Junior Year: Academic Specialization and Career Experimentation
The academic focus in the junior year is on specialization.
While there is still attention to requirements, students begin to see them in a different way, discovering that although they may seem to divert attention from high-level interest courses, they can contain content that will serve as enrichment and background to the major, require skill development that will improve competencies in the major, and provide knowledge and exposure that will make the major more marketable in the chosen career field.
The College’s academic program offers students the option of declaring a minor and, in some majors, to emphasize areas of study within the major discipline in the form of an emphasis.
The student in the junior year should focus more seriously on the career fields of the greatest interest. The student is encouraged:
- to participate in Experiential Learning (Internships), working with the internship coordinator to select possible sites, and to define projects that will provide an opportunity to try out career fields;
- to evaluate what background and skills are important for the career field of interest and then to set goals for acquiring the courses or experiences that will enhance employability in these fields;
- to become involved in leadership capacities in organizations and committees;
- to attend seminars and workshops relating to career decision-making; and
- if graduate school is an option, to begin researching those graduate schools that best fit the student’s needs and goals and to determine entrance requirements and required tests as well as deadlines for application. Graduate school information and catalogs are available in the career development library, along with test booklets for all major pre-professional tests.