American universities and colleges break down their course selections into specific areas of study. Most schools in the country will offer a wide array of academic disciplines, not only to attract a diverse student body, but to also accommodate general requirements that must be met in order for students to graduate. Areas of study range from mathematics to literature, philosophy to biology and anthropology to political science.
All accredited universities in America have general course requirements that must be fulfilled by all students in order to be eligible for graduation. However, these requirements differ from university to university. But their objectives are the same: to offer all students a diverse academic experience that will give them the ability to communicate clearly and effectively, think analytically and qualitatively, and critically understand our culture and society. To achieve this, students will have to take a certain amount of courses unique to various academic disciplines -- some of the most common among them being science, math and literature -- that meet the standards of each individual university.
Students enter college as the initial stepping-stone toward beginning a successful career. American universities encourage this approach by offering a wide variety of majors and minors for students to declare, which organizes courses toward each individual student's ambitions. Some universities allow students to declare as soon as possible, while others want students to finish their freshman year coursework before making a commitment. Majors should be determined after a student considers his strengths and weakness from high school as well as the type of career he'd like to pursue upon graduation. Just as with general education requirements, majors require students to take a set amount of courses within the major in order to graduate.
Minors are akin to majors, except that they're a secondary field of specification that accents a student's major. For example, if a student is a biology major who would like to work in publishing, a minor in English would be an excellent choice for him.
It's impossible to list the vast number of courses available in all American universities. Literature, communication, algebra, psychics, political science, language, criminal justice, law and a multitude of other subjects are all potential course selections. These courses range in difficulty, usually ranked from level 100 to 400. Level 100 courses are usually for general education purposes, and as the courses increase in level, they become more difficult and more oriented toward major coursework.