To answer your question honestly, yes, Group 3 majors normally carry a negative connotation by the Brigade. It's nothing personal and not meant to degrade the individuals who are in group 3, but it's easy to jab fun at them for "not being difficult". Don't let that affect your major selection though. You should choose what you like to do, and what you're good at.
Best Majors at USNA
- Thread starter Theyellowfellow
- Start date
To answer your question honestly, yes, Group 3 majors normally carry a negative connotation by the Brigade. It's nothing personal and not meant to degrade the individuals who are in group 3, but it's easy to jab fun at them for "not being difficult". Don't let that affect your major selection though. You should choose what you like to do, and what you're good at.
My DS is a mid, class of 2018. He chose economics. He was interested in systems and cyber but was discouraged to choose these because his chemistry grade was a C. He is happy with his choice. Dad is a financial advisor so DS is hopeful that this field will be employable. Also, I read somewhere that economics is a good choice for a career officer because resources are always limited when managing a ship.
My DS is a mid, class of 2018. He chose economics. He was interested in systems and cyber but was discouraged to choose these because his chemistry grade was a C. He is happy with his choice. Dad is a financial advisor so DS is hopeful that this field will be employable. Also, I read somewhere that economics is a good choice for a career officer because resources are always limited when managing a ship.
Poli Sci and fly...
socalmomof3
I believe the Mids must do a training block and a leadership block (or maybe it is called a professional block). I bet a Mid can reply with the correct terminology. So DS is doing PROTRAMID this summer for training in one block and the internship in another block. Actually, DS is interning in blocks 0 and 1 so his internship is 6 weeks. Block 0 is a short two week block that is used for a few things like varsity athletes doing training, internships, and I am sure there are other activities well. I am pretty sure commissioning week overlaps with Block 0, so many of the Mids are on the yard during Block 0. And for the third block, obviously most Mids do leave. Of course they could do something other than leave in the third block, e.g., summer school, an internship, etc.
And I agree on the earlier comments about selecting a major. Hopefully your DS selects a major that involves something he loves doing. I did tell DS that I didn't think everyone was going to stay in for 30 years, and at this point he really didn't know how long he would stay in. Therefore, I asked that he consider selecting a major that would be marketable when he was out of the Navy.
I believe the Mids must do a training block and a leadership block (or maybe it is called a professional block). I bet a Mid can reply with the correct terminology. So DS is doing PROTRAMID this summer for training in one block and the internship in another block. Actually, DS is interning in blocks 0 and 1 so his internship is 6 weeks. Block 0 is a short two week block that is used for a few things like varsity athletes doing training, internships, and I am sure there are other activities well. I am pretty sure commissioning week overlaps with Block 0, so many of the Mids are on the yard during Block 0. And for the third block, obviously most Mids do leave. Of course they could do something other than leave in the third block, e.g., summer school, an internship, etc.
And I agree on the earlier comments about selecting a major. Hopefully your DS selects a major that involves something he loves doing. I did tell DS that I didn't think everyone was going to stay in for 30 years, and at this point he really didn't know how long he would stay in. Therefore, I asked that he consider selecting a major that would be marketable when he was out of the Navy.
socalmomof3
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Bandad
Thank you for the information! There is so much to learn!
Thank you for the information! There is so much to learn!
Once you are at USNA, there will be plenty of opportunity to learn what the various majors are before you have to make your selection. Lots of older threads you can read when they disuss there is no correlation between your major and service selection. Doing well at something you enjoy makes a bigger difference.
On a more serious note, My son had no clue what he wanted to major in when he got to The Yard. He talked to lots of his company Mids and decided on what he wanted. So you never know. What he thought he wanted to major in didn'tYa Poly sci , Flys
even come in the top 3 for him when it was time to choose.
Memphis9489
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People should be familiar with the way in which the Naval Academy categorizes the majors. They are divided into three groups. Group 1 is engineering. Group 2 is math & science. Group 3 is humanities and social sciences.
Believe me, majoring in a Group 1 (engineering) major is like going to a completely different school than those who are majoring in any of the other majors. You will have a completely different experience. Instead of a reading a good book in your rack for "study" hour, you'll be up to 2am drawing free body diagrams on graph paper.
Regardless of whether your academic aptitudes are more aligned with technical courses instead of humanities, Group 1 provides challenges to anybody who goes that route.
