While they might not seem necessary, Iowa State requires them: general education classes.

Each college, and major, at Iowa State has their own varying requirements, but almost all of them make students take classes that are outside of their area of study.

Gregory Petsko is the biochemistry department chair at Brandeis University, and has also help positions at Cornell Medical College and Cornell University. Petsko was the Iowa State Research Day keynote speaker, and his speech discussed the importance of learning topics outside of your field.

Petsko, who majored in chemistry, had required courses such as physics and biochemistry. He said though that art history, a class he thought was dumb and he hated to have to take because of university requirements, was one of the most helpful classes he ever took in college.

This is one example of how classes outside of your major can be helpful to you, even if you might think it’s useless at the time.

Each college has its own requirements and the best way to check out what you need is on your college’s or major’s website. Once you know what your requirements are, the next step is picking what to take.

On the same website you should be able to find a list of classes that fulfill the requirements. Many of these classes offer skills that expand beyond the core classes in your major.