Undergraduate Areas of Study

A university education is a life-changing journey. At Drake you will find an abundance of options and opportunities, all designed to make sure that journey is a great one. What’s more, the path you follow here will be unique—a combination of experiences designed to suit your individual strengths, interests, and goals.

Your future is yours to create. Here are a few suggestions for getting started:

Explore Academic Choices

Choose from more than 100 areas of study that span the Arts and Sciences, Business and Public Administration, Education, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Strengthen your preparation with a double major, a minor, or a concentration. Even design your own major.

Gain a Global Perspective

Prepare for life in a world that keeps getting smaller through extensive study abroad options, excellent world languages programs, and opportunities available through our innovative center, Principal Center for Global Citizenship.

Acquire Hands-on Experience

Put your ideas into action in many ways, including

• Class projects that focus on real-world issues
• Independent research experiences
• Internships across the country and around the world.
• Service-learning opportunities through volunteer projects here in Des Moines, across the country, or even abroad

Make Personal Connections

Get to know Drake’s outstanding faculty. With small classes, no teaching assistants, and professors who are passionate about your education, conditions are perfect to find a mentor, guide, and friend. Drake’s faculty members make your learning experience their top priority, creating opportunities for you to excel and supporting you in your academic and personal growth.

Explore Special Opportunities

Take a January Experience course on Dickens in London or Robot Programming and Control Theory. Pursue fascinating topics through the Honors Program. And, in your senior year, pick a topic that interests you and pursue it in depth through the Senior Capstone.

Get Off to a Fast Start

Why wait to see what your chosen field is all about? Sign up for courses in your major as a first-year student. Whether you are interested in pharmacy, physics, marketing, or education, this is your chance to dive in, start learning, and make sure it’s the right field for you.

Prepare Yourself for a Great Life

The best part of any of the opportunities you will find here—in class and outside the classroom—is the chance for you to grow as an individual and as part of a close community. At Drake, we care about academic success and about ethics, leadership, and citizenship. We want to help you on your journey to a meaningful and fulfilling life.