So, you want to pick a minor! That’s so exciting, but with the countless options for what to minor in, picking one can be a bit overwhelming. Luckily, we are here to help. If you want more information on minors within the college of engineering, check out Julia’s blog! But for now, let’s go over some common minors outside of engineering. For reference, most minors are about 18 credits, though sometimes these classes can be cross counted with gen-eds or other major requirements.
First, I’ll start off with my personal minor, entrepreneurship. The ENTI minor, for short, teaches basic entrepreneurial skills across all colleges. It offers some specialization for the college of engineering students, aiming at technology-based entrepreneurship, but mainly focuses on project-based experience and overviews of basic business concepts. This semester I’ll be taking my second class for this minor, and I can’t wait!
Another popular route to take when minoring is learning a language. The benefits of knowing another language in the professional world are numerous and can bring you opportunities you wouldn’t have had otherwise. Additionally, in school, learning another language can open up more study abroad opportunities and the chance to use your language skills in the real world. At Penn State, the languages you can minor in are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. One important thing to note is that the language classes you need to take can rarely be cross counted with other class requirements, so if you are interested in minoring in a language, planning early is very helpful. For more info on minoring in a language, click here.
Another common minor for engineers is math. Since we already have to take so many math courses, adding a math minor is relatively easy to do and can offer deeper expertise to help you in your career. Or if you enjoy math, it can be a great way to learn a different thinking approach compared to your engineering classes.
A field many engineers are interested in minoring in is business. Unfortunately, there is not a “business” minor at Penn State, but there are tons of similar options that will still teach you essential business skills. The ENTI minor, as mentioned previously, offers a solid business background, as well as the engineering leadership development (ELD) minor, which is through the College of Engineering. Lastly, Smeal offers a certificate program for business fundamentals which is smaller than a minor, but once again will teach you the basics of business.
Perhaps you will become inspired to minor in something based on a class you take. Both Economics and Psychology are common freshman classes, which happen to also be popular minors. Both these minors offer outside knowledge that can benefit you as a person and you as a professional. When going to your non-technical classes, see if the material you’re learning interests you! With over 200 different minor programs, you really can pursue anything! Whether it perfectly complements your major, or if it’s just something you’d like to learn more about, minoring is a great addition to your major, but certainly not a necessity. If you think you have a minor in mind, that's awesome! Be sure to talk to your advisor about incorporating it into your schedule early on to help add it in seamlessly. However, if you're not sure what you want a minor in or even if you want a minor at all, there's no need to stress Freshman year is a great time to feel out all your options and see if there's a minor that you'd be interested in. For a full list of minors PSU offers, click here!
Reilly Smith
Team K Envoy
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