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All college students are required to declare a major, but what about a minor? This is a question many students find themselves asking halfway through their college curriculum.
Knowing what a minor is, what it entails, and if it can bolster your career can help determine if it’s really right for you.
Keep reading to learn more about what a college minor is, how it differs from a major, and its pros and cons.
Key Points
• A college minor is a secondary field of study made up of a small group of courses that students take alongside their major.
• A major is the primary subject that determines the bachelor’s degree and requires significantly more courses and credits than a minor.
• Minors are usually optional and typically require about five to seven courses or 16 to 30 credits.
• Pursuing a minor can help students expand knowledge, build additional skills, and strengthen career opportunities.
• Choosing a minor may require extra time, coursework, and costs, especially if it is declared late in a college program.
Defining a College Minor
A college minor, sometimes referred to as a “mini major,” is a group of courses you take in a certain discipline. Minors in college can complement your chosen college major or be totally unrelated.
While most colleges don’t require a student to declare a minor, some do. Schools may have a definitive criterion for your choice of minor. For instance, you may not be able to pursue a minor in the same department as your major.
For the most part, a college minor is voluntary, and a student may not feel it’s important enough to take on the additional coursework alongside their main area of study. Instead, they may want to have complete freedom to use those class credits for electives that may not be as labor-intensive.
Differences Between a Major and Minor
Your major is the main area of specialty that determines the type of bachelor’s degree you’ll earn. It’s the field of study you’ve chosen based on your professional aspirations. One way to think of it is that your major is your primary job, and your minor is more of a side gig.
When you finally earn your college diploma, it will be for your major, not your minor. That’s because a college minor is typically considered optional and not a requirement for your core curriculum. Even if your school does require you to choose a minor, it won’t be reflected on your degree unless your school is one of the exceptions to that rule. However, it will most likely appear on your college transcript.
Another key distinction between a college major and a minor is the amount of coursework you have to complete and how much it counts toward your final credits. Depending on your school, a major will make up one-third to one-half of the school’s credits needed to graduate, which is typically 120 credits for a four-year program.
In general, a college major will require you to complete at least 10 courses compared to five to seven classes for a minor. A minor typically requires 16 to 30 credits.
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Benefits of Pursuing a College Minor
There are many upsides to tacking on a college minor. If you’re wondering whether or not it’s worth pursuing, consider these pros:
Explore Complementary Interests
A college minor related to your major allows you to expand your expertise in that related field. For instance, if you’re a biology major and decide to minor in chemistry, you’re already familiar with the basics of science and look at things from a scientific perspective. There are similar analytical skills you can apply.
But even if your minor is in a different area, it can still positively impact your major. For example, if you’re majoring in political science, you may want to minor in public speaking, which can be helpful if you have ambitions to run for elected office. You may even find your minor more exciting and decide to change your major to that field.
However, before making any big changes, such as combining the two disciplines and pursuing a double major, it’s a good idea to talk to your academic advisor.
Depending on when you decide to make a change, it could add extra time toward getting your degree. This can translate into additional costs and more student debt.
Develop Secondary Skill Sets
Regardless of whether your minor directly corresponds to your major, you’re acquiring and polishing both hard and soft skills. You can apply these more technical hard skills directly to the type of work your career requires. Soft skills, on the other hand, are more social and interpersonal in nature. Both are important to employers and offer skills they want their prospective employees to have under their belt.
Enhance Marketability and Job Prospects
Homing in on a subject offers you the opportunity to develop more in-depth knowledge and expertise. A minor shows your well-roundedness, flexibility, and the ability to take on different roles. For example, a marketing major who minors in communications can be an asset in the areas of advertising, journalism, and public relations.
A complementary minor can also give you a more solid base and a deeper understanding of some issues you may deal with in your occupation. If a nursing major chooses to minor in psychology, it can help them better understand patient behavior.
Overall, a minor shows a level of seriousness and willingness to challenge oneself. These are qualities that can go a long way and put you at an advantage when applying for your first job out of school or graduate school.
That edge can also help when you’re competing for a college internship.
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Popular College Minor Options
Certain college minors attract more students than others. Here are some popular ones:
STEM Minors
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) consists of natural, physical, and life sciences; computers; electronics and other types of tech; all kinds of engineering; mathematics; and areas that rely on the principles of math. Examples of STEM minors include computer science, kinesiology or exercise science, civil engineering, and statistics.
