minors, useful or crap?

[spydar]

talking about taking a minor in university

I've been advised that it wouldbe easier and quicker for me to graduate with a BSc in primatology if I dropped my minor in english (odd combo I know, but not as strange as some) and used the courses it would take up to fill up my science requirements. now I'm wondering is a minor actually useful? or is it just something pretty to put on your degree?

[Aerich]

I don't think minors are that important. I didn't take one; instead I filled up my "electives" with history courses outside my focus area (which was 20th century history). They are a pain if you aren't especially interested in your secondary subject. I decided on my direction part way through my university career and I didn't have the pre-requisites for a minor that I would enjoy doing. If I wanted one, it would have cost me another year. I wanted to graduate in four years, and I did.

OTOH, I did stay in undergrad a little longer than I needed to. My program only requires 3 years of undergrad, but I stayed for the last year in order to get that vaunted B.A. after my name. Different from your situation, of course, but I did stay longer than absolutely necessary. So in a sense I'm encouraging you to stick with it.

To answer your specific questions, spydar, here's how I see it - take my opinion however you wish:

1) A minor is useful if you make it so. Ask yourself if it will help you in your chosen field or if you might contemplate working in that area. For example, teachers find minors useful because some schools stipulate that teachers must have at least a minor in a subject in order to teach it. For primatology, an English minor could be the difference between landing a job and not being hired, because an employer may feel more comfortable with your ability to communicate well verbally and in writing if you have that English minor.

2) Minors can be window dressing, but they shouldn't be. If you see it as unnecessary decoration, chances are that you should drop it. OTOH, if you enjoy it and see it as potentially useful, keep it, even if it costs you a little more time. It's not a bad thing to temper a science with some "soft" courses. If you value the knowledge and perspective you can gain from studying English, by all means keep on with it.

Try and judge all the factors. Do you have a big student debt? Do you have a time-limited job offer that is contingent on finishing university ASAP? If so, then you can toss my preceding analysis out the window along with your minor. One thing to do if you haven't already done so, is to map out how many credits you have left to take in each area. Compare course selection and how quickly you can finish in each scenario. You may find that the minor only adds a term or so, in which case you could do the minor with little extra effort.

Hope this helps.

[Har'oloth]

i think that every knowlege you learn can be helpful in the future so take a minor if you think you can use it!!
do what you like and everything will go perfect!

[Cloudbringer]

They weren't required in my undergraduate work, but the program we had to complete for the Russian major was intense enough that we could have counted a number of things as a minor. The university also had requirements for us to take courses in various fields so I ended up having to take philosophy and communications in addition to such things as theater arts to finish my BA degree. Not quite a minor but they made us spread out and take more than one area of study. I found it very worthwhile. Some of the courses were fascinating and fun.

[Timber Loftis]

Take what you want, and minor in something if you want. I gave up on minoring, and ended up 2 classes away from a minor in about 3 different areas. Just use your electives to broaden your education as much as you can. I think there is a sacrifice made as far as being a "whole citizen" in the Greek style if you focus too narrowly on your major field of study. In my mind, it doesn't matter what your major is, you could use at least rudimentary intro courses in every major field of study.