Reading (Books, Articles, etc) Recommendations for Popular College or University Majors/Degrees
When applying for university/college, you need to demonstrate your interest in the subject and an aptitude for it. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to show you have read around the subject. Here are some relevant books, journals and articles that prospective students can use to improve their applications
Business and/or Management is one of the most popular subjects, therefore, you have to really stand out. Some books you can read are:
- “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World” by Adam Grant is great for demonstrating understanding of business mindsets and innovation.
- "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael E. Gerber is a good read for those invested in small business and will demonstrate a unique knowledgebase.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz provides practical wisdom and insights that can apply to all business people. - "Business Model Generation" by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneurthe is a great extension of content taught in high school business classes and great for the more entrepreneurial.
For lighter reading, journals and journal articles can be a great resource. They also allow for you to demonstrate some personality to the admissions team, which is always great! Some examples are:
- The wall street journal's business section for news gives less academic information but demonstrates interest on a more day to day basis.
- Google Scholar has a wide variety of articles and is free to use.
- JSTOR’s University business journals. They give well researched academic information and are a good way to demonstrate university level thinking.
- The Social Science Research Network is very similar to Google Scholar, but more specific.
Also, it will be valuable in any application to link your personal interests to the subject. For example, those interested in video games could read “The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life" by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff. Likewise, those with an interest in history would be wise to explore “Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World” by Liaquat Ahamed.
Law requires intensive reading, research and argumentative skills all of which are easy to demonstrate by extended (especially academic) reading. Some more classic great law books are
- “The Spirit of the Laws” by Montesquieu links political theory to comparative law to examine different political, legal and social systems.
- “Law’s Empire” by Ronal Dworkin explores legal interpretation and legal philosophy
- “The Rule of Law” by Tom Bingham is a cohesive examination of the phase that underpins modern society
Some other texts can demonstrate interests in specific legal areas such as: - “The Law of Peoples” by John Rawls explores international law.
“The Buffalo Creek Disaster: How the Survivors of One of the Worst Disasters in Coal-Mining History Brought Suit Against the Coal Company - And Won" by Gerald M. Stern takes on corporate and environmental law. - The best legal journals include:
University journals such as the Harvard Law Review and the Oxford Journal of Legal studies provide evidence of academic capability. - The New Law Journal is a weekly magazine that allows you to demonstrate long-term day-to-day interest.
- Google Scholar is free and has a wide variety of resources.
Engineering is less inclined towards literary or academic texts, but they by no means undermine your application. Some interesting books include:
- "Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases" by Charles E. Harris Jr., Michael S. Pritchard, and Michael J. Rabins demonstrates extensive care surrounding your field.
- "The Existential Pleasures of Engineering" by Samuel C. Florman explores the artistry and dynamic nature of engineering
- "To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design" by Henry Petroski will be great for demonstrating a growth mindset.
Specific field also have books as well such as:
- "The Art of Electronics" by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill is a textbook with a variety of insights appropriate for electrical engineering .
- "Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Wonders of Modern Infrastructure" by Grady Hillhouse is an essential text for structural/civil engineering.
The following are examples of journals for engineering:
- ScienceDirect’s engineering journal has up to date research.
- Sage Journals engineering page has over 50 engineering journals in one.
- SpringerOpen has 30 online journals combined.
Medicine/ Biomedical Sciences have relevant books but they are often very specific.
- For aspiring geneticists: “Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters" by Matt Ridley or "The Gene: An Intimate History" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
- For future surgeons: "Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science" by Atul Gawande
- For those who want to explore toxicology and epidemiology "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson is a good read.
Relevant journals are as follows:
- You can find articles for all fields on Google Scholar
- The New England Journal of Medicine is the most well rated medical journal
- The Lancet has many subsections and regional/continental insights as well.
Psychology requires in-depth knowledge of a breadth of information,
- "Man's Search for Meaning" by psychologist and neuroscientist Viktor E. Frankl is a complex examination of human psychology and philosophy in the harshest of conditions.
- "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by behavioural economist Dan Ariely explores brain structure and decision making.
- “Proust Was a Neuroscientist" by Jonah Lehrer encourages readers to see the connections between different sciences like neuroscience and the arts.
- "The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life" by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski is an in depth take on the role of death in psychological theory
- "The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves" by psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz dissects 50,000 hours of conversation into psychological insight.
Relevant journals include:
- Sage publications: Psychological Science in the Public Interest gives insight into the psychology of issues related to the general public
- Journal of Applied Psychology: relevant to all fields of applied psychology in many contexts. This helps to demonstrate your unique personality as an applicant.
- Google Scholar: free to access academic papers that will demonstrate academic-level thinking
Computer Science also has many relevant books including:
- “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies" by Nick Bostrom is very relevant to our time and demonstrates awareness of prominent issues in the computer science field.
- “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr explores the cognitive impacts of internet use, a prominent discussion at the current moment.
- "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy" by Cathy O'Neil explores the social impacts of algorithms
- "The Pattern On The Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work" by Daniel Hillis explores how essential simple ideas are to computing.
Some examples of journals for computer science are:
- “The Journal of Computer Science” offers insight into many disciplines and is free
- Google Scholar is free and has a broad range of resources
- “Frontiers in Computer Science” has a variety of articles
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