<p>I am a sophomore at a very intense all-girls college-prep school. I have good grades and do lots of extracurricular activities. For now, let’s just pretend that I am already in, for the sake of this thread.
Lately, I have been really trying to decide what I want to do.
I would really like to be a psychologist (NOT psychatrist) in a European country. My question is, what should I be looking into for majors? Obviously, psychology as one major, but I would really like to also do something language-affiliated. Is there a general linguisitcs course at Brown that would be practicle? Or should I try and pick one language?
Please don’t respond by saying that I am too young to worry about it. I already know that, but I can’t help myself.</p>
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<p>The above is one of the ways that you can look at the course offerings. It’s fairly easy to read, so you can see what is possible. You can double major (called “concentrate”) if you like. But since there are no requirements outside of the courses that are required for your concentration(s), you can study what you want and explore. It’s maybe the best part of getting an education at Brown. You also don’t have to declare a concentration until the end of your second year.</p>
<p>Brown also allows you to create your own concentration (“majors” here). If the concentrations out there don’t satisfy your interests, you can petition for your own program. Even if you choose to stick with an established major, you usually have a fair range of electives to choose from. You can also substitute in different classes if you want to alter the preset program. (And then we’re not even talking about the courses you take outside of your degree.)</p>
<p>Re: linguistics. Linguistics classes are not language classes. A linguistic will not teach you to communicate (or even to get by) in other languages. It teaches you about underlying structures and properties of languages (or groups of languages) as a whole. For example, thanks to a class I took here, I can tell you all about Hungarian plural vowel harmony, but I can’t speak any Hungarian. I think linguistics is fascinating stuff, so definitely try it if it interests you. However, if you’re looking for useful tools for working in Europe, study a European language (and maybe even do a year of another for background). Depending on your plans, I’d suggest French or German.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, I’m also looking to major in psychology with a minor in linguistics. While thefunnything is right, learning linguistics is not learning a language, it is generally recommended that you become fluent in a second language if you study linguistics seriously. I’ve already taken a course in Arabic at a local college, and I’m hoping to become fluent in the language during my college years, and perhaps dabble in French (all while continuing Spanish, of course). I’d love to chat about psychology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, or languages with you. PM me if you’d like.</p>