A very common question I receive as a faculty advisor from students who have selected a Major Field of study is “what should I take for my electives?” Before tackling this issue let’s revisit college credits.

In general and on average a bachelor degree requires between 120 – 130 or so credits. There are programs which require far more, but in general this is a pretty good approximation. How this breaks down is that about 48 or so credits are in the area of general education (GenEd) which encompasses courses such as Introduction to Psychology (101), English (101), Math (110), etc.

These are courses that everyone seeking a bachelor degree must successfully complete.

Most Major Fields of study require around 48 or so credits within the specific area. Many of these would be upper level credits (300 – 400 level). Once you’ve completed all the GenEd and all the Major requirements, you’d be left with about 24 – 32 elective credits.

Elective credits are provided to students to allow them to consider other areas of study beyond or aside from their selected Major. Often student while away this opportunity by taking what they consider to be unimportant or easy classes just to fill their course schedule. Everyone realizes how tough a college schedule can be on students and the fact that some courses can be grueling, but rather than fritter away these electives, why not turn them into something useful, interesting and fun at the same time?

If you examine your college or university bulletin of courses of course catalogue undoubtedly you’ll note that most majors offer a minor with the discipline which requires very little additional effort to obtain. For example, a sociology, psychology, criminal justice, history, or English typically offer minors in the field of study. Whereas a bachelor’s degree would require 48 credits a Minor would typically require only 21-26 credits.

What does all this mean? Since you must complete roughly 120+ credits for a bachelor’s degree and since you will typically have 24+ elective credits to fulfill your degree, why not focus your elective credits on a minor in which you have some interest? Most minors have a natural link to a major; Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice, Psychology with a minor in Sociology, Criminal Justice with a minor in Computer Science, etc.

But even if the minor you’re interested in doesn’t seem to have a natural link, you can still benefit from it and it may cause you to expand your career focus. Examples mighty include; History with a minor in Criminal Justice – at first glance these two seem far afield from each other, until you consider the history of criminal justice and the various career paths that one could take in this regard; law enforcement historian, foundations of law enforcement lecturer/presenter, etc.

Consider psychology with a minor in art – perhaps conducting research on the psychological impact of art on individuals, possibly determining what art might evoke what moods (impressionists, baroque, classical modernist, sculptures, etc). You may be thinking “what possible good could that be in the corporate workplace?” I pose these question to you…who do you think consults on the art found in lobbies and waiting areas of businesses? Why is it that you feel comfortable waiting long minutes for an elevator in the lobby of a business? What are the calming and interesting items of art found in the halls and walk areas of large malls? Granted, some business just got lucky and picked something out of a catalogue that works, but for the very successful, it is worth their while to have irate customers calm down while waiting to see a customer service representative, or consumers excited and interested in shopping and purchasing in another instance.

A minor is more than just “bragging rights”. In most institutions a minor is actually printed on your degree certificate as well as in your transcripts and does add to your resume’ and interview conversation; “…do you have any formal education?.. Yes. I have a bachelor’s degree in…and I minored in…”

Since you need the credits to complete the degree requirements, why not make the most of your degree and have fun at the same time?