CGS - College of General Studies - University of Pittsburgh

What Can You Do With Your Major?

Administration of Justice

The Administration of Justice degree allows you to work in a variety of areas including:
Law Enforcement : Work to deter crime and investigate and apprehend criminals. Possible job titles include: police officer, Postal Service investigator, and FBI agent
Corrections : Work in the areas of detention, supervision, administration and rehabilitation of incarcerated people. Job titles may be: correctional officer, parole officer, and penologist
Courts : Work in the administrative side of the criminal justice system to dispense justice in a fair and efficient manner. Career titles include: court administrator, probation officer, and judge (law degree required)
Private Security : Work to provide investigative and security services in retail, commercial, industrial and public institutional settings. Career titles include: security guard, credit investigator, and loss prevention specialist
Forensic Science : Work to link physical evidence to a suspect in a criminal case through the analysis, identification and classification of chemical and physical substances and objects. Specialties include: arson, ballistics, and polygraph analysis. A background in science, such as chemistry or physics, is also usually required to work in this area.
Social Services : Work to provide rehabilitative services to clients in a social service agency setting. Job titles may include: child welfare worker, child development specialist, and drug and alcohol counselor

Dental Hygiene

A Dental Hygienist may work in a variety of settings, including private dental offices, HMO or long-term care facilities, schools, military bases, dental supply companies, universities, other research organizations, or government agencies. Regardless of the setting, dental hygienists may provide clinical services (such as cleaning teeth, taking x-rays, etc.); perform administrative or managerial duties (such as processing insurance claims, selling dental products, etc.); teach others about dental hygiene; perform research and publish data; or act as a consumer advocate or change agent within the dental health care field. Because the Dental Hygiene program is a degree completion program, you may already perform some of the duties listed above. Obtaining your Bachelor of Science degree will allow you to move into more professional positions within the field, including those in education and sales. Your opportunities to perform research will also be enhanced by obtaining your BS degree.

Health Services

The degree in Health Services prepares you to work in the healthcare field with a focus on either managing health service programs and projects or community health assessment. Employers might include: hospitals, community health organizations, research facilities, rehabilitation services, universities, public health agencies or government agencies. Sample job titles may be: health support coordinator, health outreach representative, health services administrator, health project director, health program director, and medical office manager.

Humanities

The Humanities major is very flexible, allowing you to work in many areas, performing a variety of tasks. Thus, it is very important for you to establish a career goal while you are still in school. An area of concentration will help to narrow your focus. However, all areas of concentration may allow you to work in college administration and support services, advertising, market research, acting/drama, arts administration, and insurance, public relations, sales/sales management, human resources, merchandising, census/survey work, real estate, politics, events planning, hotel/restaurant management, communications, human services, travel/tourism, publishing/printing. What you do will largely depend on the experience you have when you graduate; therefore, doing an internship or other career-related experience is highly recommended.

Legal Studies

Because the Legal Studies program provides its graduates with an understanding of the law and the legal system, many people who have this degree choose work in the legal field as a paralegal/legal assistant. Paralegals most often work in law firms, although some do work in corporation, insurance firms, government agencies, and bank trust departments. Paralegals assist attorneys in a number of capacities, including interviewing clients and witnesses, performing necessary research, and drafting legal documents. Legal assistants are not allowed to give legal advice, represent clients in court, accept cases, or charge fees, as these tasks are limited only to lawyers. Obtaining a Paralegal certificate may be necessary to work as a paralegal, but opportunities do exist for those with just the Legal Studies degree. Students who do not wish to become paralegals may find work within the courts, within the political arena as legislative aides, or within areas open to Administration of Justice majors. Although this program is not designed as a pre-law major, some students with this degree have elected to attend law school after graduating from the College of General Studies.

Media & Professional Communications

Obtaining a degree in Media & Professional Communications allows you to work in several areas such as print media, radio, television, or multimedia. Common employers include: newspapers, wire services and syndicates, magazines, publishing houses, literary agencies, radio or television stations, corporate communications departments or public relations firms. Job titles may include: reporter, photojournalist, staff writer, editor, literary agent, announcer/disc jockey, music director, scriptwriter, audio-visual producer, production assistant, communications specialist, and public relations director.

Natural Science

Students graduating with a degree in Natural Sciences will have a number of options upon graduation. These options depend on the areas of concentration within the major. Typical employers include: high schools, colleges, universities, government agencies, laboratories, hospitals, public health organizations, science museums, environmental agencies, research facilities, private industry, and publishing.
General job titles include: teacher, laboratory technician, research assistant, science/technical writer, medical/pharmaceutical sales, and project manager. Career options for specific concentrations include:
Astronomy: telescope operators, instrument makers, opticians, electronic technicians
Biology: research assistants, teachers, science writers, and sales
Chemistry: researcher, forensics, toxicology, teaching
Computer Science: programmer, systems analyst, software developer
Conservation Science: forester, range manager, soil conservationist
Geology: geophysicist, geochemist, hydrologist, seismologist, mineralogist
Mathematics and Statistics: teacher, statistician, and operation researcher
Physics: science/technical writer, research assistant, teacher
Pre-Education Option: The College of General Studies and the School of Education have collaborated on a concentration in the Natural Sciences major that incorporates the science prerequisite coursework needed for admission into the certificate programs in Earth and space Science and General Science. These options may be used by students interested in the Professional Year or the Master of Arts in Teaching programs offered in the School of education. Completion of the prerequisites for the School of Education does not guarantee acceptance to their programs. Check with an academic consultant for more specific information.

Public Service

The Public Service degree is designed to prepare students for a broad range of careers that are focused on the resolution of public problems or the delivery of public services. These careers range from those in the local government and community arena, to the metropolitan region and state arena, to national and international settings. Employers include: state, local and federal governments, non-profit organizations, private firms engaged in working with the governments, and private corporations with an active public service culture. Job titles may include: non-profit director, program coordinator, public administrator, association manager, community relations director, international organization director, and administrative staff.

Social Science

Students graduating with a degree in Social Science have a number of options, depending on the areas of concentration. An advanced degree is sometimes necessary to achieve success in this field or pursue some options. Employers include: education, non-profits, social service agencies, government, community organizations, human resources, and business.
Career options for specific concentrations may include:
Anthropology: curator, education director, forensic anthropologist, professor
Sociology: demographer, criminologist, professor, sociologist
Psychology: psychologist, mental health worker, child development specialist
History: archivist, historian, consultant, curator, teacher
Political Science: legislative assistant, policy analyst, Foreign Service officer
Economics: economist, business analyst, teacher, banker