What Majors Are There For College

Saving Money During And After College

Students can take steps to make sure their investment in college education pays off, says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrates chief financial analyst.

Consider community college for the first couple of years before transferring to a university for the final years of the program, McBride says. Look for scholarships, grants and work-study programs all of which could defray the out-of-pocket costs of a degree. And calibrate the cost of the school with your earning potential at the other end.

Dont overlook living expenses. Students can save money by shopping around for an apartment or taking on roommates rather than living alone.

Even after scholarships and other free money have been accounted for, taking out student loans has become the norm for Americans pursuing bachelors degrees. Sixty-two percent of college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt, according to The Institute for College Access and Success. These borrowers owed an average of $28,950.

Education debt often leads to delaying financial milestones like buying a home and building an emergency savings fund.

To avoid getting bogged down in student debt, make it a priority to repay loans from banks and private lenders before those from the federal government. Unlike private loans, federal loans have the benefit of low interest rates, income-based repayment plans and other borrower protections.

Hotel Restaurant And Institutional Management

This major helps provide preparation for management positions in hotels, restaurants, institutions, and other hospitality organizations. The program is designed to give the student a broad general education and a strong management and problem solving orientation balanced with the requisite technical skills, all of them essential for career progression to upper-management positions in the hospitality professions. The program also helps prepare students for graduate study.

Best College Majors For The Future Rankings

Heres the list of the 30 Best Majors for the Future rankings based on salary, expected growth, and the availability of programs from reputable, top accredited universities.

The best college majors for the future should prepare you for a number of career choices with pay at or above average reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

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Health And Physical Education

The purpose of Physical Education, Health and Athletics is to provide a challenging curriculum leading to the development of abilities and convictions in a student’s field of concentration. Students learn to develop the ability to utilize constructively all of his/her potential capacities for movement and movement education. There are many concentrations areas, such as exercise science/sports medicine, wellness and health promotion, or physical education.

Ology For Best Value College Majors

Our methodology for this article on the best value college majors uses four categories for scoring. These categories are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a major and minor, especially if you plan to go straight into the workforce instead of earning a graduate degree. An explanation of each category and its importance follows. Ties were broken by awarding the better ranking to the degree with a higher median salary among its best value jobs.

Flexibility

The flexibility of the degree was determined by the variety of job opportunities available to graduates. How broad is the field? How many different types of positions are available? How many industries make use of graduates with this degree? How much can you do in the field without education beyond the undergraduate level? All these factors combine to indicate how much flexibility a given degree has.

Low=1High=3

Starting Pay

Starting pay is an obvious factor to consider. This is the baseline pay for entry level positions available to those with the given degree. When there were multiple high-paying jobs available, we listed the starting pay as a range between the lowest and highest paying jobs.

$50,000=1

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When To Choose A Major

At most four-year colleges, and in the case of many majors, you wont have to pick a major until the end of your sophomore year. This gives you plenty of time to check out various subjects and see which ones interest you. Some majors like areas of engineering are exceptions to this rule. You have to commit to these fields of study early so you have time to take all the required courses.

If you’re earning a two-year degree, you’ll probably select a major at the start because the program is much shorter.

Best College Majors For Future Job Market

Wondering what the best college majors are for the future?

According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 80% of students in undergraduate studies chose their college major based on the potential job prospects. For those of you who are among the 20% wanting your degree as quickly as possible, you may find our article Quick Degrees that Pay Well helpful.

Theres nothing worse than investing in a college major and then finding out the job market for that major is rapidly diminishing! Save yourself the trouble by choosing a major in a field geared for high growth for a good return on your investment.

Below are the best majors for future growth rankings according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Exercise And Health Majors

Occupational Therapy Major: Choosing this major will put students on a career path to become occupational therapists. Similar to physical therapists, occupational therapists work with all kinds of people to help them function better in their work and home lives. Some work in clinics and hospitals. Others visit their patients in their homes. It is important to note, however, that additional certification is necessary beyond this major to become an occupational therapist.

Sports Medicine Major: Sports medicine is one of the most common sports degrees. Sports medicine graduates often continue on to graduate school to become physicians or physical therapists. They can also find jobs working with athletes at the high school, college and professional levels.

Health Sciences Major: Majoring in general health sciences gives students the flexibility to learn about aspects of health ranging from exercise physiology and nutrition to public health and medicine. Earning a health sciences major will give you a broad science education that will be applicable to a variety of future careers, including some that are related to sports.

If you want to be a physical therapist someday, you could choose to become a physical therapy assistant first. Being a physical therapy assistant will give you the hands-on experience you crave. Physical therapy assistants help people of all ages and exercise levels recover from injuries and illnesses.

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• How to Find the Right School for Your Major

With so many majors and programs available, how do you know which one is the best pick for you? It can be hard to decide when youre still in high school, honing your interests and figuring out your career goals.

But, knowing what major youre interested in can play a role in determining the right college for you so its an important factor to consider. Thats why weve compiled a list of 200 college majors.

NB: Few schools offer all the majors on this list. Use our school-search tool to find colleges with the program that interests you.

Ultimate List Of College Majors

• Fish and Wildlands Science and Management
• Food Science

• Business, Management, and Related Support Services
• Econometrics

• Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
• Secondary Education

• Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences
• Health Services
• Hospital and Health Care Facilities Administration
• Medical Radiologic Technology

• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Management
• Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies
• Philosophy

• Human Development and Family Studies
• Psychology

• Physiology, Pathology, and Related Sciences, Other
• Statistics

• Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies
• Forensic Science and Technology

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The 10 Most Popular College Majors

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics , U.S. colleges and universities awarded 2 million bachelor’s degrees in 2017-18. More than half of these degrees were concentrated in just five fields of study.

