Are Electives Required in College: Pros and Cons

College is designed to help you become a well-rounded individual, which is why you’re required to take several types of classes to graduate. Electives in college exist outside core and mandatory courses, and give students a chance to pursue interests and curiosities that fall outside their major. Electives are frequently viewed as the “fun” classes students take to break up their schedules or fill in gaps. Universities build electives into each program to provide students with a well-rounded education and to customize their experience.

Types of College Electives

Elective courses are classes you get to choose. An elective can fall under a degree requirement, but the specific class is up to you. Sometimes you’ll choose electives that act as prerequisites to required classes for a major and minor. Here are a few different types of elective courses you can take in college:

General Education Electives

General education requirements are the baseline courses every student is required to pass. These requirements usually include a portion of elective credits, in which you can choose how you’d like to fulfill a specific requirement. For example, for a communication requirement, you might choose a class like Texas State University’s Talking Like TED course, which examines the TED talk communication style.

Area of Study Electives

Most majors and minors require a certain number of elective credits. These fall under your program but are not specific requirements for completing the degree. For example, a bachelor’s in psychology may offer elective choices like animal behavior, the psychology of corporate culture, and the psychology of science fiction. You can also use these electives to take classes to prepare you for specific career paths, like a forensic psychology class.

Free Electives

This type of college elective has no obvious relation to your major, minor, or a specific general education requirement. Instead, these classes are designed for students to graduate with a well-rounded education and to fulfill general credit requirements. You could take a snowboarding P.E. class, a hip-hop class, or a cinema course.

Read also: Business Elective Options at UCF

Benefits of Electives

Exploration of Interests

College is the perfect time to get to find out more about your interests and what you excel in. Electives help expose you to subjects you might not otherwise encounter. How do you know if you like are interested in something if you never learn about it? You don’t.

Well-Rounded Education

Electives allow students to explore subjects outside the traditional academic disciplines, including arts, music, digital media, and more. By taking a course outside of your major you have the chance to learn about a new subject, and you’re also getting a taste of that culture. Electives really are the toppings that transform a degree program.

Skill Development

Beyond the development of interests, electives can be instrumental in teaching skills crucial in today’s world. Courses like philosophy or contemporary world problems encourage students to think deeply about issues, develop their viewpoints, and analyze various perspectives. Arts, drama, and technology electives provide creative outlets and innovative opportunities. Many elective courses require presentations, group projects, or performances, which can enhance verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Electives often involve a higher level of group-based work compared to core subjects. Electives can also contribute directly to academic performance in core subjects.

Flexibility and Balance

Electives can be used to balance your class schedule. Electives can provide flexibility in your schedule and break up an intensive lineup. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There are pros and cons using the popular tactic of just eliminating electives.

Potential Major and Minor Exploration

For undecided students, electives can be a tool for exploring potential majors while completing your general education requirements. Introductory courses often count as electives and can provide an overview of the subject. Students with a spectrum of interests can take 101 classes in subjects like psychology, journalism, statistics, kinesiology, geology, art history, and finance as exploratory electives. Use electives to explore potential majors and as prerequisites for your minor.

Read also: A Guide to Electives

Schedule Accommodation

Dr. She remembers what it was like to be a working mother and trying to find classes to fit her schedule. With 100% online college classes, you don’t have to worry about that. You have an advantage with electives.

Practical Considerations

Sometimes taking an elective course is purely practical. So of course it just makes sense to take an outside elective and keep the benefits, like tuition assistance, that come with being a full-time student. Some schools even offer health insurance and public transit passes to full-time students, and no one wants to lose those.

Potential Drawbacks of Electives

Perceived as Pointless

Really any class, elective or otherwise, could ultimately be “pointless,” and that largely depends on you. However, you have a bit more control over the electives you take. You can take an elective, pass it, have it not interfere with your graduation date, and it can still be pointless.

Risk of Failure

Saying that school is expensive is like saying there are seven days in a week - everyone knows it. That’s why it’s important to not fail the elective class you decide to take. It may seem like an obvious point, but students often forget to apply it to electives because it can feel like they don’t matter.

Workload Considerations

Just because it’s an elective, even if it is an intro class, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. Smith Knopik cautions students in thinking electives don’t come with their fair share of work. “Easy isn’t a quantifiable term,” she said.

Narrowed Focus

Sticking to classes within your department keeps you in the same circle and with the same types of people. Engineering majors will likely have the same interests as other engineering majors, and thus, don’t really have the chance to be exposed to other viewpoints.

Impact on Graduation Timeline

Don’t get to your last semester only to find out that the class you need to take to graduate is only offered every other semester, and you spent last semester taking a yoga class instead of taking that one.

