<p>Hello! I'm Bart, I'm 17, I come from Poland and I'm going to apply to some American universities. I know quite much about the American educational system, but I still don't know what the difference between a MAJOR and a MINOR is. Is there anybody who could explaint it to me?</p>
<p>Thank you
Bart</p>
<p>A major is the single subject in which you concentrate, a minor is a second single subject in which you concentrate somewhat less.</p>
<p>Example: many colleges have a semester system and you often need about 120 semester hours to graduate . A typical course will be anywhere from 2 credit hours to 5 credit hours a semester with most courses likely being 3 credit hours. That usually means you go to class for that course that number of hours per week during the 16 week semester, meaning 3 hours a week for a 3 hour course and take 5 three hour courses in a semester and you get 15 credit hours toward graduation. Of the 120 hours you take, you will have a major, for example in math or history, and a major may require completion of about 40 credit hours of course work in that particular subject; you may also seek, but are not required to seek, a minor in another subject which may require only about 20 semester hours (actual required number of hours for a major or minor vary among universities and subject matters). The rest of the courses you take will be general education courses, meaning mainly courses in things like humanities, social science, lab science, language, others, and courses required for your major that may be related to but not in the same subject matter (for example, a math major may be required to take some computer science courses).</p>
<p>A major (which a few colleges call a “concentration”) is what it sounds like–the academic subject you study the most. Most American colleges and universities also have distribution requirements (which are often called “general education” requirements) to ensure that students study some science, some history or social studies, some arts and literature, etc., while they are in college.</p>
<p>Let’s say for the purposes of example that you want to major in biology. The university’s Biology Department will have a list of requirements for that major: how many courses in biology you must complete; some specific courses that everyone in the major must complete; how many courses in related fields (for example, chemistry) you may count toward the major; any courses in related fields you must take (in this case, maybe organic chemistry and statistics); etc. </p>
<p>In addition to those requirements, you will also have to fulfill the university’s general education requirements. These may include, depending upon the university, a writing course or two; some arts or literature classes; some classes in history, government, or social studies; some classes in foreign language; some classes in mathematics. The university will probably also have a science requirement, but since your major is a science, you will have no problem fulfilling that one. Many colleges will let you fulfill some of these requirements by examination. If you can demonstrate that you already know a language other than English, for example, they will not make you take additional foreign language.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities do not offer minors at all. At colleges that do offer them, they are optional. A minor is very much like a major, but it requires fewer courses than a major does. Your major could be in a related field; you could major in biology and minor in chemistry, or major in international relations and minor in Spanish. But your minor could also be something completely unrelated to your major that just happens to interest you; you could major in biology and minor in music.</p>
<p>Some students will fulfill the major requirements for two different fields. This is called a “double major.” It’s easiest to do, of course, if your two fields are closely related, so you can count some courses for both requirements. If you decided, on the other hand, that you wanted to major in both economics and art history, you would probably have a lot of requirements to fulfill, and very little leisure time.</p>
<p>Most four year universities require a student to major in something for a bachelor’s degree (an exception is Evergreen State College). Minors are generally optional.</p>
<p>Thank you very much! Let’s say I’ve completed a major in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Does the minor have any impact on a virtual employer’s decision while he or she chooses me for a job of a psychotherapist?</p>
<p>In order to work as a psychotherapist, you will need to complete a graduate program in counseling. In most places, you can’t get a license for this with just an undergraduate degree. Each country (and in the US each state) has its own licensing requirements. If you want to work as a psychotherapist, you should study in the place where you want to get a job.</p>
<p>It is very unlikely that you would be able to get a job in the US as a psychotherapist with a company that would be able to get you a work visa. You need to plan to study something that will get you a job in your home country.</p>
<p>That was just an example. I want to know if the minor has any impact on an employer’s decision.</p>
<p>It could have. Or not.</p>
<p>If you majored in business with a minor in Spanish, you might be more attractive to a company that trades a lot in Latin America than an applicant who couldn’t demonstrate proficiency in Spanish. If you majored in international relations with a minor in Mandarin or Arabic, you might be more attractive to a government agency involved in diplomacy or intelligence than an applicant who didn’t have those language skills. If you want a career teaching secondary school, a minor might make it possible for you to get certification to teach in a second discipline.</p>
<p>But in most cases, I don’t think a student’s choice of a minor matters a whole lot.</p>