Index       Graduate Study       Lay Participation in Religious Services      
Andrea Jussim's Website: Undergraduate Study

Content:

Recommended Undergraduate Classes.

In your college years, you should take classes to increase both your general knowledge (breadth) and your knowledge about a particular academic field (depth). I believe that there is enough time to take many classes in both the breadth and depth groups. I've been out of college for more than a decade, and I still think about the classes I took and didn't take. Here, then, are my recommendations for the breadth courses.

    Literature, Philosophy, Language, and Linguistics.
  1. A year of English literature courses, surveying ancient to modern literature.
  2. One Introduction to Western Philosophy course.
  3. One Principles of Critical Reasoning or Principles of Argumentation course (a philosophy or speech course).
  4. A year of a foreign language, unless you are fluent in a second language.
  5. One Introduction to Linguistics course.

    Visual and Musical Arts.

  6. One Introduction to Art History course.
  7. One Music Appreciation course or Introduction to Musical Theory course.

    Social Sciences

  8. A year of European History or World History courses, surveying ancient to modern history, unless you've learned European History or World History well in high school.
  9. A year of American History courses, surveying colonial to modern history, unless you've learned American History well in high school.
  10. One East Asian History survey course.
  11. One Introduction to American Politics course.
  12. One introductory course in psychology, sociology, communication studies, or anthropology.
  13. One Introduction to Economics course (or maybe a Macroeconomics course and a Microeconomics course).
  14. One Abnormal Psychology course.
  15. One Introduction to Statistics course.

    Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics.

  16. One Introduction to Human Anatomy course.
  17. One Introduction to Biology course, unless you've completed a year of biology in high school.
  18. One introductory course in Life Sciences (other than Biology), Earth & Space Sciences, or Atmospheric Sciences.
  19. One Introduction to Chemistry course, unless you've completed a year of chemistry in high school.
  20. One Introduction to Physics course, unless you've completed a year of physics in high school.
  21. One year of mathematics, unless you've compeleted a year of calculus in high school.

Back to Top

Goals for Undergraduates: What You Should Know When You Graduate.

I loved college. I majored in a subject which fascinated me, took the classes I wanted to, and got great grades. When I graduated, I thought I knew everything I needed to know to succeed in the big postgraduate world. I was wrong. Most of my undergraduate classes taught skills which I knew already or which came naturally to me; skills which were harder for me to master I had mostly skipped over. And what huge gaps I still have in my cultural understanding! An academic no longer, I still occasionally think about all of the knowledge and skills which I missed out on, and which would have been useful in both academia and the non-academic world.

Here is a laundry list of the skills and knowledge that anyone with a bachelor's degree should acquire before he or she graduates.

  1. Expository writing skills.
    Every college graduate should be able to write a decent essay on a non-fiction topic. The ability to communicate in written form is important not only in post-graduate study but also in almost any non-academic career if you want to rise to a high position. If writing papers is not your forte, make sure to struggle through enough college papers to know that you can (moderately) succeed at high-level writing anyway.
    • Relevant classes:   Many literature or social science classes will require papers.

  2. Basic research skills.
    If you are interested in pursuing an academic or research-based career after you graduate, you need to gain some experience with serious research as an undergraduate. You shouldn't be afraid of classes which ask you to analyze and synthesize complex data, formulate a hypothesis, and write a paper proving or disproving the hypothesis. If you have fears about plagiarism, creative thinking, extended critical analysis, or research paper writing, you should take a class that forces you to develope the research skills you need to successfully work through these issues. Make your mistakes in undergraduate study where expectations are low, before you mess up in graduate school where the expectations are ten times as high.
    • Relevant classes:   Take advanced classes like a senior research seminar, an honors thesis class in your major, or an undergraduate research assistant position. You can also take less advanced classes outside of your field that require intensive research.

  3. Ability to analyze information critically.
    This is a key skill that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. You must be able to sort through information you read and hear to know if it is valid, factual, authoritative, matched to your needs, etc. Taking all information at face value is naive and dangerous.
    • Relevant classes:   A Critical Reasoning philosophy class or Critical Argumentation speech class will provide some of the tools for critical analysis.

  4. Ability to find patterns in data, make inferences, and create algorithmic solutions.
    Many higher-level problem-solving classes stress this skill.
    • Relevant classes:  An introductory linguistics class will give you lots of practice in pattern analysis.

  5. Basic mathematical, algebraic, and statistical skills.
    From personal money management to polls to health articles to gambling, you need these basic numerical skills to understand many aspects of adult life.
    • Relevant classes:   Take classes in mathematics, algebra, and statistics.

  6. Basic acquaintance with history, philosophy, literature, and art.
    This is the quintessential knowledge of a person well-educated in the liberal arts. A basic comprehensive knowledge of these subjects will enable you to converse with kings.
    • Relevant classes:   Take history, philosophy, literature, music appreciation, and art history classes.

  7. Basic acquaintance with the life and physical sciences.
    A well-educated person in today's technologically-advanced society has a basic understanding of the sciences, the human body, and the physical environment.
    • Relevant classes:   Take physical science (chemistry and physics) classes and an anatomy class as well as life, earth, or space science classes.

  8. Basic knowledge of American governance, political philosophy, and economy.
    As American citizens, we are part of a participatory democracy and a powerful capitalist economic system. To keep our country strong, we must be well-educated in American history and politics. We should also understand how our economic system works.
    • Relevant classes:   Take classes in American History, the American political system, and economics.

  9. Basic familiarity with human diversity.
    We live in a troubled, hostile world, where many people find it hard to tolerate and understand each other's differences. The undergraduate experience allows you to counteract this tendency by exposing yourself to various cultures, languages, and lifestyles. A liberal arts education should teach that underneath our many differences, we share all of the same basic needs.
    • Relevant classes:   Human beings are diverse in multitudes of ways, so there is a wide variety of classes that explore these differences. Take classes in anthropology, sociology, abnormal psychology, linguistics, foreign languages, and history (other than American or European history). There are also many classes that explore cultural differences in ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and other demographic groups.

Back to Top

You are on Andrea Jussim's Website: Undergraduate Study.
This website was created by Andrea S. Jussim.
The main website address is http://www.freewebs.com/jussim2 .
This webpage's address is http://www.freewebs.com/jussim2/undergrad.htm .
This website was last updated on 1/2/09.
If you want to print out and/or distribute any of the material on this website, please cite the author's name, webpage address, and time of last update as listed directly above for your source.
If you have any comments about the website design or content, please email the author at jussim@ca.rr.com.

This website is hosted for free at FreeWebs.com. Visit FreeWebs.com to get your own free website.