PhD Minor

[bellefast]

Hey guys,

What exactly are PhD minors and what is the purpose/benefits? I never fully understood them and people I talk to has no idea either.

Edited February 12, 2012 by bellefast

[msafiri]

The idea is to broaden and deepen your knowledge in a particular area that's outside of your discipline of study. In that sense, it's kind of similar to an undergraduate minor. It shows that you've studied a particular area/field in depth, in addition to the other things you studied as part of your major discipline. Usually these are complementary areas of study, like psychologists doing a minor in neuroscience. So, for example, I do research in Central America so I took a lot of classes offered by or cross-listed with Latin American studies at my university. I guess you could formalize that and call it a PhD minor if you wanted, since we're talking 6 or so course. That said, the exact name varies from one university to the next. Some call them PhD minors, while others call them graduate certificates for example.

I wouldn't let having to do a PhD minor or graduate certificate keep you from enrolling in a particular department. I'd see it as an opportunity to formalize learning that you're probably going to do anyway.

Edited February 12, 2012 by msafiri

[bellefast]

Thanks. I actually would like to do one but I had no idea what they were. I didn't want to assume they where the same thing as UG minors.

[Andsowego]

I'm a PhD student with a minor. It was optional in my program, and I thought, "why the heck not?" I did have to take an extra PhD-level seminar course, but overall it didn't add a ton of work to my program. I'm hoping it will make me more marketable when I start searching for jobs in the long term. In the particular field I'm in, it will enhance my chances in the current hiring landscape.

[bellefast]

Okay do you think it is a better idea to do it if the opportunity presents itself?

[Andsowego]

Okay do you think it is a better idea to do it if the opportunity presents itself?

I think I already answered that in my previous post...