In University, do you have to choose a major and a minor?

It might differ per university (so be sure to check the website of the university you want to attend) and where you live (Europe?), but the way it works for mine (Utrecht University) is that a major is obligatory (this is the actual track you follow), and next to your major you have some “free” time slots to fill with courses you’d like to enrol in that aren’t necessarily part of your major.

Minors, then, are “packages” of courses that are picked such that they are related. If you take part in a minor, you put the courses part of that minor in your free time slots. It is then easy for some masters to only allow students from specific majors or students from some majors that have also completed a certain minor. Thus, they don’t have to evaluate each student’s chosen courses to see if he/she has the required knowledge to be able to get along.

You definitely have to pick a major. That’s the degree program you’ll be in. So if you want to study advertising, you’ll be in the advertising (or business) program, and that’s what the majority of your courses will focus on. I don’t know that a minor is required at all universities or in all programs, but @Vincentt‘s description is pretty good.

It all does vary by school, so you’ll have to speak to an academic advisor to get the specific details. At many schools, though, as long as you’re not in a professional program like premed or nursing, you don’t have to declare a major until the end of your second year. I’d suggest you get in touch with someone at the school and talk about it before you sign up for courses. (Or, if you’re in high school, speak to someone in your guidance office – they know all about this kind of stuff.)

Good luck!

Your major is what you will be getting a degree in. If you don’t have one, there is no point to going to college. Pick it wisely, because most jobs you have for the rest of your life will likely be in that category. no pressure

And yes, a minor is the set of courses that you do in “free” blocks.

For my BA, I have to do a major and a minor, plus a couple of electives. However, I don’t have to choose in advance what they are going to be, I just have to make sure I do the right units to qualify to graduate.

At my (American) uni, you can have just a major, a double major, a major and a minor – as long as you arranged for it with the dean’s office of your college (My school is set up where the whole place is the University and each department is a college: the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Business, etc.). If you can swing the expense and the course load, you can work toward a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science simultaneously, as well.

At my school you need a major, and you may have a minor but you don’t need it. You can also double major or have multiple minors.

You don’t need a minor, but you might as well get one. Some people get them on accident because they just happen to take all the right courses.

I’m a history major who went for a studio art minor, but I’m actually going to get a philosophy minor as well because I happened to take enough philosophy classes.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard But isn’t it more hard work and tiring to have a major + a minor? I will have theatre major… Should I take a minor too?

@QueenOfNowhere Not necessarily. You have to maintain a certain number of credit hours to stay enrolled as a full time student in nearly every college. You can either fill the hours that aren’t occupied by major-related classes with random electives that you like, or you can take classes that equal out to a minor.

Either way, you still have to fill those time slots. You might as well plan to use those classes in the paradigm of a minor.

@QueenOfNowhere The way it works for me is that you obligatory take a set of classes next to your major, and if those are the right combination of classes, you’re also doing a minor, so no extra work at all.