<p>I’m interested in geriatric psychiatry, forensic anthropology, and international affairs. What major should I choose?</p>
<p>What colleges offer good programs for these interests (I’m looking into top state universities as well as the ivies)?</p>
<p>Is there a job that would involve all three?</p>
<p>I have good news for you. First, you don’t have to make this decision now. Secondly, any large reasonably selective university has the resources to let you pursue all three paths.</p>
<p>If you want to practice psychiatry, you’ll need a medical degree. You can apply to medical school with any undergraduate major whatsoever, as long as you have taken the pre-med sequence (introductory courses in math, physics, chemistry and biology) as an undergraduate. </p>
<p>There are very few “forensic anthropologists”, and most of them are college professors of anthropology who occasionally consult on criminal cases. (Unlike Bones.) If you don’t like teaching, this might not be your first-choice career. If you want to become an anthropologist, the most direct path is an anthropology major followed by a PhD in anthropology.</p>
<p>LeHigh’s website has a nice description of career options in international affairs: [Careers</a> in International Relations](<a href=“http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/default.aspx?id=217]Careers”>http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/default.aspx?id=217). Note that there’s no single path to an international affairs job, and many agencies hire people with particular skills (read: graduate degrees). The best path depends on the actual job you want. Do you want to conduct visa interviews as a consular officer? Be a disaster management specialist for the DoD? An expert on international law for the UN? A campaigns manager for Amnesty International? A diplomat? An economic adviser for the DOS? </p>
<p>My suggestion would be to start taking classes and pursue internships in areas you think you might be interested in. If you are like most students, you’ll quickly discover that you don’t care about most of your classes, and then you can focus on the subject(s) that you do care about. Note that you can add pre-med courses to any major of your choice and keep the option to go to medical school if your other career doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! This is great advice!</p>