Plentiful job opportunities and high entry-level salaries make certain fields of study more attractive. For example, business and health degrees account for nearly one-third of all undergraduate degrees. Both fields continue to experience strong employment growth, making it easier for students to secure jobs after graduation.

Additionally, many career paths in these in-demand fields offer attractive pay and advancement opportunities.

Wildlife And Fisheries Science

This major provides an integrated program of study for undergraduate students primarily interested in conservation and management of wildlife species and their environments. Graduates may pursue graduate-level training in wildlife and fisheries sciences, or careers in wildlife and fisheries management, research, information, and education.

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What Is The Easiest Major To Get Online

Much like sitting in a classroom, the easiest major to get online will depend on your academic strengths and personal taste.

For example, if you like to write, pursuing a Bachelors in English online would probably seem quite easy for you since you like to write. But what if you hate writing? You will likely hate your coursework and consider it quite difficult.

So whats my point?

Take inventory of your likes and dislikes along with your academic strengths and weaknesses. If you hate math, I wouldnt recommend pursuing a bachelors in computer science online. Similarly, if you hate economics, accounting, and finance, you might consider a bachelors in business administration quite taxing.

Conservatories Colleges And Universities

Up until about 60 years ago, music was a subject studied primarily in a conservatory. Music, along with drama and dance, is still taught at conservatories, and most conservatories offer degrees in music. Today, students can also choose to study at a specialized music college and many conservatories have been absorbed into university programs. This means that students have a wider choice than previously where they can choose to study.

Conservatories typically offer three major areas of study: performance, composition, and pedagogy . They prepare students to work in music the same way theyve done for centuries. As the name implies, they are focused on conserving traditions, especially classical music. Some conservatories have expanded their offerings to include other areas of study, such as electronic music, and jazz, which have become available for study at most conservatories today.

Music colleges are educational institutions devoted to training musicians and preparing them for a wide variety of careers, and will offer more varied majors, and sometimes minors, too. Universities today also offer music programs, often with a wide array of majors.

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How Many Years Does It Take To Study A Common College Major

Students have the choice of either studying for two years, and receiving an associates degree, or four years, and receiving a bachelors degree.

For those who want to further their studies even more, there are graduate programs that advertise a more in-depth study and take about two more years to earn after completing a bachelors program.

Best College Majors For The Future

Home » Best College Majors

Weve ranked the 30 Best College Majors for the Future for 2021. Explore the best future majors, top salaries, and the best majors for future job market.

In search of the best college majors for the future? Our in-depth rankings guide will explore the most popular college majors with the highest paying salaries after graduation, projected job growth rate, and employer demand!

The market is poised for growth, and college graduates are in demand for a variety of lucrative jobs.

Editorial Listing ShortCode:

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The Best Sports Management Programs In The Us

If youre dreaming of a career that allows you to work closely with athletes, sports management and administration may be the ideal career path for you. However, not all schools offer this major. In the United States, some of the top programs are at the University of Florida, the University of Michigan, the University of Miami, the University of Texas at Austin and Pepperdine University.

At the University of Florida, students can earn a Bachelor of Science or a masters degree in sports management, both of which can be completed online. The program prepares students to work in a variety of sports-related fields by providing education in management, marketing, finance and sports law.

In the University of Michigans sports management program, students can earn a bachelors degree and pursue a career with a major sporting body like the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB or MLS or with a professional sports team like the Detroit Red Wings. Other graduates go on to become agents for professional athletes or journalists at major news organizations like ESPN.

At the University of Miami, students can study sports administration as a bachelors degree or masters degree or as a minor. Students go on to work on the business and management side of major sports teams, such as the Miami Heat and the Florida Marlins. This major at UM also includes plenty of hands-on learning experience with some of South Floridas most renowned professional sports teams.

Will Your Major Impact Your College Chances

Usually, your choice of major wont have much of an effect on your overall chances of admission to a specific college. One exception is if the college has particularly selective programs or schools that you need to apply to directly. For example, the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business tends to be more selective than the larger university and some other colleges or schools within it, so if you choose to apply to this school, then it will impact your chances of admission.

We advise against trying to apply under a supposedly easier major that you believe offers higher chances of admission just because you think youre more likely to get in. Adcoms are likely to see through this tactic because the major you select wont align with your profile. Also, bear in mind that at some colleges, such as Cornell University, it can be difficult to transfer internally after youre accepted if the major you really wanted is in another school within the larger institution.

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Who Should Major In Math In College

Students who enjoyed high school math classes are good candidates to become math majors in college. This is particularly true for students who took high-level and advanced placement math courses. Math majors in college typically possess an affinity for problem solving, and are not deterred when answers dont appear easilya willingness to wrestle through challenging questions is a must.

Math majors will study a wide breadth of mathematical topics, as most math programs have undergraduates take classes in everything from algebra to calculus to geometry. Much of this coursework occurs over a series of classes in these fields, with each one building on the previous class. Math is not a solitary field the most successful students are team players, good communicators, and willing to work within a team or with TAs and professors to solve tricky problems and concepts.

Music Degrees: The Different Types Of College Music Majors Explained

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Tom Stein is a Senior Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is a visionary musical entrepreneur, music producer, artist development consultant, arranger, bandleader and performer. Tom is the author of The Business of Music Management: How To Survive and Thrive in Todays Music Industry, the founder of TheTopMusicSchools.com and a member of the US State Department’s Fulbright Specialist Roster for global entertainment and music industry.

If you are considering applying to music school for college, and looking for information on the types of degrees, diplomas, and majors available, youve come to the right place.

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