Studying is undoubtedly a big thing and sometimes, as normal individuals, we all need some guidance or tips to help us get things done in an orderly fashion. Therefore, I decided to start a new series titled College 101 in my blog to share some of the things that I know with everyone, who might be seeking the same kind of information as I was before.
So, here goes the first post of the series!
- Planning -
1. Choosing A Major
A MAJOR is an area of your concentration of study. Most of the courses that you’ll take will be related to your major. You’ll be graduating with either Bachelor of Arts (B.As) or Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc) with your chosen major. For example, student A majoring in Biology would be graduating with B.A/ B.Sc in Biology.
In order to declare that you are a major in a certain field, you will have to complete a certain set of courses that satisfies the requirements set-up by the department. To graduate, you basically have yo fulfill your core and major requirements, and accumulate the minimum amount of credits. You can think of courses in university as ‘subjects’ that you have in school, but with different approach and new materials of course.
Extra note: You can also take elective courses that can be ranging from anything that doesn’t have to do with your major. A student majoring in Biology can also take courses such as Dancing or even Psychology!
Now, how to really decide what your major should be? Well, there are several ways to do that, and it is also advisable to consider some factors such as passion, financial conditions, and so on. But, here is one of the methods that you can use to roughly identify your possible majors.
Table 1: Subject-Based Decision Matrix
%
|
BM
|
BI
|
PAI
|
SEJ
|
MM
|
AM
|
PHY
|
CHE
|
BIO
|
etc.
| |
Enjoy the study
|
40
|
7
| |||||||||
Life career
|
35
|
3
| |||||||||
Well-scored
|
25
|
8
| |||||||||
Total
|
100
|
18
|
Note: Example is in red. Complete above table with score range from 1-10 or 1-5.
Subject/Interests/Passions
|
Possible Majors/Concentration of Study
|
Language (Malay, English, French, Deutsche, Japanese, etc)
|
Language, Foreign studies, Creative Writing, Chinese, Communication, Comparative Literature, Linguistics etc.
|
Biology
|
Biology, Biological Sciences, Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Marine Biology, Kinesiology, Psychology, Animal Science, Biotechnology, Community Health etc.
|
Chemistry
|
Chemistry, Organic chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, etc.
|
Physics
|
Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, etc.
|
History
|
Law (there is no undergraduate Law in the US), World History, History and Political Science, etc.
|
Mathematics (Math Mod & Add Math)
|
Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, Accountancy, Finance, Statistics, etc
|
Islamic Studies/Religion
|
Syaria’, Fiqh, Arabic Language, Religion
|
Arts & Music
|
Dance, Architecture, Industrial design, Music, Visual Arts, Photography, Painting, Environmental Planning and Design, Landscape Architecture, etc.
|
Misc
|
Philosophy, Advertising, Journalism, Anthropology, Geology etc.
|
Management and Public
|
Planning and Public Policy, Business, Management, Pre-business, Health Administration, Public Health, Public Policy, Business Administration, etc.
|
Note:
- Some subjects may overlap one another. So, find yourself a course that overlap the subjects too, if possible. E.g. Biology and chemistry → Biochemistry.
- The major is not limited to the ones listed above. Explore, guys :3
- Most of the times, there are specializations in the courses. Always be sure to check the specific department of the university to get more information. E.g. Biology → Specializations in Molecular Biology, Genetics or Ecology. Note that there are more out there, these are just several simple examples.
