Like kids? As obvious a question as it sounds, it’s a serious one. The ideal early childhood education major will have, aside from good grades and possibly some experience babysitting or volunteering with little ones, a genuine love for and devotion to children. He or she will be a person drawn to this field not solely for the summers off! Stretching far beyond supervising distribution of cookies and milk or coloring within the lines, you’ll play a vital role in the development of children both individually and as a class. As an early childhood education major, you’ll learn how to be an effective teacher of kids in pre-school, kindergarten, and first through third grades. These young learners have needs markedly different from kids even a year or two older. You’ll learn how children develop and what their educational needs are at each stage of their lives. You’ll study children’s literature (remember Harold and the Purple Crayon?), how to teach mathematics and reading, and the importance—and significance—of play. You’ll study the history of early childhood education so you can recognize the unique challenges that have faced teachers in this field and how they’ve been overcome successfully. Most importantly, you’ll study children—how they operate, what they think, and how you can ensure that they reach their full potential. Being a student teacher is an important part of your college experience—this is how you’ll get substantial hands-on experience in front of the classroom. As a student teacher, you’ll work with a supervising teacher to build a curriculum, organize the classroom, and of course, teach. You’ll also take part in classroom observation or other less intensive hands-on experiences. Education is by nature interdisciplinary, and you’ll be studying elements of psychology, sociology, science, and various fields in the humanities. Different states have different certification requirements, so be sure to do your research when you’re applying to education programs—and when it’s time to look for a teaching job too.

Preparation

High school allows you to get a strong foundation in the many fields you’ll touch on in your early childhood education studies. Fill your schedule with a variety of challenging courses in math, science, English, history, and languages. Take courses that will improve your reading, writing, and communication skills. And since computers are becoming a more prominent part of the classroom, a computer class or two might be valuable. Put your heart into it before college even starts by volunteering with a community organization that works with young children.

Eastern European Studies is, as the name implies, a fairly broad course of study. Students who choose this major study Russian and often another Eastern European language (Azeri, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Uzbek, or Yiddish are just a few.) This work is combined with the study of the literature, culture, art, politics, law, geography, history, and society of Eastern Europe. That’s a lot of stuff. The time has never been better, however, to consider this major as a course of study. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the splitting and reorganization of the U.S.S.R., Eastern Europe has been in a constant state of change. In the past ten years, many Westerners have come to know this part of the world for the first time. Political analysts, language specialists, historians, journalists, and translators with a working knowledge of Eastern Europe may find themselves in great demand in the coming years.

Preparation

If you can take Russian or Polish (or, by some chance, Serbo-Croatian, Uzbek, Yiddish, or Czech) at your school—do it. Since these languages are not often offered, you can start getting your experience in another foreign language. Classes in European history and world literature will be useful.

Quick quiz: Suppose several producers of Your Favorite Product suddenly go out of business, causing a serious shortage of Your Favorite Product. Nonetheless, everyone still wants to buy the same amount of it. What will happen to the price of Your Favorite Product? If you predicted a price increase, you may have a knack for Economics: the study of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. More broadly, Economics is the study of how individuals, businesses, governments, and societies choose to spend their time and money, and otherwise allocate their resources. Even more broadly, Economics is the study of choices. When the federal government decides to allocate a certain part of national budget to military spending and another part to funding for the arts, that decision and its consequences is Economics. Similarly, when you decide to buy a CD instead of a fancy new shirt (or watch Nick at Night instead of MTV, or take the bus instead of your car) that’s Economics, too. Knowledge of Economics is an invaluable component of any liberal arts education, not to mention an indispensable tool for making sense of the intricacies of the modern world. It is also excellent preparation for a future in business, as well as for graduate studies in law, public policy, and international studies.

Preparation

Economics involves lots of critical thinking and, at times, heavy doses of math. If you think you might major in Economics, try to get as many advanced math courses under your belt as possible while you are still in high school. Experience with computers is good, too, as is any introduction you can get to formal logic. Obviously, if your high school offers economics as an elective, you should take it.

