What to know about majors

What is a major?
Your college major is the subject that you will take the most courses in and learn
most about. It’s the area of study that your degree will be in, after you complete
the required courses.
As an undergraduate, you will most likely work toward a two-year Associate of
Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degree, or a four-year Bachelor of
Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), or Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree.
Whatever your major, you’ll probably take up to half your courses in the liberal
arts, to fulfill what’s known as “general education” or “core” requirements. This
group of subjects includes the humanities, such as literature, the fine arts (such as
music and art), philosophy, and history; foreign languages; the social sciences
(like anthropology, psychology, economics, political science, and sociology);
math; and the biological sciences (such as zoology) and the physical sciences (for
example, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and physics). Most students take these
general education requirements in the first two years of a four-year program.
Many two-year colleges also have liberal arts requirements.
Why so much work outside your major? Colleges want to make sure that you have
a well-rounded education—that you become familiar with a wide variety of
subjects. If you’re an English major, for example, you’re likely to benefit more
from your literature courses if you also explore, say, psychology and history. If
you’re a math major, you’ll need to be able to communicate your ideas. Think of
general education as a foundation of knowledge to support your major studies. The
liberal arts expose you to new ideas, and open your mind to many ways of thinking
and understanding the world.

How to choose a major

You may have no idea, at the moment, what you want to study in college. A good
way to zero in on a major is to think of what interests you and what you are good
at. Examine your academic strengths and the subjects that inspire you to learn.
Which are your favorite classes in high school? Where did you get the best
grades?
What activities do you enjoy, either in or outside school? Are you a whiz at
creating cartoons on the computer? Does teaching a younger sibling to cook give
you pleasure? Do you love working with your hands or being outdoors? Maybe
you’re a political junkie who can’t get enough current events. Or do you make
sense of the world by learning about the past? Any of these skills and interests
might suggest a major (for instance, animation, chef training, forestry, journalism,
archaeology).
For many students, hobbies and extracurricular activities are as important as class
work. If that’s you, then maybe your major will relate to your experience in
community or volunteer work, religious activities, camping or Scouting, sports or
the arts.
What are your values and your vision of the future? What do you see yourself
doing for a living? Do you plan to go on to graduate or professional school? Do
you want to make sure that you are financially comfortable above all else? Maybe
you see yourself as a leader and a motivator of others. Can you picture yourself
doing scientific research or working in health care? Do you like to work
outdoors? Are you an artist? Have you always wanted to be a teacher? Think
about what matters to you and how your priorities may affect your choice of a
major.
Then, look around and ask yourself how the world affects you. Are there careers,
like nursing, that have a shortage of professionals, so that a degree in the subject
should be a passport to a good job? Are you worried that, in a global economy,
many jobs may be shipped overseas? If so, you may want to choose a major based
on the likely needs of the job market. (You can go to www.bls.gov/oco for more
information.) Look inside yourself and look outside at other forces in your life.
Before you know it, you’ll start to make some choices about what to study.

When to decide on your major

Many first-year college students are undecided about their majors, and there’s
nothing wrong with needing more time to make a decision. Most four-year
colleges expect you to declare (choose) your major at the end of your second year
or at the beginning of your third year. That gives you time to take courses,
including the liberal arts requirements, in a number of fields before you settle on a
major.
During your first two years as an undergraduate, you can usually take some
electives—nonrequired courses that interest you. If you have not yet decided on a
major, you can use your electives to sample several areas of study—for instance,
you might take introductory courses in two or three fields that you are considering
as a major. Whether you choose electives as a way to test-drive a major or simply
to learn more about a subject that appeals to you, electives will give you the
opportunity to explore new ideas.
For some degrees, however, you will want to declare a major as soon as possible.
That’s because some majors have requirements that you’ll have to meet in your
first year or two of college. An example is nursing: you may have to qualify for
the major by achieving a certain grade-point average in prerequisite courses
before being admitted to the college’s nursing program. Another example is an
education major: you may need certain grades in liberal arts courses in order to
qualify for a teaching program. Being accepted by a college doesn’t guarantee that
you’ll get into the program you want at the college. Before you begin your first
year, find out what’s required, so you can work out your education plan.

