# What Classes Did You Take in College? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147 "2011-09-22T03:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/21 "2011-09-22T12:36:04Z")
Dude, I had 6 majors at 12 colleges over 20-some-odd years. You really expect me to remember them? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/22 "2011-09-22T14:08:32Z")
Generally it works like this: 1. For a liberal arts type major, you have to take the prescribed courses in your major, and then you can take whatever you want. Classes are probably 50-50 split between the two categories. 2. For sciencey technical type majors, you will be given a list of which classes to take when, which may allow one or two electives here and there. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/23 "2011-09-22T14:11:11Z")
BS Geology, chemistry minor at an US state university, in the 90’s 36 classes 11 basic studies: history, literature, philosophy, etc. 8 major requirements that were not in the major department: calculus, chemistry, physics 5 minor requirements: more chemistry 12 major requirements: geology So, 2/3 degree-related, 1/3 general studies 15 of the major and minor requirements were “lab” courses, which had 3 or more (sometimes many more) hours of practical work in addition to the lectures. 2 of the geology classes were field courses, which combined with various and sundry shorter field trips added up to about 3 months of living in a tent The whole shebang cost maybe 8K per year. Good value for the money. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/24 "2011-09-22T15:11:04Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > A person who finishes college will end up taking more classes than they can remember. Well, not literally: I could probably sit down and list all the classes I took, if I had to. In case anyone really wants to know, I got my BA as a math major from a liberal arts college. My interests were wide enough that, just taking what I was interested in, I managed to fulfill all graduation requirements almost automatically, taking three or four math classes per year along with all sorts of other subjects (one or more each in Computer Science, English, Religion, Philosophy, History, German, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Music). The classes I took in my major (math) were Calculus III, Linear Algebra, and Introduction to Mathematical Structures (all required of math majors) and Abstract Algebra, Real Analysis, Number Theory, Functions of a Complex Variable, Combinatorics, Differential Equations, Topology, History of Mathematics, and “comps,” the comprehensive exercises required of all students which, for math majors, consisted of a test and a talk (to research and present on an assigned topic). Plus we had to take at least a couple Physical Education classes, though those weren’t for academic credit. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/25 "2011-09-22T15:33:49Z")
BA, History and Psychology, Minor in English. I took 127 undergraduate hours, which comes to about 42 classes as the crow flies. I averaged about five classes a semester and did a little summer school–which allowed me to take the minimum full-time load (about four classes a semester) as a senior. The minimum hours for graduation in my day was 125, but several of my peers took several classes that didn’t satisfy any requirements (exploring other fields and what have you), so they often exceeded this minimum. I was able to do a double major and a minor with essentially the minimum number of total classes because many of my degree requirements overlapped. I tended to concentrate in other areas as well for my general requirements (music for arts, geology for science), so I probably had classes in fewer departments than most undergrads. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/26 "2011-09-22T15:40:05Z")
132 Total Credit Hours 47 ECE (Electrical Engineering) 22 MTH (Math) 11 EGR (General Engineering) 7 PHY (Physics) 6 PHL (Philosophy - one class was engineering ethics) 3 CMM (Communications) 3 CHM (Chemistry) 3 HST (History) 3 RLG (Religion - Catholic university) 3 ENG (English) 12 \_\_\_ (General Electives) 12 \_\_\_ (Technical Electives) ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/27 "2011-09-22T15:43:20Z")
I had a double major, and each major required 9 classes. Then I had about 10 required courses that the overall BA degree required, and there was one overlap (one class counted as a general and one class for one of my majors also). So I also took about 12 more classes that were not related to requirements or my majors, but just things I was interested in learning about. About half those (6 of the 12) were in computer science, which was what I ended up studying for my post-graduate degree. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/28 "2011-09-22T16:00:19Z")
I went to Union College in Schenectady, which has a weird trimester system: three terms a year, with three courses in a term. That means 36 courses overall. You met four hours a week for ten weeks instead of three hours for fifteen. No one thought in terms of credit hours – just courses. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/29 "2011-09-22T16:00:46Z")
As an undergrad (4 years) I took 62 classes which amounted to 157 credits (actual the 157 credits came from 61 classes; I failed Calc III so I never got actual credit for it). Graduate degree was a further 17 classes and 43 credits. Two year (technically undergraduate) to get a teaching certificate amassed 53 credits in 19 classes. In terms of distribution, 40 of my undergraduate classes were in my major (music). 5 were peripherally related (language) and the remainder were either distribution classes or related to my original major (Mechanical Engineering). All the classes in graduate school and pursuing my teaching certificate were directly related to my major. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/30 "2011-09-22T16:04:56Z")
Oh, what the hell. History: Honors Western Civilization I English: Honors Comp and Lit I Honors Lecture Intro to Psychology History: Honors Western Civilization II English: Honors Comp and Lit II Political Science 101 French 102 Natural Resources Orientation Parapsychology and Skepticism (or whatever he called it) Honors US History I Music Theory Jazz History Oratorio Chorus French 201 Modern Languages 200 Statistics History: Progressivism to the Great Crash Poetry Writing I Shakespeare African History Survey East Asian History Survey Native American Lit Poetry Writing III Physical Geology (and its lab) Social Psychology Pre-1800 Eastern Europe Readings Human Sexuality Transpersonal Psychology The US Civil War Environmental Geology Historical Geology Alcohol and Alcoholism Medieval Culture Abnormal Psychology Historical Research Psych Research Honors Thesis History Internship Clinical Psych Classical Lit There you have it, 40 classes (41 if you count Geology Lab). It really is a little disturbing that I can do that from memory 20 years later. I loved college. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/31 "2011-09-22T16:18:35Z")