Education Administrators usually serve in educational management positions, mostly as principals or superintendents. To be successful as an administrator, you must have great communication and leadership skills. Your studies in this major will expose you to the fundamentals of management, and you’ll learn how to mobilize resources, supervise personnel, and handle school finance and law. You’ll learn the basics of organizational change, and you’ll study international perspectives on education. Computer applications are becoming more and more important to schools, and this major will expose you to many of them. Besides teaching you how to be a good leader, a major in Education Administration will also teach you about the many factors that impact education—factors such as economics and politics. You’ll share ideas and perspectives with other administrators to expand your conceptions of education. If you’re considering this major, you should have a strong desire to serve and an even stronger vision of what the future of education should be—and the practical ideas to help take it there. Education Administration programs are generally offered as master’s programs, where students have been teachers for some period of time and need an administrative degree to move further in their careers or turn them in a new direction.

Preparation

Communication skills are vital to any administration major, so make an effort to take classes in English, languages, writing, and the rest of the humanities. Take speech. Computer skills are also important, so take computer science classes if they’re offered in your school. As an administrator, you’re responsible for the bottom line, so take as much math as you can. And learn how to type.

At the heart of the Educational Psychology major are the whys and hows of human learning.
Education doesn’t occur in a vacuum. We learn in classrooms, in office environments, in parks and museums. How we learn, though—under what conditions, under what circumstances—there’s the mystery, the research, and the major. It’s much more complicated than this, though: there is a whole batch of other issues and questions that surround the Educational Psychology major and the learning process in general. The practical applications of an educational psychology major are numerous, especially with today’s great focus on education. You can expect that your degree will be in high demand, and that the research and the studies you perform have the potential of shaping how the next generation learns.

Preparation

The best preparation you can get for any psychology major is to have a solid background in the liberal arts, with a strong focus on those math and science classes, particularly biology, chemistry, physics, and statistics, in addition to having strong reading and writing skills to get you through all of that research you’ll be putting together. We’ll assume that you’ll also take psychology courses if your school offers them.

The Elementary Education major learns how to preside over what is essentially a one-room schoolhouse. In the early grades, teachers are responsible for giving instruction in all the basic subjects (reading, writing, ‘rithmetic—plus science, social studies, and the basics of health and physical education), as well as overseeing the general development of each of his or her charges. It’s a challenging and very rewarding field. Some programs offer (or require) an area of specialization, such as early childhood, language arts, mathematics, or middle school instruction. When the academic work is complete, Elementary Education majors move into the classroom for the trial by fire known as student teaching. This practicum lasts at least one semester, but could go on for a full academic year. The requirements for teacher certification vary from state to state. Check with the education department of your college to see if their requirements meet the standards of the state in which you want to reside and work. When you successfully complete the Elementary Education program, you have to take any certification examinations required by the state in which you want to work. Again, your school should help you make these transitions.

Preparation

A firm background in English, math, and science is required for all education majors. If your school offers classes in psychology or sign language, try and take them, too.

It might seem like engineering physics is someone’s idea of a cruel joke—combining two of the toughest majors into one. But no pain, no gain, my friend! And gains in this field come in the form of a wide blanket of job opportunities and—if you play your cards right—a pretty nice-looking starting salary. Engineering physics majors blend courses from engineering, physics, and math to build an understanding of how these areas interact and support each other. You’ll boost your knowledge of the physical environment while discovering how physics is applied to problem-solving in our rapidly changing high-tech world. You were the kid who took first prize at the science fair? You secretly liked helping friends with their math homework? Perfect. As an engineering physics major, you’ll study the fundamentals and intricacies of both engineering and physics, including electricity, magnetism, statics, strength of materials, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics. Want more? Some programs include research in space science, superconductivity, optical materials, and nuclear engineering. You’ll also take courses in calculus and differential equations. Laboratory work will teach you how to use experimental techniques and will give you hands-on experience with high-tech equipment. An engineering physics major comes in handy for a range of job opportunities, including positions in research and development (“R&D”) at high-technology industries as well as jobs in national laboratories and universities. Further career development may lead to a position as staff engineer, scientist, or technical director.

