Sunday, September 17, 2006
What's In A College Major?
Dear Guidance Guy,
I'm a senior in high school, and I've always known what I wanted to do as a profession, but then there were times when I would change my mind, and now I am sure I want to major in English. My question is, in college do you have to take all courses that would pertain to what you'd like to major in, or do you take just a bunch of classes all together?
Thanks,
Stephanie
*** *** ***
Dear Stephanie,
The answer is somewhere in between. English is a liberal arts major, which means the college would like you to know a little bit about a lot of things. So your courses will have a focus in English, but there will be requirements for courses in social sciences (psychology sociology, etc), math, science, possibly a foreign language and other areas to complete four years of study for a bachelor's degree. The usual sequence for most colleges is you take most of your general education requirements in the first two years of school.
You spend the last two years focusing in on the courses within your major. For an English major this would include courses like advanced Shakespere, Chaucer, composition, etc. Many students will also participate in internships during their junior or senior years in college, where they work in a company or other place of business. College credit is given, and these internships are sometimes paid. Occasionally they lead to a job offer. The best thing for you to do is to check out the course catalogs of some of the colleges you might like to attend. These will tell you the courses you're supposed to take each year for every major.
Hope that answers your questions. Have fun checking things out, Stephanie. It's an exciting time!
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
I'm a senior in high school, and I've always known what I wanted to do as a profession, but then there were times when I would change my mind, and now I am sure I want to major in English. My question is, in college do you have to take all courses that would pertain to what you'd like to major in, or do you take just a bunch of classes all together?
Thanks,
Stephanie
*** *** ***
Dear Stephanie,
The answer is somewhere in between. English is a liberal arts major, which means the college would like you to know a little bit about a lot of things. So your courses will have a focus in English, but there will be requirements for courses in social sciences (psychology sociology, etc), math, science, possibly a foreign language and other areas to complete four years of study for a bachelor's degree. The usual sequence for most colleges is you take most of your general education requirements in the first two years of school.
You spend the last two years focusing in on the courses within your major. For an English major this would include courses like advanced Shakespere, Chaucer, composition, etc. Many students will also participate in internships during their junior or senior years in college, where they work in a company or other place of business. College credit is given, and these internships are sometimes paid. Occasionally they lead to a job offer. The best thing for you to do is to check out the course catalogs of some of the colleges you might like to attend. These will tell you the courses you're supposed to take each year for every major.
Hope that answers your questions. Have fun checking things out, Stephanie. It's an exciting time!
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 6:32 AM
