The number of college degrees available to a student these days is mind boggling. There are professional certificates, associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and finally doctorates. It would appear a bachelor's degree falls in the middle, but degrees don't exactly work that way. Today's post-secondary educational system hinges on what do you want to do with that diploma?
A bachelor's degree offers an educational journey that is equal parts specialized focus (major and minor coursework) and broad coverage of every subject (a liberal arts education). You might major in Mathematics, but you will be required to take classes in Foreign Language, too. There is also little technical education or experience beyond a token computing course in office suite productivity.
A typical bachelor's degree is 120 credit hours. A credit hour is the time actually spent at lecture per week, rounded up. A class meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM until 10:15 AM would be considered 3 credit hours. Labs are funny creatures, most require anywhere from three to five hours each week in class but only count for 1-2 credit hours. This is done to balance grade weighting for GPA calculation.
Of the 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree, about 50-60 will be classified as general education courses. This is the basic coursework every student must complete regardless of his or her major. General education requirements, also called gen eds, are divided into categories with a certain amount of credit hours required for the category.
For example, one popular gen ed requirement is in the Social Sciences. This includes Political Science, Psychology, Social Work, and Philosophy. A student may be required to take 6 credit hours, or roughly 2 classes from the list of qualifying courses in those areas. All of these classes will be introductory courses, 100-200 level, so very little previous knowledge of political science, psychology, social work, or philosophy is needed.
There will also be stand alone course requirements for gen ed satisfaction. This includes classes like Public Speaking, some type of ethics course (might be written into each major), and foreign language courses.
A major is just the 30-40 credit hours of upper level coursework a student chooses to focus on. Each major will have “core classes,” three or four classes everyone in the major takes at some point. It is vital you stay on top of prerequisites, or classes you need to complete before taking others. The major will also include “electives,” or classes you choose from a list within the subject matter.
Minor coursework is conducted in a similar way to major coursework, but usually comprises of only 12-18 credit hours. Each university department offers course tracks for minor coursework, just as they do for major coursework. A growing trend for undergraduate students is to forgo a minor in favor of a greater variety in coursework. For example, a student majoring in business may choose to divide her major between courses developing writing skills and knowledge of computing systems.
An undergraduate bachelor's degree will only get you so far, and that may only be the interview room, where employment is concerned. Students should not believe the myth that a degree alone will land you a good job. It is imperative along with the education there is practical experience. This means moving beyond typical college student jobs and maybe surviving a few semesters where you are stretched thin.
