<p>I'm pretty new to this forum but I'm so happy I found it; it seems to be a great resource! OK, so here's my deal...</p>
<p>I'm a business management major but I realized quite some time ago that business isn't my thing. I didn't change majors because my school only has one major and I didn't leave the school because I was already so well-established there (President of one club, founded another, great relationship with faculty, high GPA, etc). But now that my four years are almost up, it's time to start thinking about the next step. I want to be a professor/writer/speaker on issues that have to do with race and ethnicity so I'm trying to go for a PhD in Sociology (Well, actually a joint JD/PhD in Sociology. I'm adding the JD because it'll give me more earning potential. My top choice is Stanford). BUT most schools say that they typically take students with an ndergrad in some sort of liberal arts fireld. Clearly, this isn't me.</p>
<p>Any advice on how I can overcome the disadvantage that having a business undergrad puts me at?</p>
<p>If you want to be a professor in sociology, I'd say that the JD isn't really necessary. Nor will it add much to your earning potential, as it's a tad superfluous. Certainly not a bad thing to earn, but don't expect it to really add much.</p>
<p>As far as your major goes, don't worry too much. You may want to take a few extension courses in sociology, but as long as you show that you have a legitimate reason for wanting to do graduate work, you'll be able to overcome any differences in undergraduate study.</p>
<p>I figure that if you have a "strong minor", you could pull off going to Graduate School wihout a Sociology BA. I have never heard of anyone going for a higher degree in something they haven't any undergraduate course work in. But, I have heard that having a "strong" minor can help you out.</p>
<p>Here are a handful of online opps for you, in order to obtain a strong minor of sorts...</p>
<p>The social sciences, quite unlike say the hard sciences, have a much higher threshold for "career switches." I knew a PhD student in poli sci at UCLA who had majored in physics as an undergrad.</p>
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I have never heard of anyone going for a higher degree in something they haven't any undergraduate course work in.
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The social sciences, quite unlike say the hard sciences, have a much higher threshold for "career switches."
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<p>I don't really know if the hard sciences really have such a higher threshold. It seems to me that the threshold for both is not that high. For example, I know a guy who did his undergrad in Biology from Harvard and then went to graduate schol in Civil Engineering at MIT. I know another guy who did his undergrad in EE and then went to grad school in civil engineering, also at MIT. </p>
<p>Normally, the switches aren't that dramatic - i.e math to computer science, or physics to ME/EE, or chemistry to ChemE. But you still have some of those people who switched dramatically around within the hard sciences. For example, what exactly does biology have to do with civil engineering? It's a good question. But hey, MIT admitted him.</p>