Choosing a College Minor

• Your selection of a minor is highly dependent on how it will benefit your post graduate work. Two of the most important reasons to choose a minor include its correlation to your major discipline and its potential for additional in-depth study. You can also select your minor because it is your passion, or as an alternative to declaring a double major. A minor selected based on its correlation to your major should provide you with additional knowledge and a head start on issues related to your future field of work. Minors selected based on its potential for in-depth learning can help you explore specialized and valuable interests that may or may not be related to your major field of study. A minor that is selected as a passion can provide additional skills or become an outlet for creative or hobby pursuits. You may also choose a minor instead of a double major, because you cannot make a choice between two equally interesting subjects of study.
  
  

Stipulations

• If you have already declared one major, most private and public universities will allow you to choose one or two minors. However, if you have declared a double major, selecting a minor is not necessary, and it is often discouraged in this instance. Furthermore, in most cases you will need to choose a different area of minor study other than your major. As an example, most universities will not allow students to major and minor in a discipline such as sociology at the same time.
  
  

Admissions Requirements and Declaring a Minor

• The majority of universities require that you are at least in your second year of college before you declare a minor. Furthermore, you may be able to fulfill some general study requirements with the same units or hours that are required for your minor, depending on your school's admission policies. There is usually a 2.0 GPA requirement that must be maintained with your minor coursework. Also, you may be able to gain some hours or units through academic transfer. As with majors, you will usually have both required and elective-based courses that you must take to fulfill the minor.
  
  

Minors and Certificates

• Some universities offer specified certificates in addition to your minor. Yet, a few do not offer certificates at all, while others only allow you to choose either a minor or certificate with your degree program. You can obtain a certificate for your own career enhancement purposes. However, some employers specifically require you to obtain a certificate as a condition of hiring or advancement. If your college does not offer a certificate program, try obtaining the certificate you need at a local community college or distance learning college.