Making a decision to choose an English Education major is not an easy thing for students, but it is an important thing for them to do. In choosing the English Language Education Department, students may be driven by various motivations that will help them to complete their studies and avoid the assumption of ‘wrong major’. This study aims to find out what are the motivations of students in choosing the English language department at UIN Ar-Raniry as their major. The research instrument used in this study is an interview. Ten student participants were selected. The main criteria of the participants are that the participants are active students who have a minimum GPA of 3.50, as well as male and female students in semesters 7, 9, 11, and 13. The data collected was analysed thematically. The results showed that the reasons for students choosing to major in English at UIN Ar-Raniry were due to a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The researcher formulated themes that represent students' motivations in choosing English language education as their major, namely personal passion for learning English, aspiration to become a teacher, influence of family and teachers, aspiration to broader opportunities nationally and internationally, also reputation of institution and supportive environment.