I am earning my bachelor of social work. I am planning to go into student affairs in higher education, and earning a masters degree and eventually a PhD in that field. Would being bilingual help me on this path? I am only a couple of classes away from my French minor, and I could use them to help me brush up and polish my skills. However, I could also earn a minor in Psychology, which would help reinforce what I learn in social work.
What is the smartest choice? The psychology knowledge would be good, but I feel I can learn about that on my own, as I need it, and will learn psychology as it pertains to my field of study in graduate school. French is something I may not ever have the opportunity again to learn and develop, and I do plan to travel when I’m older, however i don’t want to risk taking the courses, putting the work in and paying for them if I’m just going to forget it in the future.
First off, unless you already have extensive experience with the French language, a minor in it will not make you bilingual. I majored in French and would consider myself (lower) advanced but not bilingual. That takes years upon years of intensive study and immersion, which is hard to come out of a college minor.
Anyway, in your case, it may seem wise to minor on psychology if you want to specialize in student affairs.
What have people in that field studied? You can look up grad students in your field (current students at universities with PhD programs in your field) and see what they majored/minored in on LinkedIn or by looking at an online CV or something. You could do the same with professors/professionals in the field.
In the end, what you’re studying now is only the beginning of what you’ll be studying in graduate school, so you don’t have to get too worked up about it. It’s great that you’re thinking ahead, so after doing some research on other students and professionals, you can make some wise choices that are best suited to your field and your own interests.
Is there a population of french speaking people that you could work with as a social work? If not, I would not pursue that. If you had said Spanish, then I would say go for it as there are many spanish speaking people in the US.
I woudl think Psychology would be more useful. Many social issues can be due to mental health issues so the more you know about that the better.
The above is what i think about usefulness…however if you want that opportunity to learn french, now is the time to do it. Also, do you need a minor? Or could you take some french and some psychology…targeting the classes that have the most impact on you?
complementing your current major with classes in psychology. You don’t need a traditional minor in psychology for that purpose: create a cluster of professionally-relevant classes; make sure you take some classes in Organizational Behavior too and volunteer at a local high school regarding college counseling. (Read CC for one hour every day before you do that, read books, etc.)
considering your vocation is not in opposition to liberal arts and an education isn't just about a job, but also about growing intellectually - study French for learning's sake. Having fluency in a language, knowing its literature, history, culture, studying abroad are enormously enriching. It'll make travelling, reading, watching films, hearing music... a different experience. If you can find a summer study abroad program that works with social work, it'd be good too. A way it can complement social work is a bit harder - if you reach a level of French sufficient for you to take Haitian French/Creole, very important on the Eastern Seaboard and especially New York City.
Since you’re just a few classes away from a minor in French, you could do that AND take some psychology classes. Look at how many “free slots” you still have?