A major (also known as a major concentration or concentration) is a term for the specific group of courses that give you a basic knowledge of a field of study, which is in addition to your core curriculum. A major is a term most commonly applied to a program of study leading to a bachelor's degree. The teacher education College or School will define a framework for this specialized portion of your studies, including a certain number of required courses and a certain number of "elective" courses relevant to the major. The institution will also define your general education or foundation education requirements. Some majors effectively define your full course of study while others allow you considerable latitude, both within your field of study and in their other courses.
Although many students know what they want to take as their major before entering a university or college, most institutions do not allow students in the Bachelor of Arts or Science degree programs to officially declare a major until the sophmore year so that they experience a broad range of courses that will help with the decision of the most appropriate major. For some education majors you will need to take specific courses (pre-requisites) before you can even be considered eligible for upper level courses. Some education majors may also have limited enrollment, so in fact you may even be required to apply to get the major you want.
Associate degree programs can also have majors, such as an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in early childhood education. Certificate programs don't have majors as such: they carry a designation (for instance Child Development Associate Certificate) which is much more specific than a general degree title. Hence the designation of the certificate effectively stands in for the "major."
Wentworth Institute of Technology (Wentworth) offers a Bachelor of Science in Management through the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Management. The BS Management has been developed to prepare students for a range of business management career options, and students acquire the various managerial and analytical skills necessary to successfully administer human, natural, and technological resources within an organization. The curriculum covers finance, marketing, operations, organizational behavior, economics, and business law. Classroom studies are complemented by practical hands-on lab work and two required co-op work ... [more]
