What should I major in?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>My name is Katie, and I am a nineteen- year- old college freshman. I am currently attending Berkeley City College (which is a 2- year, for those who don't know). I'm not well- versed in this whole... thing yet, so that's why I'm coming to you folks!</p>

<p>Alrighty, let's get down to business! I know for certain that I want to work with animals, but not in a veterinary setting. It'd be nice to work with kids, as well, perhaps those on the Autism Spectrum. I've considered a career as a trainer for service/ therapy animals, though I'm not sure how well that translates into a feasible major...</p>

<p>I've got this really intense desire to attend UC Berkeley, and have for a long time. I believe they have an "Individual Major" that allows students to- in essence- create their own degree program. I'm not 100% sure how that works (I may be dead- wrong!), but if I were able to combine some different fields of study (ex. some biology, animal behavior, wildlife, autism studies, education, physical/ occupational therapy, etc.) then maybe I could get somewhere. </p>

<p>Is there a way that I would be able to accomplish this goal at Cal?</p>

<p>(I have considered UC Davis as well, though I have tried and failed to love the school for many years. After visits, college fairs, and my dad living up near there for an extended period of time, I have pretty well determined that that is not the school for me).</p>

<p>I'm not sure what my second choice would be if I was denied acceptance to Cal. Probably Santa Cruz or San Jose State, with something similar, I guess. </p>

<p>Any advice? Thanks in advance!!! :D :D</p>

2

<p>Maybe try to combine a Special Ed degree with a minor in Zoology. </p>

<p>As for how you could fashion your interests into a vocation, I’d think there’d be some parents of autistic kids who would love those kids to be tutored/counseled/cared for in a kind environment involving (you and) pets.</p>

<p>You could be a sole proprietor operating as a tutor/sitter for autistic and other challenged children, using playful pups as therapeutic furballs.</p>

3

<p>I hear animal behavior when I read your post. It sounds to me like you’ve been reading Animals in Translation. If you haven’t, then you should. There are some schools that offer undergraduate majors in animal behavior or ethology, but these are few in number. Cal is not one of them. The other related fields that come to mind are cognitive psychology/behavior/science, neuroscience, and neurobiology, some of which Cal does offer very well; you will see if you look at the course requirements that the kinds of courses you’re talking about make up parts of each of these majors. </p>

<p>That doesn’t mean that Cal cannot provide you with the courses by which you could piece together your own major; I don’t know. But focusing on one college to the exclusion of the three thousand other possibilities is to be avoided. Look beyond Cal, too.</p>