{"id":8821,"date":"2018-11-30T13:51:01","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T20:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/?p=8821"},"modified":"2019-02-26T15:46:36","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T22:46:36","slug":"how-to-pick-a-minor-in-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersons.com\/blog\/how-to-pick-a-minor-in-college\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pick a Minor in College"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students pour over deciding on a major when they begin their college education, but then they\u2019re also asked to choose a college minor. While this isn\u2019t always required, <\/span>a minor can round-out your degree, compliment your chosen major or career aspirations, or expand your knowledge and education of a particular passion.<\/b><\/p>\n

Luckily, choosing a minor typically isn\u2019t as much pressure as choosing a major, so you have more freedom to explore when picking a minor. We\u2019ll walk you through your <\/span>options and the process through the eyes of an academic advisor and a recent graduate<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting started<\/b><\/h1>\n

When starting the process of choosing a college minor, start with the basics by considering simply what your interests are. Make a list of subjects that interest you, and ask yourself questions that can help you understand what you are looking for in a minor. LaBrian Carrington, Academic Counselor and Advisor at <\/span>Northern Illinois University<\/span><\/a>, explained why asking these questions can help students understand where their interests lie:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn listening to the students, a lot of the time they\u2019re answering their own questions, like \u2018where do you find your passion?\u2019 \u2018What is it that you\u2019re interested in?\u2019 Do you see yourself being a mentor or managing a team?\u201d said Carrington. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of soul searching.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When you have a few general ideas of what you might like to minor in, learn more about each one and how it would fit in with your academic path by talking with the department of the subject you\u2019re interested in. Carrington explains how he helps students examine their interests once they come to him with their ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll talk about the careers and different things they can do with a minor, but then we\u2019ll have them go over and talk to the department. And, speaking with them, they would be able to come up with a plan,\u201d said Carrington, as each department will have an outline of major and minor degree paths.<\/span><\/p>\n

What a minor does<\/b><\/h1>\n

When choosing a major, it\u2019s important to pick a degree that will be useful in the career you\u2019re after. While a minor is more flexible because it isn\u2019t where you are spending the majority of your time, it can still be valuable when you apply for jobs and even later in your career. A minor allows you to dive into a particular passion of yours, rounding out your degree and teaching you certain skills outside of your major area of study. Your major and minor combination can be in the same field or completely different, and still serve this purpose. <\/span><\/p>\n

Carrington gave the example of a student who earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in business, but minored in dance. Of course, these fields are very different, but he explained that this student\u2019s goal is to open up her own dance studio later on in life, making the minor very helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a student has a particular thing that they\u2019re interested in, I would tell them it\u2019s a good idea to entertain those minor options because it gives them a little bit more insight into what\u2019s expected in that field,\u201d said Carrington.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Lauren Van Solkema graduated from the <\/span>University of Denver<\/span><\/a> in 2016 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in strategic communications and a minor in marketing. She said that her marketing minor was a good fit, as it was in the same family as strategic communications. However, the two were different enough that she learned different concepts in her marketing classes that helped her in her career after college. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn strategic communications, a lot of my classes were focused on company\u2019s images and how to recover those images when needed. So, more image focused and more dealing with the media, whereas marketing was more controlled by a company and more on the business side,\u201d said Van Solkema. <\/span><\/p>\n

Van Solkema even recalled a specific marketing class that helped in her career later on, as it was not a concept covered in strategic communications. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy business to business marketing class has helped in my career in ad tech. It helped differentiate the mindset between advertising to businesses and advertising to consumers,\u201d said Van Solkema. <\/span><\/p>\n

Making the decision<\/b><\/h1>\n

While you want to consider your choice carefully based on your interests and chosen career or educational path, your minor can only help you expand your knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a wrong choice when picking a minor, but I do think doing something practical to kind of beef up your major is never a bad idea,\u201d said Van Solkema.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can minor in multiple subjects. If you, for example, want to choose a minor that directly relates to your major as well as a minor that focuses on a passion of yours, this is completely doable. Many students are able to work double or triple minor paths into their schedules. <\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, you have a lot of leeway when it comes to your minor, but whatever you choose, it will be beneficial to you in some way personally or professionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the exception of things that will need a licensure, there are so many different pathways students can take to get to where they want to be as a professional. It\u2019s just a matter of taking the right courses and making sure that they\u2019re getting everything out of that course that\u2019s going to allow them to move forward into their profession,\u201d said Carrington.<\/span><\/p>\n

See also: How to Choose a Study Abroad Program<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students pour over deciding on a major when they begin their college education, but then they\u2019re also asked to choose a college minor. While this isn\u2019t always required, a minor can round-out your degree, compliment your chosen major or career aspirations, or expand your knowledge and education of a particular passion. Luckily, choosing a minor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":8826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1832,1831,1830],"class_list":{"0":"post-8821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colleges","8":"tag-degree-path","9":"tag-minor","10":"tag-picking-a-minor","11":"ad_tags-gre"},"better_featured_image":{"id":8826,"alt_text":"","caption":"Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash","description":"","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":2048,"height":1369,"file":"s3:\/\/pcom-wp-media\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/10123611\/tim-gouw-68319-unsplash.jpg","sizes":{},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":8821,"source_url":"https:\/\/wp-media.petersons.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/10123611\/tim-gouw-68319-unsplash.jpg"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Pick a Minor in College | How to Choose a College Minor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"College students pour over deciding on a major, but then they\u2019re also asked to choose a college minor. 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