<p>I'm a rising senior in high school, and I'm trying to figure out a good minor. I know that I want to major in neuroscience, probably (hopefully) at Boston U or U of Rochester. But what would be a good minor / potential double major to pair with it? My main options right now are:</p>
<p>French
Astronomy
Bioethics
Anthropology</p>
<p>Some background: I've always loved all four subjects, although I'm not entirely sure how I'd incorporate them into my career. I love French, and I plan on studying abroad in France and/or living there someday. Astronomy I've always found fascinating, but... with neuroscience? I don't know how I'd use those together. Bioethics is an easy choice, but it's not choice #1. I like anthropology, as well, but I'm not sure if it's the right choice for me.</p>
<p>I don't want to do pre-med, but I will go to graduate school eventually. Which minor would 'look best' to potential grad school admissions offices? Which is most practical for a career? If I decide to double major, would any of these be doable?</p>
<p>Anyway, I still have time before college, and well into college if I need it. I'm just thinking about this to help my college search.</p>
<p>My opinion:
Assuming you are applying to grad school in neuroscience, none of those minors would help you get into grad school, since your admissions will be determined almost solely by your performance in neuroscience and neuroscience research. </p>
<p>Only if you were to apply to grad school in French, Astronomy, Bioethics, or Anthro would getting a minor in that field be necessary/helpful.</p>
<p>I also don’t think any of those minors, or double majors, would help you get a job either. If you go to grad school, that will be the determinant of your career. If you don’t go to grad school, your degree will only prepare you specifically for a research job, and none of those minors are really going to influence whether or not you get a neuroscience research position.</p>
<p>IMO, you don’t get a minor in a field like French, Antro, Astro, or Bioethics to “boost your resume”; someone who gets a minor in one of those fields does it because they are genuinely interested in that field in of itself, and by itself.</p>
<p>Since you seem fascinated by all four fields, might I suggest simply taking a few elective courses in each field rather than zeroing in on one field with a minor. (Although for French it might take more than a few classes to become fluent)</p>
<p>terenc – As I said, I love all four subjects, and I always have. I’d be happy in any of them. I’m just wondering which would be the most useful. </p>
<p>When you said none of those would help me get a job, do you mean that they won’t matter in the light of whatever my grad school education is, or just those minors in particular?</p>
<p>My opinion extended to just these minors in particular. I would not recommend minoring in an area you do not enjoy, however.</p>
<p>I mean, there are exceptions: if you want a job in France; if you want an astronomy job; if you want a anthropology job, etc…
But, in my opinion, none will explicitly help you get a neuroscience job (and why would it?)
Again, this is just my opinion; I’m not a neuroscience major.</p>
<p>Why not minor in computer science? It would really help your career in neuroscience (specifically computational neuroscience). Or even a math minor.</p>
<p>Out of all of those French is the best. None of them particularly relate to your major - but many graduate schools require working proficiency of French or German, and possibly a third language aside from the two. Neuroscientists must attend graduate school. So, a minor in French is the obvious choice of the four.</p>
<p>If you want something similar though I would recommend a minor in biochemistry, perhaps? What area of neuroscience are you interested in? I took a few courses in it - I might be of help if you specify more.</p>
<p>^Eh… No graduate school for neuroscience is going to require that you minor in French/German. You’re just a scientist working in a lab, writing papers that are published in journals, the vast majority of which are in English.</p>
<p>The only exception is maybe … graduate school in France/Germany.</p>
<p>Any of them is “good”. Minors have very little effect on grad school decisions, so it’s up to you to pick something to complement your own personal knowledge. Learning a second (third, fourth…) language is definitely a plus, as not only does it allow you to discover other cultures, it also introduces new ways of thinking (languages and their rules shape the way one thinks, and once you discover there are no isomorphisms between two languages, it can really affect your worldview, not to mention, improves your cognitive abilities and may delay the onset of dementia and things like that…). Astronomy is neat but really, I’m not sure why it isn’t called astrophysics (I’m guessing it avoids all the math heavy stuff).</p>
<p>I’ve said this before and I just want to reiterate If you are interested in Neurobiology your best bet would be to get an MD and then specialize in neurology, neurosurgery or even do research. Science PhD’a have very poor employment prospects especially relative to the rigor and number of years of training a deferring having a life.</p>
<p>There was a Neurobiology PhD on AAS forums a while back who graduated and was unemployed for years asking for advice. I’d hate for that to be your future.</p>
<p>I never said anything about ‘all of them’ requiring. Just many. We haven’t learned anything more from the OP to know what area of neuroscience they’re interested in. Of the four non-related subjects listed, French is the obvious choice. Fluency in foreign languages is not only a valuable asset, it’s a necessity to be competitive. </p>
<p>Anyway, any of these would be good for the OP depending on their area, as they’re offered at my school in junction with neuroscience:</p>
<p>All of them are offered at the undergraduate level and can be double-majored with neuroscience. Have to wait and see if the OP ever responds though, to further the conversation.</p>
<p>Thank you for the responses. As far as neuro goes, I’d love to specialize in perception, particularly sight. After grad school I want to do research, rather than treat patients in a hospital, but I might have to consider med school more. </p>
<p>Out of the minors given, I think math and genetics sounds the most interesting. I’ve always enjoyed both. Does anyone know if neuro majors are too rigorous to do a double major in any of these subjects? If employment is as hard as sschoe2 says, I’ll need to be much more competitive.</p>
<p>There is no rule that says a minor needs to be related to your major. You can minor in a field just for your personal interest in it. With the heavy dose of neuroscience and related science required in your prospective major, you might find it enjoy to doing a minor outside the biosciences.</p>
<p>Even though you might be headed for a research career, there are still advantages in a medical degree. For one thing, it allows you to do some types of cinical research that non-MDs couldn’t do. You also could consider a joint MD/PhD program. In any case, a strong neuroscience program pretty much will require the equivalent of the pre-med requirements, so you can keep that option open.</p>
<p>Perception is a subfield of experimental psychology. So, psychology would be the minor most closely related to neuroscience. Some other fields related to an interest in perception: Physics (optics); Human Factors Engineering/Engineering Psychology (also closely related to experimental psychology); Art (psychological aspects); Developmental Psychology (if interested in perceptual development); Cognitive Psychology/Cognitive Science; Computer Science; Gerontology (sensory & perceptual changes related to the aging brain); etc.</p>
<p>If you want to do research in neuroscience, it’s better to actually major in something else, like physics, which will give you good analytical skills for research instead of just lots of knowledge.</p>
<p>The thing with most biology-related subjects is that when you’re doing research on some part of it, you can just pick up a book and learn what you need about that portion in a day. There’s no need to spend several semesters taking formal classes to learn all of it ahead of time.</p>