When I talk to Americans, when they find out that I am a student they always ask what I’m “majoring in.” Which I find a strange question because l’m majoring in art, but l’m studying teaching. Like, I’m getting a Bachelor of Education degree, not any degree related to art.
I’ve heard Americans say “I’m doing an art major,” in order to explain their study. I am too, but that’s just 1/4 of my study time and not even part of my degree, I’m also minoring in history, but primarily I’m studying teaching? Is “majoring” just how you guys ask which Bachelors someone is going for?
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Yes, majoring is just what degree we’re going for. So your major would be Education. Are you studying to be an art teacher? Is that where the confusion is coming from?
Saying you major in Art means a lot of your classes are in the subject and department of art. And then you graduate with say, a Bachelors of Art History.
I’m not sure why you’d say you’re majoring in art, when you’re actually majoring in Education and apparently aren’t studying anything related to Art.
A major is your primary area of study. I majored in Information Technology. In fact every free elective I could take was In information technology.
Your major field of study. When they ask that they want a general overview of what you are learning rather then more detailed forms like concentrations and lists of minors. If they want to know more that’s usually a follow up question.
To Americans, “What is your major?” means “What will your granted degree be?” By your original post and responses to comments, you are *not* majoring in art, you are majoring in education.
A major course of study is the field of one’s academic degree *eg* history or biology. It’s most of what one studies outside of general requirements.
It means what is the main subject you’re studying for your degree. A “minor” meanwhile in the same context is a separate thing you’re studying that you have met qualifications for a degree but is not a main study subject. To give you an example, I majored in history wothout a minor.
So you’re majoring in Education
Sounds like “art education” is the answer you’re looking for.
Degrees in the US are rarely Bachelor of subject matter. Most are a Bachelor of Art in subject matter or Bachelor of Science in subject matter. The same holds true for many Masters degrees.
Wait. What country are you in?
I am actually so confused.
> I’m getting a Bachelor of Education degree
Then you’re majoring in Education. You can say “Art Education” if you want to be more specific.
Majoring in Art implies you’re an artist, not an educator. I’m sure there are programs where these are literally separate degrees, in which case you’d have a double major – Art and Education.
Why do you leave the education part out of it?
Majoring is the process of obtaining a bachelor’s degree (or associate’s degree) in a specific area of study. Selecting one’s major means being put on a specific multi-year coursepath – with certain required classes.
The major isn’t always the same name as your degree. For example, my major was Accounting and my degree is actually Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. The difference here is just semantic. Your major appears to be Art Education and your degree could be Bachelors of Education.
A minor is a secondary area of study, usually in an unofficial capacity. Pretty much all higher education requires some level of elective classes unrelated to your major – so the student would have a ‘well-rounded education’. With some guidance, you can chose from a large array of classes. If you have enough electives in a particular area of study, that could qualify as a minor.
If you’re doing Master’s level education, you no longer say “I’m majoring in…”, you say “I’m getting/doing my Master’s in ….”
Here, your “major” is the primary focus of your studies, and the degree you’re working toward. In your case, you’d say that you’re majoring in Education. Any other specializations would be your “minors”, unless they’re related to your degree, when they’d be your “focus.”
If you’re majoring in Education, and wanting to be an Art teacher, you might major in Education with a focus in Art. You might also have a minor in History just because you’re interested in history. Or, you might be majoring in Education with a focus in History and a minor in Art, if you wanted to teach history, but you also liked art.
Out of curiosity, how would you phrase it when asking about what a person is studying?
It’s your primary focus of study. So someone majoring in art and education probably wants to be an art teacher. Same for music and education. Or political science and journalism. People “only” majoring in education are more likely going to be general classrooms teachers (often smaller kids, one teacher does all subjects, not like when you’re older and there’s a math teacher and a different history teacher, and a different science teacher, etc.)
It’s like a more specific angle.
Makes no sense. You are majoring in art but you degree will be for education? So then your major is not art? Wtf
well you can’t be majoring in art if it’s not even part of your degree
I think a lot of the confusion is coming from what your actual degree is called. In the U.S., we don’t have a Bachelor of Education degree, as far as I’m aware. People who want to be teachers will get either a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree and their major would be education. If they’re teaching secondary education, they would have a more specific major (Biology education, history education, etc.) or a double major in education and the subject they want to teach.
“Majoring” is just another word for “getting your degree in”
You’re majoring in education
Majors are an undergraduate thing. The vast majority of undergraduates are getting a BS (Bachelor of Science) or BA (Bachelor of Arts). All bachelor degrees require a certain number of general education requirements, usually completed in the first two years. Your major is the specific discipline that you focus on beyond that.
The BA degree requires a broader background in the liberal arts (history, literature, foreign language, etc.), whereas the BS degree requires more technical training (which is why most BS degrees are majored in STEM fields).
Minors are optional. Whereas a major may require 9 or 10 courses beyond your general education requirements, a minor may only require 4 or 5 courses. It often, but not always, relates to your major. I did my BS major in biochemistry, so I spent most of my time doing things related to that. I did a minor in sports science. Since there was a heavy science component, I didn’t have to go far out of my way. It just required kinesiology, coaching, nutrition, and a couple phys ed electives. Not nearly as many requirements as those needed to fulfill my major. For most people, your major is geared towards your career interests, while your minor may be geared to your personal interests.
You mention teaching. Most teachers in the U.S. earn a degree with a major outside of education. My spouse is a math teacher. He didn’t major in education. There’s a “teacher track” that’s open for any college student, which provides the required coursework/practicum for becoming a public school teacher in a particular discipline. Your major, however, can be whatever you want.
Not American and others already answered OP’s question but I’ll add that where I’m from we have the same word “majorer” which has a completely different meaning as it means “getting the highest grades”, in one or several subjects. A “major de promo” is someone who got the highest grades (or GPA) among all the students in their school year.
“Art education”
Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts – Basically this is what side your general education leans towards. Most the time this just comes down to math or language because most colleges require a well rounded education in both fields.
Major – Your main field of study. Like Electrical Engineering, English, Math, Chemistry.
Emphasis – A specified area of your major. For example English w/ an emphasis in creative writing.
Minor – A second field of study. Minors are optional, but it’s basically the same as majors, but w/ less courses taken.
I was an English major, so i have an English degree
If you’re not getting a degree in Art, you aren’t majoring in Art. Do you mean you’re studying to be an Art Teacher?
Major is basically the degree you are enrolled to obtain, but there is also minoring which would a secondary characteristic of your degree. For example a Bachelors in Business Management with a minor in Accounting. It means a lot of your unrequired classes were in Accounting. Most colleges have a set required curriculum to minor in an area of study too.
A lot of people are pointing out what majoring / getting a degree in US means, and seem to assume that the OP is wrong or has misunderstood what it means in their own school. I think this is an issue where words mean different things in different schools/countries… not that the OP doesn’t understand their own degree
One thing to note is that at most universities, most majors aren’t particularly intensive. They may only be something like 1/4 to 1/3 of the classes you take, which will be things like core requirements (eg 2 classes in science, 2 in English, etc) or electives. This is distinct from other parts of the world where study is more focused. Engineering and a few other specialize majors are different of course, but it wouldn’t be uncommon for someone to get a degree in eg Psychology having only taken 10/32 classes that are psychology classes.