RavenEffect

Right now I am majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Political Science. I know they are both completely unrelated but I always found politics. I always knew I wanted to major in Computer Science from the start, so that was always a lock. My long term goal is to get a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Political Science and then head on to grad school for a masters degree in Political Science. I want to do this because I'd like to have a day job using my CS degree and teach a few classes at a local community college with my masters in PS.

Recently though, I've really started to like Physics and I've considered scrapping the minor in PS and replacing it with Physics, or just double majoring in CS and Physics (I know it would take longer). Despite all this, I still want to end up with a Masters in PoliSci.

My question is does it really matter if I minor in Political Science or not in the long run if I want to go for my Masters? I figured it would look good for when I apply to grad school since I'd be studying something completely unrelated to what my BS was. If it won't make any difference , I may just end up doubling up for my BS instead, but I'm not sure of what to do.

Any help would be really appreciated.

juillet

First off, let me tell you that I think your original proposition is a little bit harebrained. The social sciences - especially the 'softer' ones - are facing a glut of PhDs, and teaching a few community college classes on the side with just a master's and no research experience in political science is going to be rough since there will be PhDs competing with you for those jobs. It's not impossible since poli sci isn't one of those fields that's seriously in danger like English or history, but I would examine this a little deeper and look at job listings for poli sci as well as look at who are actually teaching the courses. What degrees do the adjuncts at your local CC have?

Given that, yes, it does matter in the long run. Master's programs build on prior knowledge of the field and assume a certain seriousness; it looks odd and sort of 'experimental' for a person to suddenly switch fields *without* a feasible explanation from BA to MS. Not only that, but you won't have the foundational knowledge required for the degree. While I think most PS programs would admit someone without a major or minor in the field, they'd probably want the equivalent of a minor in the field before they would consider you. It also does not "look good" to study something completely unrelated to what your intended degree is - why would you think that? Again, graduate programs build on already-acquired knowledge from undergrad; math programs typically don't accept history majors and philosophy programs generally don't accept business majors absent significant coursework and research into the field.

Momwaitingfornew

I have to admit that this thinking stunned me. I read it over several times to make sure you'd written what I thought you had.

Perhaps you don't understand what graduate school is about. It's not just another degree, another major. Students do not start from scratch the way they do as undergraduates. Graduate school is specialization that, as Juillet says, builds on previous basic knowledge to deepen the student's understanding of the field, and for this reason, programs require a background in the subject matter. If you want to study political science, you should definitely keep that minor and perhaps do a related internship. I would think this would be the bare minimum for a less competitive program.

Believe it or not, your computer science background may help your application, not because it's something different but because computer science is integral to doing research in many fields. If you highlight that in your SOP and how you might integrate the two, you may stand out from the other applicants.

As for teaching as an adjunct at a community college . . . yes, you may be able to do this, but only if your local CC teaches political science at night and doesn't have enough professors to cover the courses. You can't just come in, propose a course, and then teach it. Also, don't underestimate the time it takes to prepare, teach, and grade a course.

Short answer? If you want to go to graduate school in political science, make sure you have a strong background in it.

MmeZeeZee

I agree with the two previous posters, and I might add, you can make way more money tutoring high school students math than teaching poly sci at community college. Not to mention the fact that waiting tables is more lucrative than teaching (most teachers I know think that waiting tables is the best moonlighting job as it's the one that pays their bills...)

Is it really poly sci you are interested in, or is it that you think that you can get a good job moonlighting? If it's poly sci, I'd look into relevant careers. If it's moonlighting, brush up on your social skills and start waiting tables now. The tips can be great if you're cute.

RavenEffect

I didn't mean to come off so naive in my post, just wanted to be brief with what I had in mind.

That said, all of this has definitely been extremely helpful. I knew the teaching position isn't an easy one to land, it was just something I would enjoy doing if I had the opportunity. Regardless, I still want to get a Masters. I think I'm going to stick to minoring in PS like I had originally thought.

Again thanks for the advice, it was very informative.