Applied and academic majors

You can divide majors into two big groups. One group consists of the applied
majors. These programs prepare you for a specific career by giving you the
knowledge and skills you’ll need in a particular line of work. When you go to
work in that field, you’ll put into action the information and skills you learned in
college. Some examples are food science, landscape architecture, finance, real
estate, journalism, special education, electrical engineering technology, nursing,
veterinary technology, and forensic science. Applied majors also prepare you for
the special licensing or certifications you’ll need in jobs like accounting, teaching,
occupational therapy, and social work.
The other big group covers the academic majors. Many of these majors are in the
arts and sciences and include the humanities, science, and math. The academic
majors don’t necessarily lead to specific careers, though. They prepare you for
graduate studies or for professions in which a wide range of skills and creative
talents are valued—the ability to communicate, to understanding people, to read,
to think about the world, or to work with numbers. Some examples of academic
majors are African-American studies and Latin American studies, English, history,
mathematics, chemistry, economics, and communications. (Colleges don’t always
agree on which majors fall into the liberal arts category. You’ll find both applied
and academic majors in this book.)
Applied and academic majors each have advantages and disadvantages. For the
academic majors, the downside is that you will enter the job market without
specific job training; you might have to settle for a lower starting salary. On the
plus side, your academic training enables you to understand texts, express yourself
verbally, and analyze and solve problems. Employers value these skills because
they help you adapt to change. Academic majors also prepare you for graduate
school in many fields. In graduate school, you can continue your education as you
work toward a master’s degree (M.A. or M.S.) or, maybe a doctorate degree
(Ph.D.) or professional degree (law degree, medical degree).
The applied majors are popular choices because students can target their college
work to launch a career. But by committing to a particular field, you will probably
have fewer options, and you’ll have to worry about job cycles and economic
slumps in your field, or the possibility that your education and training will
become out of date.

The right major at the right college

Which comes first, your choice of a major or your choice of a college? You should
have some idea of what you want to study as you search for colleges because
you’ll want a school with a strong program in that area. Look for colleges that
offer the majors you like and the related majors, too (they are listed with the
majors profiled in this book). If you choose a college that teaches several majors
that appeal to you, you’ll be less likely to have to transfer to another college if, for
any reason, you change your major.
Is a two-year or a four-year college right for you? Many two-year colleges,
usually called community colleges, offer excellent training for a variety of
careers, such as engineering technology, business administration, and support
services in health care.
Another option is to earn a two-year associate degree in a transfer program.
You’ll study the equivalent of the first two years of a bachelor’s degree program,
and then transfer the credits when you apply to and are accepted by a four-year
college. But be sure to find out which courses will be accepted for credit at the
four-year college you would apply to.
As you start thinking about majors, it’s good to know how colleges work. For
instance, many small, private colleges are known for their liberal arts offerings.
Larger universities often emphasize graduate programs. Most big-name schools,
including state universities, are made up of several colleges. Sometimes it’s clear
what an undergraduate college or school in a university system, such as the
college of agriculture or the school of nursing, has to offer. But sometimes the
name of a college doesn’t provide many clues. For instance, the college of arts
and sciences and the school of business administration, in the same university
system, might both offer a major in economics. But the course requirements might
differ, and so might the admission requirements. As you look for a major, do some
research on colleges. You can find more information on official college Web sites
(their Internet addresses usually end in .edu).
When you scout about for the right college, you’ll probably read magazines and
Web sites that rank the most competitive schools—that is, label one college as the
best, another as the next best, and so on. Keep in mind, though, that rankings can’t
convey many of the features of a college, and that a listing may be based on factors
that are not very important to you. So before examining a ranking, try to find out
what the ratings were based on.
Your choice of college depends on what’s right for you, and only you can come up
with the college list that really matters. To help find colleges with good programs
in the majors of interest to you, check out “Questions to ask colleges” in the major
profiles in this book.

Concentrations, minors, double majors, and special programs

When you get to college, you may have even more options besides the choice of
major. For example, you might select a concentration that allows you to specialize
in a topic within your major, by taking a cluster of courses in the subject area. If
you major in history, for instance, you might concentrate on Europe during the
Middle Ages; or as a studio arts major, you might concentrate on painting. The
availability of a concentration will vary from major to major and from college to
college. Occasionally, a concentration may be required. In music performance, for
example, you may have to choose a particular instrument that you’ll concentrate
on. Concentrations are less common in smaller colleges, and some programs offer
concentrations only in graduate school.
Another option is to add a minor to your major. A minor is course work in which
you explore another field, but not as widely or as deeply as for your major. You
might minor in a subject that complements, or adds strength to, your major, such as
a minor in business administration with a major in public relations, or an Arabic-
language minor with a major in international relations. Then again, you could
minor in a subject that’s not related to your major, to give your brain a break from
the type of work you do in your major courses. For example, computer science
majors might enjoy studying creative writing, too.
Some colleges let you take a double major in related or even unrelated fields. In a
double major, you complete two majors at the same time. For example, you could
major in art history and in fine/studio arts, or in anthropology and Native
American studies. You can even combine an academic and an applied major—for
example, majoring in linguistics and in computer science. Double majors aren’t
for everyone, because college is tough enough without taking required courses for
two majors. But it’s something to think about if you can handle the workload and
want to boost your academic résumé.
Another option to consider is a combined bachelor’s and graduate degree. For
many of these joint degrees, you are accepted into both programs when you apply
to college. That way, you won’t have to apply to grad school after you finish your
undergraduate degree. These special programs (listed in Part III of this book)
often include three years of study for a bachelor’s degree, and then you begin the
graduate program in your fourth year. The advantage is that you can complete both
degrees in less time than it would take to earn the two degrees in the traditional
way (often saving a year). As an example, you could earn a bachelor’s degree in
biology plus a master’s in physical therapy in six years. Some schools of
education offer five-year programs combining a bachelor’s in education and a
Master of Teaching degree.
Even if you know what major you want, adding concentrations, minors, or double
majors, or entering combined programs, expands your choices of what to study in
college. And here’s another option: at some colleges you can create your own
major or work with a professor on an independent project.