No hope of remembering the name of all the classes that I took back in my college days at Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (late 40’s and early 50’s). I do remember that I took 176 credit hours worth, precisely nine hours of which were in the Humanities. It’s probably lucky that my Mom had been an English teacher so I had received at least some exposure to the less technical things. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/32 "2011-09-22T16:20:06Z")
I just transferred to a 4-year from junior college and so far I’ve taken way too many classes. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life so I took a shotgun approach to picking my courses: if it sounded interesting I’d take it. I’ve learned a few things about myself: 1: I’m good at math if I actually study and do the work 2: I do not enjoy English 3: Latin was fun 4: I hate biology 5: I hate statistics 6: I love both physical and human geography 7: If I were a scientist I’d be an astronomer 8: I hate anything to do with gender or sexuality OTOH, it has held be back a year because I wasn’t focused. So now I’m getting a four-year degree in five, which isn’t too bad, I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/33 "2011-09-22T16:21:20Z")
Spanish B.A. I really just studied whatever the hell I felt like for the first two years. While I was doing the intensive Spanish program (8 credits per semester), I took Intro German, two courses on Nietzsche, a course on existentialism, East Asian philosophy, 17th and 18th Century Philosophy, Contemporary Moral Problems (in case it’s not obvious, I almost double majored in philosophy)… pretty much whatever sounded interesting. It was an absolute blast. I had to withdraw from college for about a year and a half, so when I came back I was much more focused on just getting done and getting out. My last year was all Spanish lit courses and Stats 350 (since I’d already decided I wanted to go for an MSW, and Stats is a required course prereq for a lot of MSW programs.) I miss college too. Graduate school was fascinating, too, but there is something really special about being able to learn about virtually anything you want to as an undergrad. ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/34 "2011-09-22T16:47:17Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I took whatever I needed to get my engineering degree, plus a couple of semesters of German for fun. It was over 30 years ago, so unless I dig out my transcript, I couldn’t even begin to guess. Engineering degrees are indeed, very structured. I was required to earn 132 credits within the engineering discipline. I was also required to take one (3 credit) humanity-Social Science elective every year…to prevent the creation of a TOTAL nerd. I had the option of a single general elective…in the entire 4 years. I majored in Ceramic Engineering, graduating with 147 credits. I traded 12 credits of wind ensemble and choir for my 1 general elective. FairyCat…Purdue, by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/35 "2011-09-22T16:54:48Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Generally it works like this: > > 1. For a liberal arts type major, you have to take the prescribed courses in your major, and then you can take whatever you want. Classes are probably 50-50 split between the two categories. When I was in school, we had to take at least 2 courses in each of the 4 schools (science, fine arts, humanities and social sciences) plus a language (unless you tested out). That was in addition to the requirements for your major. Can’t really recall all the course I took, but lots of math and physics (major in physics), Asian History (since we didn’t learn much about that in HS), Logic, lots of Computer Science, a Drawing class (for my fine arts part) and probably some other stuff. Although I wouldn’t discount the classroom subjects, I learned so much more (on a per hour basis) from the labs. And I worked in the labs, too, which was even better. If you go into science, get a job in the lab as early as possible. Even if it’s just doing shit work at first-- you’ll get some better stuff in time. I really wish I had taken some anthropology courses, but I’ve made up for it since by reading almost everything I could get my hands on. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/36 "2011-09-22T17:18:55Z")
My college required a total of 32 classes, generally 4 per semester. One semester I took five, because I had two that were required, and an additional three that I really wanted to take that were only being offered that term. My grade literally went down 1/2 point in each class, and it was the only time that I failed to complete all of my assigned reading. I majored in Government, which required about 2 classes per semester after Freshman year, although there were a lot of non-Government classes that counted (Statistics, History, Economics, etc.) The school was doing an overhaul of its general requirements at the time, so my additional required courses were sort of a weird “1 from column A, 2 from column B” kind of thing. They probably added up to maybe 6 courses, since most of Liberal Arts was already covered by the courses that counted toward Government. I filled all of the remaining slots with novels courses, usually 2 per semester: American novels, German novels, Russian novels, Comic novels, Victorian novels, African-American novels, Women’s novels, etc. I ended up being assigned _Moby Dick_ for three different classes. When I first started college I had no assigned requirements and had not yet declared a major. This lead to my legendary first semester schedule: Astronomy Italian History of the Bible The Imagination (a philosophy seminar) I’ve always felt like that was the most educational semester I ever had, and was true to the spirit of learning for its own sake. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/37 "2011-09-22T17:29:46Z")
I had a double major in English language literature and History, with a minor in econ-finance. In retrospect I should have majored in econ-finance. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/38 "2011-09-22T17:33:11Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I had a double major in English language literature and History, with a minor in econ-finance. In retrospect I should have majored in econ-finance. Your first Econ course should have taught you that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/39 "2011-09-22T18:11:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Your first Econ course should have taught you that. 🙂 I was supposed to be poet laureate by now. As it stands, to achieve I am going to have to commit more murders and blackmails than I can really fit into the budget. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147/40 "2011-09-22T18:20:35Z")
My college days were more than 25 years ago, so there’s no way I can remember the specifics of the classes I took. However, I can give an overview. I majored in Applied Physics. So I took a lot of physics classes, almost as many math classes, some chemistry and electrical engineering classes, and the bare minimum of humanities classes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-classes-did-you-take-in-college/597147.md?page=3)