I majored in Aerospace Engineering back in the day. I think I studied constantly for four years. I have twin sons who graduated in 2013. One majored Mathematics and the other in Chemistry, both of which are Group 2 majors. They used to tease me, "Dad, the only people who major in Aero are people who hate themselves."
And then you have the people that dual major in Aero and CS, or MechE and Chinese. Academy attracts some pretty smart people.
Don't worry about your major right now. Get through plebe summer, have a talk with your academic advisor and some 1/c or 2/c, then make a decision. There's many things to consider.
Don't worry about your major right now. Get through plebe summer, have a talk with your academic advisor and some 1/c or 2/c, then make a decision. There's many things to consider.
GoNavyBeatArmy
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Group 3 (Humanities and Social Sciences majors) were called Bull majors back in my day. Yes, there is a stigma, but worth it to have a better quality of life during the already packed and challenging four years. (As we say in the Navy - "Choose your Rate, Choose your Fate." )
It used to be that no more than 20% of the brigade could be a Bull major, but nowadays, that limit is more generous to those who are not technically inclined. Regardless of major, everyone graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree and all mids have to take calculus, physics, chemistry and electrical engineering requirements. (I believe this is still current policy)
I graduated in the '90s and was an Econ major and minored in Chinese. Despite A's and B's in humanities classes, my GPA was still below 3.0 because I really struggled with EE/chemistry/physics. However, I never pulled an all-nighter, whereas my roommate often did just to stay afloat in her Mech E major. Ultimately, she had to downgrade to General Engineering after the trauma of an Academic Review Board.
Unless a mid was a truly exceptional high school student (760+ SATs, GPA 4.0, 5's on APs) capable of excelling academically at USNA and has sights set on competitive graduate programs in and out of the Navy, my general advice is to go for an easier major at the Academy. There will be plenty of other challenges demanding your time and effort during the four years.
It used to be that no more than 20% of the brigade could be a Bull major, but nowadays, that limit is more generous to those who are not technically inclined. Regardless of major, everyone graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree and all mids have to take calculus, physics, chemistry and electrical engineering requirements. (I believe this is still current policy)
I graduated in the '90s and was an Econ major and minored in Chinese. Despite A's and B's in humanities classes, my GPA was still below 3.0 because I really struggled with EE/chemistry/physics. However, I never pulled an all-nighter, whereas my roommate often did just to stay afloat in her Mech E major. Ultimately, she had to downgrade to General Engineering after the trauma of an Academic Review Board.
Unless a mid was a truly exceptional high school student (760+ SATs, GPA 4.0, 5's on APs) capable of excelling academically at USNA and has sights set on competitive graduate programs in and out of the Navy, my general advice is to go for an easier major at the Academy. There will be plenty of other challenges demanding your time and effort during the four years.
Memphis9489
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I've always wondered what the criteria are for another course of study to qualify as a "minor". People often say that they "minored" in this or that but, what does that really mean? Is there some official standard for what qualifies? Does one's diploma ever mention what you've minored in? (Seriously - I don't know) If you simply take a bunch of foreign language courses - does that count? I had a son who majored in Mathematics, but in order to get into medical school he had to take two semesters of biology, two semesters or organic chemistry and he even took some other kind of advanced chemistry course. He did all this while fulfilling the requirements of his Mathematics major. I never recall him saying that he "minored" in anything.
That's exactly it. USNA offers language minors only, obtained by taking a bunch of language classes. 12 credits at the 200 level or above (six classes) for "critical languages" (Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Arabic). I'm not sure what the requirement is for French, German, and Spanish.
I've always wondered whether minors show up on the diploma, and whether dual majors get two pieces of paper or just both majors printed on one paper. More fun: How do they handle a midshipman with dual majors and a minor?
Standard humanities requirement aside from the core is two humanities electives and a free elective. The humanities electives may be foreign language, so any major could choose to take 2-3 foreign language classes.
Group 3 majors (except the Chinese and Arabic majors) are required to take four semesters of foreign language in addition. I am not sure if the Group 3 language requirement can overlap with classes taken to fulfill a minor. I know they won't count towards a language major.
Group 1 majors drop the free elective.
Again, really do suggest a nice lengthy chat with your academic advisor. Your major will affect your lifestyle at the Academy, the training opportunities that are available to you as a midshipman, and your entire experience over four years. Some majors are flexible. Some majors will close doors, and then open different doors.
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