Preparation

If you’re thinking of majoring in engineering physics, you must like science—which is a good thing, because you’ll need to take a lot of it in high school to prepare for your college studies. Take courses in physics, chemistry, biology, calculus, and any other math and science courses you can, taking advanced-level classes if they’re offered. Scientists must also be good communicators, so be sure to take English, foreign language, and other humanities courses that will help you strengthen your reading, writing, and speaking skills.

Normally located within a broader English major, Composition specifically focuses on the construction of thoughts and ideas into written words. Composition is the way we write: the rules of grammar that we follow and the styles we use to express our thoughts effectively. How do you construct an effective essay or story? What are some of the different tools you can employ in writing? What exactly is a dangling participle, and why are you not supposed to end your sentences with a preposition? These, of course, are just some of the principal questions you will encounter as you learn how to become an effective and thoughtful writer, able to express your deepest thoughts and ideas in language so finely honed that you’ll awe your old high school English teachers. One of the best ways to learn how to write is by reading, and, like any English concentration, you will do plenty of that here. All of the classics, both old and contemporary, await you in the English Composition major, from Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway to T.S. Eliot. You will find in the books you read not only great works of Composition, but also some of the most significant artistic expressions dealing with everything from death, to war, to history.

Preparation

There are enough great books out there to make for a lifetime’s worth of reading, so why not begin early and build upon the English classes you have already taken? In addition, writing is something you can always do, from your own creative short stories to writing for your high school newspaper. The opportunity to develop your compositional skills are widely available.

Entomology majors gain a vast knowledge of all aspects of the insect world. First and foremost, they study the insects themselves—the many different types of them, their differences and similarities, and how we classify them into major groups—a practice known as taxonomy. You’ll study the evolution of insects, and see how they’ve been affected by changes in the environment and human society. You’ll learn the ways in which insects are both harmful and helpful to our health, and the many methods available to control them. The scope of your studies will vary widely. For instance, you’ll learn about the biological aspects of insects, such as their anatomy, biochemical processes, and growth. You’ll learn about various problems that insects present to agriculture and urban life, and how we can best manage insects in these realms. You’ll study relatives of insects such as spiders, ticks, and mites. And you’ll gain an understanding of environmental concerns, and how insects, the environment, and humans are connected. (Bonus: you’ll understand Elton John’s “Circle of Life” at a much deeper level as an Entomology major.) An Entomology major, like any other scientific field, requires a great deal of research and laboratory work. Field work is also an integral part of many programs. This is an exciting way to get hands-on experience and see how your studies relate to the real world.

Preparation

If you’re considering a major in Entomology, you should try to take as many biology, chemistry, and math courses as you can. These will be your best preparation. Computer courses will be good as well. And don’t forget your English classes—good researchers must also be good communicators.

As its name suggests, the environmental design/architecture major combines aspects of landscape design with architecture. In this program, you’ll learn how to design indoor and outdoor spaces that are in ecological and aesthetic harmony with their surroundings. You’ll study the principles of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning, which involve math, physics, drawing, and computer classes. As an environmental design/architecture major, your task is to consider the larger aesthetic picture when planning and creating your spaces, structures and other projects. Each of four variables (and their relationships to each other) will be considered when engineering your designs: architecture (buildings); landscape (including parks, gardens, and recreational surfaces); interiors (spaces within existing buildings); and environmental graphics (signs and information boards). As an environmental design/architecture major, you’ll also learn how to construct structures and spaces that are both ecologically sustainable and environmentally safe. Environmental designers and architects work on both public and private spaces, used for leisure, recreational, commercial, or living purposes. Examples of their work include parks, garden centers, green roofs, courtyards, and public squares.

Preparation

Programs in environmental design/architecture draw from many different disciplines. Take geometry, calculus and physics, as well as drawing and art history. Finally, computer and computer graphics courses will be helpful, since much of your planning and designing will be done on computer.