Elimination of Electives

Those electives can be lifesavers for the traditional students who change majors and don't want to be set back years to graduate, but they're major hurdles to adult students who have life experience or for traditional students who need to or want to step away from a degree program and not be left as a "some college, no degree" statistic. I hope we move away from that fallback of just eliminating electives and instead go to meaningful curriculum innovation.

Decreasing Electives

However, electives are decreasing in this currently due to the importance of tests and college requirements. This phenomenon is not helping students because it only forces them to study for standardized tests rather than to find their unique skills. Korean students already have high suicide and depression rates because of being forced to only learn for the suneung (Korean SAT),” said Ms. Kwak. Also, reducing electives is not effective for students since it restricts their potential and gives them the idea that school is a place to only prepare for standardized tests rather than a career.

Mandatory Courses

In Texas at 2018, there was a massive P.E. initiative for public schools, which set mandatory requirements for P.E. classes that students had to fill for graduation. Despite the benefits of exercising, the government perceived a major problem. Since some students didn’t have as much interest in physical education, absence and tardy rates increased. Students become more attentive if the courses they take are truly what they want to learn.

Tips for Choosing Electives

Plan Ahead

Yes, what you get out of a class is your choice, but making a hasty decision could be setting yourself up for failure. Plan, plan, plan, and plan.

Consult with Advisors

Meet with your academic advisor at least once a semester. When choosing college electives, consider your schedule, consult an academic advisor, focus on your interests, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Consult with an academic advisor to take strategic advantage of your electives. An academic advisor can help you figure out the best electives to take for your particular educational journey and career goals. For example, an advisor can identify a minor that may complement your career path and electives that can double as prerequisites for that minor. Your advisor may also help you find courses that could improve your weaker academic areas. For example, a business major may want to take a writing elective to learn how to craft proposals and communicate business ideas.

Research Class Format

Consider the Class Format. The format of your class can impact your schedule, workload, and experience. Consider whether the elective is a lecture or a seminar - that will impact your interaction with fellow classmates and professors, as well as the participation expectations. If your elective is a laboratory class, that could mean an extra class each week for lab work. You can also choose to take electives that use an online or hybrid format, which may allow for more flexibility in your schedule.

Check University Catalog

The University Catalog provides a holistic view of all the programs, procedures and courses offered at UA Grantham.

Balance Interests and Difficulty

When creating your class schedule, balance courses based on topic and difficulty level. You don’t want to burn out on too many tough classes, and a varied schedule can help keep things stimulating. For example, three history classes may be harder to sustain than a math class, a history class, and a P.E. elective.

Prioritize General Education

You should also prioritize general education requirements before filling up your schedule with electives. Since the majority of students have to take the same general education classes, they can be harder to get into during your first few years. Some are also only offered during select semesters or have strict sequences that require you to take them in a specific order.

Explore New Things

Electives are a great opportunity to learn new things and try something you’ve always wanted to do. Many students use electives to take fun and unique courses like dance, glassblowing, game theory, photography, and the infamous underwater basket weaving. If there’s a hobby or a skill you’re curious about, use elective credits to add something fun to your schedule.

Focus on Interests

When students are interested in their learning, their motivation naturally increases. Choosing courses that you are interested in means that they [the courses] might provide a bit of breathing room. It goes back to what we talked about last National Cheese Pizza Day.Electives embody the ideal educational experience - you get to choose what you want to learn without parameters.

The Value of Choice

Allowing students to choose part of their curriculum demonstrates trust and respect for their interests and decisions. Not only electives, but it is also important to let students choose their academic subjects. “Taking the courses (that I chose) made me learn more about the majors I was interested in, and knowing the pros and cons of the subject helped me decide which path I wanted to take,” said Jinny. After students choose what they want to major in, they should take more time discovering the related subjects rather than spend time in other classes that they are not interested in.

Electives and Career Goals

Electives can help you create a niche for yourself. When you’re better able to focus your skills, it makes you more competitive in the job search. It’s best to take elective courses that you’re interested in and that you may be able to apply to your future career. Classes that teach personal finance, business writing, public speaking, and foreign languages can provide real-world skills useful in any career. For students with particularly challenging course loads, the best elective may be an easier course that will guarantee a GPA boost. For undecided students, the best electives will help you explore your strengths and interests.

Electives in a Broader Context

American collegiate degrees differ from European college degrees. At UA Grantham, you have program electives and general electives. Earlier this year, we introduced you to Mark Smith, a UA Grantham alum, veteran service member and art history adjunct instructor. He made a case for taking art electives.

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