What is the difference between a "major" and a "minor" in University?

Question

I'm planning to go to University in a year or two and I hear people talking about getting a major in a certain subject and a minor in a completely different one. What is the difference between the two? What is the point of having a degree in both? Please help me.

can you get a job in both fields, or only in what your major is?

Answer 1

Your major is what your degree is in and in what you take the majority of your classes. A minor is just that, something you're not majoring in, but if you take a certain amount of classes, it will be noted as a minor on your degree. Usually, your major are the classes that will lead to your profession and a minor could be merely something that interests you, or something that will enhance your major.

Here's an example. If you wanted to be a science teacher, you could major in biology and minor in Education.

Answer 2

The major is the primary study; you need a large number of classes in a certain subject to graduate. With a minor, you don't need to take as many classes to obtain one.

Everyone must have a major to graduate, the minor is optional. The major and the minor do not have to be in similar subjects. The main objective is to learn a lot about different subjects, and to prove to future employers of your knowledge of a certain subject.

Answer 3

Not sure, but I think employers who look at potential employee qualifications see the major as your area of specific knowledge (when stacking up against other potential employees), while a minor could be used as an 'extra' or as an expansion into other fields of work. The minor is like the side kick, like a potential hobby. It won't always be used, but it comes in handy for combining skils and problem solving.

Answer 4

A major is your primary area of study. Most of your classes will be in this area. Sometimes people declare a specific minor if they want to have a secondary area of study. You don't have to have as many hours or credits to qualify an area of study as a minor. Why do it? Maybe you want to have a sub-speciality. For example, you want to go into forensic psychology, so you major in psychology and minor in criminology. You can't declare minors at every university. And at most you don't have to. It's just something extra that could be beneficial.

Answer 5

Of course, they are both completely different. A major degree is basically a degree in which is your original degree. A minor degree is a substitute degree.

Answer 6

Major is the defined course of study, and it requires a minimum number of credits within that course of study.

Minor is a smaller course of study, and a smaller minimum number of credits in that study area.

Then also,
There's a Double Major
I did that in Accounting and Business Administration....which
prepared me for my MBA, except I didn't have any idea I would ever go to graduate school at a University.

Answer 7

major would be like getting your ba in say, history.
minor would be getting an aa in say, political science.

if you can't find a history job or just hate it sooo much years later, you have the political science to fall back on.