A Qualitative Analysis of Undergraduate Students’ Multi-Major Experiences: Focusing on Motivation, Adaptation, and the Meanings of Learning Experiences

This study aims to qualitatively examine undergraduate students’ experiences while pursuing multiple majors, focusing on the structure of motivations for multi-major selection, patterns of adaptation during the course of study, and the meanings of learning experiences and internal growth derived from these processes. To this end, two rounds of focus group interviews (FGIs) were conducted with 13 undergraduate students enrolled in multi-major programs at University D, and the collected data were analyzed following the grounded theory procedures proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1998). The findings indicate that multi-major experiences emerged within a cyclical experiential context in which motivation formation, adaptation and coping, and the meaning-making of learning experiences were interrelated. Both extrinsic motivations, such as career expansion and enhanced employability, and intrinsic motivations, such as interest exploration and self-understanding, were found to operate in complex and intertwined ways. During the process of pursuing multiple majors, students encounter structural and relational challenges, including unclear administrative information, limited access to courses, and a lack of academic belonging. In response, students demonstrate adaptive patterns by utilizing informal information networks, adjusting credit loads and timetables, and engaging in self-regulated learning. With regard to the meaning of learning experiences, the analysis revealed shifts in disciplinary perspectives, expanded self-understanding, and the strengthening of learning-related competencies. These findings suggest that multi-major education extends beyond the mere expansion of disciplinary knowledge and functions as a process-oriented learning experience through which learners reconstruct their experiences and learning structures. By providing an in-depth qualitative analysis of students’ lived experiences, this study offers empirical implications for improving the operation of multi-major programs and the design of academic support policies in higher education.