In your college years, you should take classes to increase both your general knowledge (breadth) and your knowledge about a particular academic field (depth). I believe that there is enough time to take many classes in both the breadth and depth groups. I've been out of college for more than a decade, and I still think about the classes I took and didn't take. Here, then, are my recommendations for the breadth courses.
Literature, Philosophy, Language, and Linguistics.
A year of English literature courses, surveying ancient to modern literature.
One Introduction to Western Philosophy course.
One Principles of Critical Reasoning or Principles of Argumentation course (a philosophy or speech course).
A year of a foreign language, unless you are fluent in a second language.
One Introduction to Linguistics course.
Visual and Musical Arts.
One Introduction to Art History course.
One Music Appreciation course or Introduction to Musical Theory course.
Social Sciences
A year of European History or World History courses, surveying ancient to modern history, unless you've learned European History or World History well in high school.
A year of American History courses, surveying colonial to modern history, unless you've learned American History well in high school.
One East Asian History survey course.
One Introduction to American Politics course.
One introductory course in psychology, sociology, communication studies, or anthropology.
One Introduction to Economics course (or maybe a Macroeconomics course and a Microeconomics course).
One Abnormal Psychology course.
One Introduction to Statistics course.
Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics.
One Introduction to Human Anatomy course.
One Introduction to Biology course, unless you've completed a year of biology in high school.
One introductory course in Life Sciences (other than Biology), Earth & Space Sciences, or Atmospheric Sciences.
One Introduction to Chemistry course, unless you've completed a year of chemistry in high school.
One Introduction to Physics course, unless you've completed a year of physics in high school.
One year of mathematics, unless you've compeleted a year of calculus in high school.
About the Author
Andrea Jussim is an experienced writer with experience in teaching and research. She entered a prestigious 5-year Ph.D. program immediately after completing her undergraduate studies, but left with an M.A. and her sanity two years later.