A major (also known as a major concentration or concentration) is a term for the specific group of courses that give you a basic knowledge of a field of study, which is in addition to your core curriculum. A major is a term most commonly applied to a program of study leading to a bachelor's degree. However, associate's degrees can also have majors, for instance an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in engineering technology.
Diploma and certificate programs do not have majors as such. Rather, they carry a designation (for instance a CNC/Toolmaking Diploma) which is much more specific than a degree title. Often, students in a community college or career college program--sometimes all the students in the department--will take a common set of core foundational courses in the first year (or term, in the case of shorter programs) which then enables them to pursue a specialized area of study. But generally, the field of study at the community college level is career-focused to the point where students do not take "elective" courses as they do for bachelor's degrees. Hence the designation of the diploma or certificate effectively stands in for the "major."
Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern), located in Michigan's spectacular Upper Peninsula, was founded in 1899 as a teacher college. Northern is now a dynamic four-year, public, coeducational university offering 180 degree ...
