Major/minor troubles: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>I'll be attending The University of Vermont next fall with a full presidential scholarship. I'm very excited since I absolutely love Burlington, snowboarding, and a more rural setting than I grew up with, (I live in New Jersey).</p>

<p>Any feedback for UVM, stories about UVM or first-hand experiences about UVM would be greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>The theme of this thread, however, hardly has to do with what college I end up graduating from. I, like many coollege students, am conflicted as to what I should study. I figured advice from a message board would be unbiased and therefor, the most helpful.</p>

<p>I'm going to study Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, (a double-major,) as it stands now. UVM has a policy where every Undergraduate Major must also incorporate a minor. This requirement is met by the double-major, of course, but with this in mind, integrating a minor or two would be relatively easy. </p>

<p>I've considered a minor in Applied Mathematics/ Mathematics/ Statistics or something math-related to appeal to grad schools/ widen my options in life (since Bio majors are typically bad at math/ dislike math as opposed to Chem/Physics majors, this would hopefully set me apart). I've always been good at math, too.</p>

<p>I was also considering a minor in Chinese. I figure the way the global economy is headed, this will be an important skill to have by the time I'm 30. Also, a degree like Chinese makes you a walking conversation starter, which is a nice bonus!... I suck at languages, though.</p>

<p>Finally, I was considering taking a minor in something I enjoy, and leave the practicality to my majors; something like creative writing, animal science, botany, or wildlife biology. I enjoy nature, animals, poetry, and writing more than anything, but avidly believe in the seperation of passions and work/schoolwork... </p>

<p>In addition, I would love to get some feedback on Microbiology/Genetics majors!</p>

<p>Thank you to whoever can help me out! I appreciate it more than you know!</p>

2

<p>Some comments:
If you “suck” at languages, you might want to reconsider that minor in Chinese. It’s one of the more difficult languages and will be very time consuming to learn. Also, unless, you spend some time studying abroad, you might not attain a sufficient level of proficiency, and it’s not always easy to arrange an adequate study abroad period if you’re major in sciences.</p>

<p>Enjoying animals and nature is different than studying animal science, botany, or wildlife biology. Maybe, you can satisfy your interests by participating in an outing club or similar organization. On the one hand, your major in microbiology certainly is related to aspects of those minors and could open up some grad school and professional options, e.g., veterinary microbiology, plant diseases, etc. On the other hand, you could end up “over-focusing” on biosciences and related fields. Exploring a range of other areas will benefit you as a person and as a scientist/professional.</p>

3

<p>I don’t consider learning Chinese impossible, just not as easy as Math, creative writing, biology, or genetics. How would studying abroad be harder for a science major, though? I ask because I have plenty of extra money to do so with my scholarship and hoped to travel to India or China to study abroad.</p>

4

<p>Depending on the country, studying abroad can be more difficult for a science major since the courses required in your major are not always available via a study abroad program. Also, it is easier for a study abroad program to set up lecture-discussion courses in humanities and social sciences than it is in science fields. This is not always the case, but it’s something to check out. if you just want the cultural experience for a summer or a semester, this might be less of a factor.</p>

<p>Many students who study abroad in China do so with the purpose of taking intensive Chinese language courses. These classes may be conducted for several hours each day. The amount of class time and homework/studying often leave little opportunity for coursework in other subjects. </p>

<p>Of course, sciences are taught in other countries’ universities, so you could always register directly as a student in a foreign university, depending on your language proficiency (probably not in Chinese). I doubt this applies at the the undergrad level, but many European universities offer do conduct master’s programs in English. This might be common in sciences, where much of the research is published in English-language journals. Some of the areas you are considering for minors are in agricultural and natural resources fields. I will note that some ag colleges at US land grant universities have done a very good job of setting up study abroad programs, and, in engineering, a fairly large number of schools have set up international engineering programs, so it’s not impossible.</p>