With a potential increase in tuition cost, prolonged graduation and an additional work load of upper division courses, average University students might wonder why they would ever want to pursue a minor.
Academic counselors stress that, with careful planning and exploration, the minor may offer more than that extra line on your résumé.
“A minor is an opportunity to do additional work and pull together the full picture of an academic record without just picking and choosing classes,” academic adviser Bunny Nosler said.
Nosler said there is no disadvantage to obtaining a minor, which can usually be filled in about 24 credits.
“The only reason I did my minors was because it filled up the caps in my schedule, keeping me at full time status and eligible for financial aid,” Mia Liedelmeyer, who was a journalism major with a double minor in multimedia studies and finance at the time she was interviewed.
“But am I going to use my minors? Probably not,” she said.
A journalism senior at the time she was interviewed, Molly Horton dropped her Spanish minor because she said the courses were becoming too difficult and because completing the minor would have required her to stay an extra term.
But had she done the Spanish minor, it might have helped her during her post-college job search, Horton said.
“I wanted to apply to a magazine in Spain or South America, and the Spanish minor definitely would have helped in landing a job,” she said.
A minor in any area of language studies can be an asset when applying for a job, said one counselor at the Career Center.
Also, if a student plans to attend graduate school or law school if may be helpful to pursue a minor, she said.
For example, if you are applying for law school and want to practice environmental law, it might be a good idea to do an environmental studies minor,” she said. “This is a smart move that might strategically set you up for getting into law school.”
The counselor also added that there is a push for multi-disciplinary studies. This shows the employer that the applicant is adaptable and “can dip into that,” she said.
However, students need to be aware of prerequisite courses for the minor and should plan ahead, Nosler said.
Nosler suggests students speak with an academic adviser in Oregon Hall, who will “talk about courses and envision the minor” with the student.
The adviser will then refer the student to the department of the minor, where the student can meet with a faculty adviser. This way students can make sure they are not missing any requirements, she said.
But taking classes may not be the best way to decide to do a minor, the counselor said. “It is much better to decide by talking with individuals and doing research,” she said.
“Instead of leaping into a minor, explore what is the benefit of that,” she said. “Get as much information as you can and then form a decision.”
The counselor recommends students consider the one-credit mentoring course the Career Center offers or volunteering to learn more about what interests them.
Students should start considering career paths and whether to pursue a minor as early as their first year at the University, the counselor said.
“It’s not about making decisions. It’s about exploring your options,” she said.
This article originally appeared on April 26, 2006 in an Emerald special section