Preprofessional programs
Sometimes college is a stepping stone to…more college. That’s not a bad thing.
The more education people have, the lower their unemployment and the higher
their earnings. Also, lawyers, doctors, and other health care professionals,
including pharmacists, dentists, and physical therapists, must have professional
degrees. Many members of the clergy and business executives also earn advanced
degrees.
To prepare you for advanced studies, some colleges offer preprofessional
programs. These are advisory programs, or “tracks,” that lead you through a group
of requirements that you can fulfill in almost any major.
Take law school, for example. More students earn law degrees than any other
professional degree. In law school, the emphasis is on the writing, reading, and
understanding of documents and texts. These skills are needed in nearly every
undergraduate college course. So if you intend to apply to law school, you have a
wide choice of undergrad majors, including history, political science, English,
philosophy, criminal justice, the sciences, math, engineering, and a foreign
language.
Medical schools do not insist that applicants have specific undergraduate majors,
either. However, it’s no surprise that most med school applicants major in the
biological sciences. Others study the physical or social sciences, or one of the
liberal arts. Med school applicants are typically required to have taken five year-
long courses in math and science, as well as some general education courses. The
requirements, and the number of credits and labs they include, are spelled out by
the college in its premed program.
The best thing you can do, if you plan to go to law school or medical school or to
graduate programs, is to get excellent grades in your undergraduate work. You’ll
also need to prepare for the appropriate professional school or grad school
entrance exam.

Switching majors
Many students switch majors in college. This can be risky depending upon how
far along you are in your college career, because you may have to spend more time
than you’d planned, and more money, to finish your degree. But your original
major might not be right for you, or an elective course might spark within you a
passion for another field of study. Many options are open to you, even after you
enroll in college.
If you find yourself in a major that you want to change, be sure to check with your
college academic adviser. Like a high school counselor who can give you
guidance, a college academic adviser can help you sort through electives, choose
a major, change your major, and steer you toward completion of your degree.

Planning for now and for later

You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by the choice of a major and of a college.
Having a lot of choices can only benefit you. Think about your interests and talents
while you read about the majors. Once you narrow the selection to a few majors
you like, do some research on college programs in those majors (you might also
ask about the credentials, or qualifications, of faculty members, and about the
availability of libraries, computers, and labs).
You can also visit the Web sites of professional associations for specific careers
and of leading employers of graduates in a particular major (employers may
include corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and various
levels of government). A look at the job descriptions and career opportunities will
give you an idea of the educational requirements that employers expect. Web sites
for professional associations are included in the descriptions of majors in this
book.
Thinking about a career as you are deciding on a major and a college is
understandable, but try to remain flexible. The world is changing so rapidly that
the jobs in demand when you declare a major may be different after you graduate.
That’s just one good reason to choose a major that fits the person you are. Do that,
and success will follow.
Glossary

Academic adviser. A professor assigned to help students choose appropriate

courses each semester. Many students consult their adviser for help in selecting a
major. At some schools, when a student declares a major, he or she is assigned an
adviser who teaches in the student’s chosen field of study.
Academic year. A measure of the academic work that a student is expected to
accomplish. Each college defines its own academic year, but federal regulations
set minimum standards. Every program must have a defined academic year that
contains a minimum of 30 weeks of instructional time. For undergraduate
programs, a full-time enrolled student is expected to complete at least 24 semester
or trimester hours, 36 quarter hours, or 900 clock hours over the 30-week period.
Accelerated program. A college program of study completed in less time than is
usually required, most often by attending classes in summer or by taking extra
courses during the regular academic term. Completion of a bachelor’s degree
program in three years is an example of acceleration.
Accreditation. Recognition by an accrediting organization or agency that a
college meets acceptable standards in its programs, facilities, and services.
National or regional accreditation applies to a college as a whole. Some
programs or majors within colleges, such as engineering or nursing, may be
accredited by professional organizations. The descriptions of majors in Part 1 of
this book discuss program accreditation if it is significant in the field.
Adjunct professor. A member of the faculty who is not on the track for tenure and
may teach part-time or full-time. Some colleges may refer to adjuncts as
“lecturers” or “visiting professors.” See also professor and teaching assistant.
Advanced placement. Admission or assignment of a first-year student to an
advanced course in a subject, on the basis of evidence that the student has
completed the equivalent of the college’s first-year course in that subject.
Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). An academic program of the College
Board that provides high school students with the opportunity to study and learn at
the college level. AP offers courses in 34 subjects, each culminating in a rigorous