How Important Is a College Minor?

Learn how to determine if getting a minor is worth the effort

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Much is made of having a minor (or two or three) when you graduate from college. But what exactly does a college minor do? And how important is it once you leave school and enter the workforce?

Personal Importance of a College Minor

Having a minor may be personally important to you if you minor in a subject that you are passionate about; you may, for example, want to go to medical school (hence your major in biology) but also love the violin (hence your minor in music). You may also be personally interested in gaining skills and training in a certain field but not interested in pursuing the topic to the extent that a major would require.

Professional Importance of a College Minor

Professionally speaking, minors can be a great help. You may need additional training for a career path that a minor can provide (in something like accounting). You may also want to improve your resume by taking courses and receiving training in a field you know employers are always interested in. You may want to complement one part of your academic training with another that will provide both practical and theoretical knowledge. (For example, you may be majoring in business but minoring in women's studies if you want to work in a non-profit that focuses on women's issues.) Additionally, you may be interested in teaching, in which case a minor can come in handy for expanding what subject areas you're allowed to teach.

Academic Importance of a College Minor

Your minor may also be important when it comes to applying to graduate school or other academic endeavors. Your minor can show that you have additional skills and interests (such as having a Spanish minor and applying to law school) while also showing a bit about who you are as a person. While your minor probably won't make or break your application, it can serve as an additional piece of information to make you stand out a bit from the rest of the academic crowd.

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Lucier, Kelci Lynn. "How Important Is a College Minor?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/how-important-is-a-college-minor-793205. Lucier, Kelci Lynn. (2021, February 16). How Important Is a College Minor? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-important-is-a-college-minor-793205 Lucier, Kelci Lynn. "How Important Is a College Minor?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-important-is-a-college-minor-793205 (accessed March 28, 2024).