up to 60% of first-year students don’t clearly know the specific work of the discipline they study, leading to “disillusionment” when exposed to specialised subjects.
• Not suitable to capacity and interests:
  • 37% feel a loss of study interest.
  • 20% want to find a discipline more suited to their own capacity.
  • Many students only realise their real capacity (for example: studying Economics but good at Programming) after participating in extracurricular activities or real projects.
• The changing labour market:
  • About 25% of students want to change disciplines because they see the current discipline no longer has prospects.
  • The explosion of AI and technology makes students worry the discipline will be “saturated”. According to a report by Navigos Group, 42% of students worry about this and want to switch to the engineering, data discipline group to keep up with the trend.

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Should you change disciplines?

Whether to change disciplines is a “million-dollar” question with no absolute Yes or No answer, because this is essentially a trade-off problem between the current opportunity cost and the long-term future orientation.

Advantages

Changing disciplines helps students study the right interest, bring out their strengths and increase long-term career opportunities, specifically:

• Clearly understanding yourself and orientation: The decision to change disciplines usually comes with the student having gone through a process of self-questioning, thereby better understanding their interests and capacity to have a sharper career orientation.
• Getting to do the right passion: Helps you escape the pressure of having to “force yourself” to study things you don’t like. When studying the right strength, productivity and career-development opportunities will increase considerably.
• Diverse experience: Knowledge is never redundant. Accessing many fields helps you have a rich life experience and multi-dimensional thinking.

Disadvantages

Besides the benefits, changing disciplines also comes with some limitations to consider, including:

• Wasting resources: Students may lose additional time retaking, prolonging the graduation time and generating costs because the old discipline’s tuition is not refunded.
• Psychological and social risks: Studying together with junior-cohort students can cause a feeling of pressure and difficulty integrating in the early stage.
• The risk of an unsuitable choice: If lacking careful research, students may continue to feel unsuitable with the new discipline, leading to a confused psychology about orientation.
• Pressure to prove the decision: Persuading family and relatives to support is not easy, while you also have to bear the pressure to achieve good results to affirm your choice is correct.

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A reference process for changing disciplines while studying

The decision of whether to change disciplines marks an important turning point in the university journey. To ensure this choice brings positive results and limits risks, students should approach the problem thoroughly according to the following steps:

Step 1: Look back at your capacity and reorient

Before making a decision, spend time to self-question honestly. Does the current discouragement come from the discipline really being unsuitable, or just from exam pressure and not yet finding the right study method?

Clearly determine: What is your natural strength? In which field do you really find joy and meaning? Clearly understanding yourself is the most important foundation to not repeat the old mistake.

Step 2: Carefully learn about the discipline and profession you intend to switch to

Don’t rush to change disciplines just to chase a trend or general advice. You need to carefully research the training programme framework, output standards and real requirements of the new profession.

The best way is to refer to the detailed syllabus of the subjects, or talk directly with seniors studying that discipline at the school to have the most realistic view of the new study environment.

Step 3: Discuss with a consulting expert or academic advisor

Don’t keep your concerns to yourself. Proactively share your wishes with the Academic Advisor or the School’s career-guidance consultants. With their experience and professional perspective, the teachers will help you analyse suitability more carefully, as well as warn in advance of the difficulties you may encounter that students usually anticipate little.

At HUFLIT, students can consult the Admissions – Career Guidance Consulting Centre and faculty/discipline academic advisors for support in evaluating the study path, credit-transfer ability and the most optimal study plan.

Step 4: Consider a suitable study plan

Completely changing disciplines (changing the discipline code) is not the only choice. Carefully consider the training regulations to find the most beneficial option:

• Check credits: Consider the number of credits that can be recognised/deferred to save time.
• Other directions: If the current discipline still has intersection points with your interests, you can consider studying a double major (studying 2 university degrees at the same time) or completing the current programme and learning additional short-term supplementary degrees and certificates.

Step 5: Build a clear discipline-change path

When you have determined to change, you need a detailed action plan instead of emotion. Clearly lay out:

• How long will the expected graduation time be extended?
• What is the financial path for retaking and supplementary study?
• A plan to hone the missing skills (foreign languages, informatics) to keep up with other students.A clear, transparent path is also the “key” for you to persuade your family to support your new decision.
  

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Frequently asked questions about whether to change disciplines?

Does changing disciplines affect graduation time?

Yes. Most cases of changing disciplines lead to graduating later than initially expected, because you have to spend time studying supplementary new specialised subjects. However, if you switch to a close discipline (same discipline group), the number of deferred credits will be more, helping minimise the delayed time.

Does changing disciplines cost a lot?

Changing disciplines will certainly generate additional costs, including tuition for the new subjects, the “sunk” cost from time and tuition already invested in the old discipline, along with the opportunity cost as the prolonged graduation time delays the income opportunity.

What should you do if you have changed disciplines but still feel unsuitable?

You should stop to re-evaluate instead of continuing to pursue because of the “already committed” psychology. Consider vocational study, short-term courses or working early to find a more realistic direction. At the same time, discuss early with the academic advisor for support in adjusting a suitable path.

Whether to change disciplines will no longer be a difficult question if you proactively learn, correctly evaluate yourself and carefully consider the study – career factors. A well-timed decision can help you save time, cost and open up a more sustainable direction. If you still wonder about the discipline choice, don’t hesitate to contact HUFLIT for detailed advice and building the most suitable path for the future.

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