I am pursuing two minors, along with my major, and a certification. Why minor in something? I like to think of minors as mini specializations. They can mesh with your major and produce the attributes for your aspired job. How do I balance my course needs and schedule?

*Update: I graduated with three minors. Attending a private, Christian school had Bible classes intertwined in my coursework resulting in my minor in religion.

Have a minor in mind

Going into college, I only had one minor in mind and a different certification. As I continued, I realized that the original certification classes were not offered systematically, since there was only one professor teaching it, and it would take me extra semesters to take the classes. I chose a different certification that I did not know was an option and I love it!

Look at what your department offers

Fast forward to junior year, I noticed that I met or will meet all the requirements for a minor, my second one, in my department. This is the best and easiest place to decide on a minor if you think it is too late or just not sure which one you want to do.

For example, I’m an English major, so I added a creative writing minor to my psychology one.

View your course needs

I cannot stress this enough! Your advising sheet is essential for progressing through college. It is your guidebook! Use and see how many classes can overlap.

For creative writing, I needed a specific literature class while my major had this same class as an option to fulfill my literature category. In this way, I crossed off two areas in my course needs.

Options

Minors also give you additional options or directions within your major. There are some minors that I think fit with any major:

-Business/Management

-Psychology/Philosophy/Anthropology

-Communications

-Human resource

-Marketing

-Foreign languages