I know there can be some overlap between a major and a minor - how exactly does that work? I will have 9 upper div major classes to complete after I transfer for Philosophy - let’s suppose I want to minor in English. The minor requires 5 upper div classes. Does it make sense to complete a minor? I want to allow myself some wiggle room - ideally no more than 4 classes per semester (16 units max) after transferring, and I’d like to study abroad for a semester/summer as well.
Does it look bad if one doesn’t have a minor, or is it essentially immaterial?
You can overlap one course at Berkeley to fulfill major and minor. I tend to agree with @anikom15. I used to think it helped career-wise. Now I think it’s more for your personal enjoyment or broader knowledge.
I haven’t met a single person who’s minoring actually, at either CC or UCLA, although they might’ve just not bothered to tell me. That is, it’s definitely not irregular to not minor.
Ah, alright, good. Thank you both @anikom15 & @lindyk8 - I hear all the time about people who want to double major and add a minor or two, etc. - I was wondering if I would be out of the loop.
How important are internships for someone who is just planning to go to grad school? I’m definitely involved in other sorts of extracurriculars, I just lack formal internships. I think I can only realistically get one or two.
Minors don’t mean a thing. What counts is what skills and knowledge you’ve acquired. Since most schools make sure majors must take the critical classes, saying you have majored in a particular topic implies you have acquired the critical skills and knowledge in that topic area. But a minor does not do that. So, saying you have a subspecialty in a particular area on your resume will do the same things as taking a minor-and you won’t be constricted by a particular school’s view of what constitutes a minor.
I’m trying to score internships for next summer right now and all the recruiters I’ve talked to basically agreed that:
Relevant Research / Job Experience >> Non-Relevant Research / Job Experience >>>>>> Minor / Nth Major
As far grad school, they are really trying to gauge your research potential. A minor / nth major can convey interest and subject mastery, but the act of applying (combined with adequate grades) essentially does the same thing. So really, even with grad school in mind, having an internship that can convey an applicant’s responsibility and work ethic is still generally better than the minor / nth major.
Now if it’s only a few units from your intended path then that’s a different story and likely worth it. (e.g. The Public Health major that needs to take some Statistics courses anyway for a future in Epidemiology probably should take the minor or second major in Stats)
I should have been specific - it’s either law school or philosophy grad school for me. Curious regarding how significant research/internships are for either of the two. I’m guessing that an internship in a law office is good for the former, and some sort of undergrad research would be good for the latter, but to what extent are these significant?
If you can get any research that is always good - plus, the prof usually is well-respected AND well-connected, AND you get a great letter of recommendation. It’s all about networking in many ways.
Re law, an internship, I think, would almost be vital.
Either is good, but for graduate school research is a little better, esp. if you want to go to the same school. GPA is a bit more important for grad. school than it is for finding a job.