University Of Southern Maine
University of Southern Maines Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Accounting major requires 15 credits to fulfill the Advanced Accounting concentration. With an Advanced Accounting major, students can sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam. They must also meet the 150-credit hour requirement for licensure as a CPA in Maine and other states.
Most Useful Majors To Get Your Degree In
Most people want to major in a field that is both interesting to them and that will allow them to earn a living once they graduate. Several majors are considered useful, with some of the most valuable majors being in engineering and medicine. In this article, we explore 25 of the most useful college majors you can pursue to increase your chances of landing a high-paying job after graduation.
Top 10 College Majors For Women
Business is the No. 1 college major for women and men, according to a recent AAUW analysis of the Department of Education’s “Condition of Education 2009” report, the most recent data available. Business degrees now comprise 18% of all degrees awarded to women, nearly twice as much as the No. 2 most popular major, health professions and clinical sciences.
But despite more women moving into this field of study, there is a continuing gender imbalance in the majority of undergraduate college majors. Engineering and computer science remain overwhelmingly male while women continue to dominate “soft” majors such as education, psychology and English .
In Pictures: Top 10 College Majors For Women
“Research has shown that women tend to gravitate towards fields of studies and career paths where they can have a positive social impact and work with others, often collaboratively,” says Linda Basch, president of the National Council for Research on Women . “This is why you see so many women in the fields of health care and education. When women do gravitate toward the sciences, it is usually the life sciences.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Nos. 5 to 7 on the list are psychology, visual and performing arts and communications, respectively. With these majors, common career paths include sales, counseling and teaching.
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Talk To Other People In That Department
Once youve decided on a few subject areas that interest you, talk to other students in those departments. Get a sense from them of what the upcoming coursework is like and what opportunities are available. Maybe youll find that the upper-level coursework changes tack and becomes something youre not super interested in. Or, maybe youll find that your least favorite professor teaches all the advanced courses. Either way, its good to know what youre getting into.
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Architectural Engineering Has A High Median Income And Good Job Prospects
Architectural engineering rose to No. 1 based on salaries that grads typically earn and the ease of landing a job, along with the comparatively low percentage of grads who went on to earn advanced degrees. The median income for workers who said they majored in architectural engineering was $90,000, and just 1.3 percent of degree holders were unemployed.
The undergraduate curriculum is a demanding one. For instance, architectural engineering majors at Penn State and the University of Texas take a variety of courses in building technologies and materials science. Passing differential equations is a requirement.
While civil engineers learn to build roads and bridges in addition to buildings, architectural engineering emerged as a distinct major for students who want to focus on buildings, says Rich Miller, department head of civil and architectural engineering and construction management at the University of Cincinnatis engineering school.
Architectural engineering is all about building sciences, Miller says. It merges the structural foundations part of civil engineering with mechanical and electrical engineering, specifically the parts that relate to building.
The degree nearly guarantees a job. Architectural engineering majors typically line up full-time gigs well before the end of their senior years.
Best College Majors For The Future 2022
December 1, 2021 by Chaunie Brusie
The job market is changing constantly and as last year showed us, that market can be difficult to predict. Work conditions may change, in-demand positions may suddenly crop up, and the needs of both employers and employees can shift as well.
Because of this, the types of bachelors degrees offered by colleges and universities around the country are evolving to meet those changing workplaces and industries. Colleges and universities are growing increasingly responsive to the needs of both their students and prospective employers and as a result, there is an ever-broadening spectrum of potential majors for undergraduate students.
If youre looking for some of the most in-demand degrees based on the fastest-growing occupations listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics , heres what to expect.
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Q Do I Have To Declare A Major When I Submit My College Application
Some colleges allow applicants to be undeclared. However, many admissions panel readers advise students not to be undeclared. This can prevent them from understanding the student.
It’s better to pick a major you’re fairly serious about and switch later than to be undeclared on your application. However, you shouldn’t choose any major randomly. This is especially true if the rest of your application doesn’t align with your selection. For students who don’t know what to study, being undeclared is acceptable if the other parts of their application show their interests and goals.
Does Your Intended Major Impact Your College Chances
Because universities know that an intended major isnt concrete, a students intended major generally will not affect whether or not they are accepted to a university.
However, there are certain instances where an intended major may affect college chances. Some prestigious programs that directly admit students have lower acceptance rates than that of the general university. Additionally, some large public universities have specific numbers of students that they will accept for each major program. At these schools, if you are on the bubble for admissions, your intended major may become a factor.
Simply put, if your intended major has an impact on admissions, the impact will be very small. In general, your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and essays will determine your chances of admission at different colleges. To predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 schools across the country , utilize our free chancing engine. This engine will let you know how your application compares to those of other applicants and will also help you to improve your profile.
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Geology And Earth Science
The study of the structure, properties, and processes of the earth is a vast field. Earth science looks at rocks, soil, water, air, and everything related to those elements to learn how our planet got to be the way it is and how it might change in the future. Geology and earth science graduates can find opportunities with government departments, environmental consulting firms, and energy companies.
- Median salary: $69,000
Accounting And Computer Systems
– Early career pay: $63,000- Mid-career pay: $117,300- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: 37%
This degree is an appropriate fit for people with passion for business and technology. With an accounting and computer systems degree, alumni often pursue certification as a certified public accountant. Graduates also have the additional skill set of deeply understanding software and databases frequently used in business. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 12% expected job growth in the industry by 2028.
– Early career pay: $75,500- Mid-career pay: $117,400- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: data not available%
A degree in engineering mechanics offers a variety of important postsecondary career opportunities. Combining both basic sciences and engineering sciences like thermodynamics, mechanics, electrical engineering, and engineering mechanics is essential in fields such as aerospace and engineering. Graduates most often find work as architectural and engineering managers, engineers, or engineering professors.