Deciding on a STEM subject for your minor can give you a leg up in the job market. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job opportunities in the STEM field are expected to grow 8.1% by 2034, compared to 3.1% for all occupations.
Business Minors
With a business minor, you can take classes in accounting, marketing, human resources, and e-commerce. Choosing business as a minor allows you to learn the fundamentals of business, which can be extremely valuable and practical in the real world and may help you stay on top of paying for college.
Knowing more about how business is conducted and becoming more savvy about finance benefits you both professionally and personally. Career-wise, it can come in handy if you’re applying for a job that may require a deeper understanding of certain business practices. In your own life, you may even get a better handle on your own financial situation when it comes to managing private student loans.
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Liberal Arts Minors
Liberal arts is a field with a broad range of disciplines, including creative arts, social sciences, humanities, and more. People who decide to minor in liberal arts may choose sub-studies in English, psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, or communication.
For someone with a very demanding major, a liberal arts minor can offer a less taxing curriculum. Instead of being geared toward technical skills, liberal arts classes give students the opportunity to focus on critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and verbal and written communication skills.
Language and Cultural Minors
Minors specializing in different aspects of cultural heritage and language can expose students to different worldviews, beliefs, and practices.
A foreign language minor allows you to become bilingual or multilingual, which is a huge asset in the workforce where there’s an increasing demand for people who speak other languages. You may want to expand on your high school language classes or minor in a completely new one.
A language minor may also be one in linguistics, which is the study of language structure, including phonetics, syntax, semantics, and the history of how language has changed over time. Students may also find that their college offers a minor in American Sign Language.
Cultural studies minors are designed to study all types of cultures, their histories, and perspectives. These can include groups based on class, gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and geographical location. Classes in popular culture, women’s studies, world religions, and African-American or Asian studies are some examples of cultural studies minors.
Choosing a Complementary College Minor
Picking a minor in general adds extra knowledge and allows you to build more expertise in another subject. Minoring in a complementary course of study, however, shows you’re serious about exploring an area that closely aligns with your major.
Regardless of whether your minor directly corresponds to your major, you’ve decided to use a portion of your credits toward another group of required classes, which indicates a commendable level of focus and commitment.
Potential Drawbacks of a College Minor
There are some drawbacks to declaring a minor. First, a minor can take up a lot of time, so you’ll want to make sure it’s an area you’re genuinely curious about and have a real interest in. Consider the amount of work you’ll have to do, such as writing papers, studying, and taking exams. These additional classes could end up adding unnecessary stress to your major’s workload.
A minor could also end up costing you more money, especially if you declare a minor late in the game. You may not be able to get all the necessary classes before graduation, which means you may have to extend your education by a semester or more.
The Takeaway
A minor, in most cases, is an optional supplementary course of study that can broaden your knowledge, expand your skill set, and open up more career options after graduation. Having a college minor can also make your undergraduate studies a lot more fun, especially if it’s a topic where you have a strong personal interest.
Ways to finance your minor include cash savings, scholarships, grants, and both federal and private student loans.
If you’ve exhausted all federal student aid options, no-fee private student loans from SoFi can help you pay for school. The online application process is easy, and you can see rates and terms in just minutes. Repayment plans are flexible, so you can find an option that works for your financial plan and budget.
FAQ
What’s the difference between a minor and a concentration?
A minor can be a secondary course of study in any area, while a concentration is a subgroup of structured classes that directly relate to your major. For example, if you’re an English major, your concentration may be in creative writing, made up of poetry, fiction, nonfiction prose, and dramatic writing classes.
Do minors appear on your diploma or transcript?
Minors will appear on your transcript, but the vast majority of colleges and universities don’t include them on your diploma. The standard practice is to list only the student’s major on their bachelor’s degree.
How late in your college career can you add a minor?
Most colleges ask students to choose their major by the end of their sophomore year or the beginning of their junior year, which can also be an ideal time to choose a minor. You could declare it before you start your senior year, but it’s important to consider the fact that you’ll have to cram all of that minor’s classes into one year. This could impact your graduation date if you need to carry your studies over to another semester to fulfill your minor’s requirements.
Do minors impact financial aid eligibility?
It depends. Federal financial aid rules mandate that only courses required for your major and degree program are eligible. However, classes required for a minor may be eligible for financial aid if they also satisfy major, core, or elective requirements for your degree. Otherwise, financial aid will be reconfigured or removed to reflect eligibility based on qualifying courses.
Photo credit: iStock/Drazen Zigic
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