What minor pairs best with a psychology major?

College Majors
1

Hello! I’m just out here thinking about my future. I am majoring in psychology, but I love the idea of getting a minor (or even a double major).

My question is, what minor or major would go best to pair up with a psychology major? Sociology sounds like an obvious choice, but, honestly, aren’t those two, for the most part, interchangeable anyway? If one job prefers you to have a masters in sociology, then I’m assuming that, so long as you fit or excel at all the other qualifications of that job, having a masters in psychology may be good enough.
Or perhaps I’m just really not interested in sociology, and am making this up as an excuse… Meh. In any case, I know myself well enough to know I’d never take up a sociology major/minor, so we’ll just forget about it.

That leaves…what? What are some good majors/minors that overlap with psychology? I love the idea of doing criminal justice, but I’m on the fence about whether it’s worth it or not. It’d probably only be worth it if I had it as a double major, and not worth it as a minor.

I love all things science, but again I’m on the fence about whether something like a minor in biological sciences would actually benefit me, or if it would just be a waste of time and money.

So what about an English or writing minor? I feel like those are great minors to have for any major, really. But again, is it really worth it? Would people care much about whether you had an English or writing minor?

There are so many options out there. I’d love to hear your thoughts or suggestions. I know a lot of it probably depends on what exactly I plan to do with my psychology major, but I’m honestly not sure about that myself yet. I just know I really love psychology, from all aspects. I love helping people, but then I also just enjoy learning how the mind works.

Thank you for any thoughts you may share with me!

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I think anyone that has space for anything in college should fill it with CS classes. You will want to be able to monetize a psych degree somehow. If psych becomes the job of AI, at least you could be on the right side of the future.

3

Econ, statistics, bio. Psych is moving in two directions (assuming you don’t want to become a therapist)-- behavioral economics, and cognitive science (i.e. the functioning of the brain as an organ and how it relates to behavior, disease, etc). And statistics is the all purpose minor- jobs in marketing, market research, policy…

Criminal Justice is usually not thought of a terribly rigorous course of study.

4

I think Econ or some type of business minor could be benefiting, especially when looking at having your own practice. So yes, I think @blossom makes a good point.

5

If you see psych as your future, go with statistics or biology. Both, in very different ways, would compliment a career in psychology. A statistics background would be very helpful in research, and biology can be of great assistance in the nuts and bolts of any cognitive research.

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I think it is too early to make a decision. IMO minors aren’t important – the coursework you take is more important than having a minor or not. I told my kids to do a minor only if it was in an area they found they were particularly interested in (my S did not minor, my D took one up junior year). I’d suggest you take a variety of college classes and think about your interests, aptitudes, and future career ideas before considering a minor.

If you want to stay in the psychology field you may want to eventually consider subjects like statistics, neuroscience, biology for a minor – but see how things go first.

FWIW my D was a psychology major and ended up minoring in theater (just for interest/fun) and it proved to be a nice/interesting combination when she applied for MS programs in speech pathology so you never know…

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