– Mid-career pay: $117,400- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: 44%
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Electrical And Computer Engineering
– Early career pay: $78,100- Mid-career pay: $131,600- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: 49%
Working on updated power grids, chemical sensors, and implantable devices are all tasks electrical and computer engineering majors perform. While the electrical side of the major teaches wireless communication and information processing, the computer side educates students on software verification and embedded systems. Job growth for the major until 2029 is expected to be 3%.
– Mid-career pay: $133,200- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: 51%
How computers integrate into business and personal lives is the most important function of a computer systems engineer. To do that, these majors learn to combine skills in math, computer science, and engineering to examine and test circuits, software, and hardware. A good portion of the professionals in this field work in California.
– Mid-career pay: $133,500- Share of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place: 29%
A political economy degree program focuses on the intersection of politics, the economy, and how public policy is formed at that intersection. Some areas of career focus with this degree include social inequality, climate change, resource distribution, trade, and healthcare. Alumni often fill roles such as financial manager, lobbyist, and foreign policy specialist.
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Factors That Make A College Major Difficult
There are a set of challenges that every student will encounter in studying their college majors. Often, individual differences account for why some students are finding it harder than others to pass undergraduate courses. It may be that instruction does not match their learning style or they take little to no interest in the subjects.
Personal challenges can also affect an individuals capacity to keep up academically. This is especially true given todays circumstances amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If one does not have the financial and technological resources required for e-learning, it can definitely cause psychological distress that can then affect their studies.
College difficulty is subjective, given the above rationale in the sense that it varies per individual. However, it is also tied with the objective, concrete socio-political realities that students are bound to. It is important to recognize these factors before proceeding to rank college majors based on quantified, somewhat easier to grasp, indicators. For starters, one can rank the hardest college majors by GPA, time spent studying, and the number of graduates.
Communication And Digital Media
College graduates with strong media and public relations skills will be top candidates in most applicant pools. Communications is a prime example that not every in-demand degree requires strong STEM abilities. Depending on what you choose to specialize in, your classes as a communications or digital media major could range from public relations and strategic communication to documentary production and graphic design.
The career possibilities are nearly endless: TV producer, public relations professional, or journalist, to name a few. The national average salary for a digital media manager is $70,193 in United States.
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Ology For Finding The Best Bachelor Degrees 2021
To identify the 20 highest paying bachelor degrees, our editors consulted PayScale.coms recent college salary report to identify undergraduate majors associated with the highest return on investment, according to mid-career pay. This figure refers to the median annual wage for professionals with more than ten years of experience in their respective fields. Below, weve ranked the 20 highest paying college majors in descending order.
Industrial And Organizational Psychology
Applying psychological principles to worker behavior is what industrial and organizational psychology is all about. This type of program aims to train you to examine things like employee recruitment policies, workplace training programs, and worker attitudes and motivations to help improve the overall function of a business.
- Median salary: $66,000
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Five Questions To Ask Yourself When Choosing A Major
Many potential factors go into determining the best majors for undecided students. Learners should consider their education and career goals. Most careers require corresponding degrees and credentials. Prospective learners should also consider their skills and talents.
See below for some questions that can help learners determine the best majors for undecided students.
Construction Services And Other Engineering Degrees Also Have A Low Unemployment Rate
Construction services came in as the second-most valuable major, followed by computer engineering. The top 25 majors had a median unemployment rate of just 2.3 percent and median incomes of $93,000.
Electrical engineering came in as the highest-paying degree. Americans with electrical engineering degrees reported a median income of $107,000. However, our index downgraded the major because it has a slightly higher unemployment rate and a high percentage of graduates who went on to earn advanced degrees .
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Top Choice #1 Petroleum Engineering
- Starting Median Salary: $84,000
- Mid-Career: $126,000
- Future Growth: 3%
Petroleum Engineering is first on our list of rankings for the best college majors. It can be one of the most fruitful majors for young students. While the market is insanely competitive, the financial rewards for majors in this field can be incredibly high.
A student who selects this major can expect a high-intensity program featuring a diverse collection of classes, including engineering, economics, and environmental studies.
Because of the high competition levels for future jobs in this major, students should consider taking a masters or even a PhD in this field for furthering their chances of success once they enter the job market in the future.
If you have a good background in math and the sciences, this may be the best college major for you. Although some core courses for this major may be completed online, petroleum engineering bachelor degrees are not offered entirely online.
Recommended Majors In The Us
Check out these college majors, based on job prospects, alumni salaries and popularity, as recommended by The Princeton Review. UC Davis has most of them. Our managerial economics degree is quite similar to a business degree. And, while we dont offer a nursing undergraduate degree, our Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing offers four masters degrees and a doctoral degree. As for biology, at this public university known for its biological sciences, you can choose from nearly two dozen majors in that category that span from animal scienceto microbiology.
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Top 5 Majors By Colleges
Curious which majors are the most popular at UC Davis by college? Within this university, our 102 majors and academic programs are organized by undergraduate college. When you apply to UC Davis, you choose a major, which automatically places you into one of these colleges.
Heres a summary of the statistics based on the number of students enrolled in 2020-21. The percentages show the proportion of students pursuing the major out of the total students enrolled in that college.
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The No. 1 ranked university in the U.S. for agriculture has 30 majors in environmental, human and animal sciences.
- Managerial economics 20.7 percent
- What you can do with a major in managerial economics
College of Biological Sciences
Our biological sciences college offers 10 majors in versatile disciplines of life science and prepares students for futures in research, postgraduate programs and, yes, even law school.
- Biological sciences 33.3 percent
- What you can do with a major in biological sciences