I have a question regarding choosing what to specialize/major/minor in. I have completed first year and I feel lost. I’ve decided that I definitely want to specialize or major in Criminology it’s something that interests me and I do have my sights set on becoming a criminal lawyer. With that being said, I was not particularly enthused about other courses most law school hopefuls take History and Politics. I f I have to spend the next three years studying either of those, I will definitely make it through with good marks, but I may just develop severe depression. Or turn grey.
A course I immensely enjoyed was Psychology 101 but I didn’t take calculus or advanced functions in high school, so that road is definitely closed for me. (I know there is the option of taking high school courses online, but there is a reason I stayed FAR away from math in grade 12.)
I’m left with Sociology and English. As much as I enjoy reading, I feel like it should remain a hobby – I like having the power to occasionally read something by Stephen King or perhaps a Harlequin Romance without realizing the full extent of the mindlessness of it.
I slightly enjoyed Sociology 101, but I’m not jumping with enthusiasm at the thought of delving deeper into it. I hate this apathetic feeling I don’t want my undergraduate experience to be something I just want to get through.
Society, Ethics, and Law is another minor I have briefly considered.
What would you recommend?
Thank you very much for the help!
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Bro, neither I, nor your mother, nor your career counselor, nor anyone else can tell you what you want to major in. Some people never know! Some people don’t care. It all depends on what post-secondary or career options you envision for yourself upon graduation. Here’s a shocking secret: it mostly doesn’t matter.
You say that you like the criminology classes being offered by Woodsworth, but you’re not too jazzed about taking History or Poli Sci classes. But did you know that Trinity offers an Ethics, Society and Law program? And that New College offers this neat pseudo-Jungian Paradigms and Archetypes class, that offers all of Psychology’s teachings, with none of the calculus?
You’re just going to have to take some classes by trial and by fire, and go with your gut. U of T has a ton of classes and a huge variety of programs, so it’s simply a matter of fishing through the calendar and timetable, and making a course schedule that works for you. It seems like you’re interested in the humanities, but don’t rule out the small language based programs where you can do a class in Italian Cinema, or “The Sensuality of The French.” Study the calendar and see what interests you. Then build a program from there.
Also as a rule, classes don’t really get interesting until third year when they get smaller and more seminar-based. You might feel burned out because of taking giant Con Hall classes and the frustrating anonymity that comes with that. The smaller classes in the smaller programs (also awesome: African Studies) won’t make you feel like a rat in a cage and might improve your marks. Think about it.
xoxo, Askastudent
P.S. Somewhere in some midwestern university, a grad student is writing a thesis on Harlequin Novels in conjunction with Steven King’s “Carrie.” Academia is crazy like that.