so i’ve just finished the first semester of my sophomore year at the university of iowa so any changes i’m gonna be making to my program of studies probably needs to happen very soon if i want to graduate on time.
i’m currently pursuing a double major in drawing/painting (bfa) and art history (ba). i’ve always been super passionate about art and was originally considering pursuing art and/or art history at the graduate level in hopes of landing a teaching job at a college or university further down the road. last year i considered adding an english major after taking probably one of the most challenging and interesting classes i’ve ever taken. i spoke a bit with my english professor about what i should do, and he told me that i did some of the best undergraduate work he’d seen in a while, and that the path i was pursuing at the time (art education k-12) would likely be something that would leave me unfulfilled. i realized that he was probably right, and confessed i’d thought about adding an english major, but he told me i could probably get the same academic fulfillment from my art history major. i’ve realized as i’ve taken more advanced art history classes that, although i enjoy the field and do well in it, i can’t see myself being passionate enough to pursue it at the graduate level. and after this semester, i’ve realized how much i missed the sort of work i’d done in my english classes, and i’ve picked up an interest in linguistics, too.
i really want to keep my art major just because i’ve come so far with it and it is something i enjoy. but i’m considering changing my art history major to a minor, and then adding in an english-related major. the english major proper, however, is a ton of work and not something i could probably do if i wanted to graduate on time, so i was thinking of adding a comparative literature major (with a literature/ arts focus) instead, which would be doable for me because a good chunk of the credits necessary are from a non-english arts field, and the upper level art history and studio courses i’ve taken would fulfill those requirements.
with either of these set ups (bfa + ba in art history OR bfa + ba in comp lit + minor in art history) i could finish a semester earlier than my anticipated graduation time. i was originally considering using this semester to study abroad in france or germany and focus on language acquisition. not only would it have been something that interests me in principle, but with my original art history degree, learning french or german would’ve been pretty essential had i decided to pursue graduate work. as far as i’ve noticed, it’s the same if i pursue grad work in comp lit. BUT like i mentioned, i also really enjoyed my linguistics class and think that it might be something i’m interested in doing more with as well, so i’m kinda conflicted on whether i should take my “leftover semester” and add a linguistics minor (because i could theoretically teach myself/ take extra classes/ spend extra time learning languages on my own—i’m not necessarily interested in going to grad school immediately, and have been looking into artist residencies internationally, which might also be helpful for language acquisition before i decide to pursue any grad degrees in comp lit/ linguistics or an mfa).
tl;dr: there’s a few paths i’m considering following.
bfa + comp lit ba + art history minor + semester abroad in france
bfa + comp lit ba + art history minor + linguistics minor
or… should i drop the art history minor (i’m hesitant but would consider) or drop the bfa (definitely super hesitant to do this).
if i am pretty sure i want to pursue a career in academia, which path seems most beneficial for me to follow?
also, i guess, if it matters–i came into my freshman year with 20 credits, and after 3 semesters i’ve taken 54 credits worth of courses at iowa. i have a 4.02 cumulative gpa (not reflecting this semester’s grades yet, which haven’t been posted). i’m ambitious (to a fault) and have a lot of self-discipline which is the only reason i’m even considering making all these switches.