JACKSON, Wyo. — With fall semester off to a bit of a sputtering start in Wyoming and across the nation, one online PR company tracked the most popular college major in every state. The results were both foreseeable and surprising.
Wyoming joined the rest of the Rocky Mountain States with history topping the list, according to Sykes research of Google trends. In fact, with the exception of South Dakota, all states bordering Wyoming found history as the most pursued college degree.
Further, a history major earned the top spot as the most searched college major in 20 states. However, interest has not translated into students actually graduating with a history degree. That number has diminished in popularity over the last two decades.
In the predictable department, New York’s interest in accounting, California’s pursuit of business majors, and Florida’s obsession with criminal justice appear to be un-eye-opening.
And perhaps unsurprisingly, Washington D.C. stood out as the lone location where a degree in political science won the popular vote. By comparison, computer science was the most searched college major in none other than Massachusetts, home to MIT.
More in the bolt-from-the-blue category is psychology (Minnesota), anthropology (Washington), and nursing (Oklahoma). Top interest in those majors appeared in these states only.
In the Midwest, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Mississippi are intent on turning out future teachers. Arizona loves its engineering, and English topped the list in Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Maine.
What are students most eager to study this year? Sykes turned to Google Trends to find out which college majors are most popular, state by state. They reviewed Niche’s “Most Popular College Majors” list as a baseline to determine the most popular college majors. Then, Sykes cross-referenced the top 15 majors with Google Trends data from the past year to determine which undergraduate degrees each state is most interested in.
