Many students spend so much energy deciding on college majors that they sometimes overlook a related and equally important question: What minor, if any, should you choose?

As with so many career issues you'll face during the college years, there is no clear, direct or perfect right answer when adding a minor to an academic program. As far as prospective employers and graduate schools are concerned, it all depends. When choosing a college major and minor, it is all about the energy, enthusiasm and reasons for the decision.

Here are the benefits of choosing a minor:

• It can add needed breadth to your preparation and provide increased perspective to your academic major
• It can directly compliment your major and indicate a specific career or graduate school direction
• It can provide a needed outlet for an interest, passion or hobby
• It can be added late in your academic program and allows for you to customize your experience
• It can provide flexibility to your career choices and help make you more marketable

When choosing a minor, it can be a very intentional and planned choice or it can be an evolutionary decision based on circumstances and other experiences. Some students believe that certain minors naturally lend themselves to certain majors. At the University of Evansville, a minor in business administration can compliment a host of majors including Sports Studies, Engineering, Biology, Psychology, Mass Communication and Visual Communication just to name a few. Many students also choose to add a Foreign Language or International Studies minor to their major to expand their international understanding and improve their cultural competence.

Another approach is the saying when life happens, be ready, also known as planned happenstance. For instance, many students decide to adjust their curriculum based on an internship, co-op, study abroad, service learning or campus leadership experience. An example would be an Environmental Science student who completed a co-op experience and then added a minor in Political Science, including two political ethics courses based on her burgeoning interest in environmental public policy.

In conclusion, there are many reasons to add a minor and here is one final piece of advice. Your single best source of information is the faculty at the University of Evansville. Utilize your academic advisor and department chair to the fullest as they are important allies in your career journey!

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