You’ve been in college a year or two, and most likely you’ve had to declare your major by now. OMG, IT’S HAPPENING!! Now, you want to pair that major with a minor, unless you are someone who’s already considering multiple majors and minors. In any case, you’re most likely going to have a minor and if you’ve thought about it a lot (like me) but can’t seem to land on anything solid you want some help (also like me). To use myself as an example, I have so many different things that I love doing and have always wanted to study that I still have no clue what to minor in.
Here are some questions that I’ve been asking myself, that you can think about as well to finding a minor you want.
1. How much time do you have left before you graduate?
Some minors require more classes than others. However, if you are pairing your major and minor together, it’s possible to get some classes to overlap in the curriculum needed, meaning you don’t need to take more classes than necessary.
2. Do you want it to be related to your major or not?
Say you want to study English, do you want a minor in a different language or compliment it with a study in history? Minors can be similar to concentrations in certain disciplines. For example, you are majoring in English but minoring in Medieval Studies because you love writing creative fiction about ancient kingdoms. Who doesn’t love a knight in shining armor, right? I am majoring in Creative Computation and potentially considering a minor in Graphic Design. To employers, it would show that my skill set is gauged toward programming which could be more marketable if I wanted to be a web designer.
3. Is there a topic that personally intrigues you that you would want to study?
In an anthropology class I once took, getting those GenEds out the way, we spent one lecture talking about sex and gender. Now, I want to take a class that gets more involved exploring this topic. For this reason, I’ve considered a Women and Gender Studies minor. If there’s a class you have taken that you enjoyed and did reasonably well in, it could be worth looking into the minor track and seeing what’s available. And who knows, this could become something you dive deeper into during your future career!
4. Lastly, ask your resources!
What do your friends say when you ask them to imagine you five years down the road with a job? Call your mom and ask her what she always pictured you doing. Run some of your potential minor tracks by your cousin, ‘cuz that’s what I did. Of course, talk with your advisors to plan how a minor can fit into your major with the remaining time you have. It’s only four years, so use them while you can!