Hello,
I’m majoring Computer Science but I’m thinking about doing a minor to make it more interesting. My question is What is the best minor for a major in Computer Science?
I love Chemistry, so I’ve looking over the internet and I found Computational chemistry exists but that’s something that is seen rarely. On the other hand, I love web design. Can you please help me to find out what’s the minor I could do support my major?
THANKS!
Keep in mind that minor’s are optional.
Taking a minor in another department is usually taken to broaden your education and make yourself more marketable to a field of interest. If you want break into something Computational Chemistry, then a Chem minor (or any other field related minor) would be a good choice. Then again, if you want to break into one of these fields, see what type of undergraduate research is taking place, as that’s an even better method. Two other, similar fields are Computational Biology and Bioinformatics.
Likely the most common minor (taken by CS majors), is Mathematics (or Statistics). Less common is minoring in another field of engineering (Electrical, Materials) or science, like Physics.
Some folks go in completely different direction, an minor in something like Business Administration, Leadership, etc. A minor in these fields isn’t about getting that first CS job, it’s about pursuing an interest.
I highly recommend talking with your CS advisor about the typical minors taken by other CS students, and talk with other CS students (in CS related student groups). Other students can be a great source of info (about what a college has to offer and feedback on the courses required for some of these minors).
As mentioned, a minor doesn’t have to support your major - it can be a way to explore another interest. If you aren’t looking to break into any specific subfield of CS, do the minor for yourself, not for employers, who generally don’t care.
and… since employer usually don’t care (see other threads on the topic)… don’t feel bound to the constraints of a particular minor if you can’t make the class sequencing align. Just take electives in your areas of interest.