Help me choose a class!

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Okay, so registration for my final undergraduate semester begins at midnight and, while I know I will be taking 16 credits, if I'm able to secure the funds or undertake a paperwork gimmick*, I'd like to take 19. Given my priorities and fear of death, I'm unsure what to choose. I currently plan to register for Political Radicalism, Communism & Post Communism (my senior seminar), Introduction to Russian II, Domestic Terrorism (a graduate course), Honors Studies in Film (to meet a core curriculum requirement; shoot me), and Honors Thesis Defense. The below courses are those from which I'm hoping to choose my sixth class (thesis defense being the third one-credit leg of my honors thesis and not really a "class" so much).

In the "useful" and "technical" field, we have courses form the Computers & Information Systems department (the major itself recently officially became "Cybersecurity", but those of you that know me would know why I hate that word).

CIS 4550 Advanced Digital Forensics: What the title says. I'm in Intro to Digital Forensics (4450) right now and am doing fine despite nearly zero background in computers and a severe lack of understanding as to how these machines work. I'm missing a prerequisite for this, but the professor has the option to waive it (and probably would if I asked him to).

CIS 4600 Data Science for Business Intelligence & Cybersecurity: Essentially a data mining course that uses R statistical language. Don't know what that is? Neither do I! My digital forensics professor thinks it would be too hard, even for him (he's not teaching it), but the course's teacher (also the chair) seems to think it would be easy enough to grasp. I am doubtful, but if I were to worm my way to an "A", it would probably be worth it. Also, it's online.

After those two, we have the "useful" and "in-field" classes that, were I to pursue the career that I'm hoping to, would go on my resume and would constitute part of the knowledge base they're looking for. They would also knock out graduate electives that I might otherwise take in the years to come. The caveat is that they're taught by the same guy, who will also teach an eff ton of my graduate courses. Don't know if I'll get tired of him or not.

CJS 4520 Organized Crime: Essentially what the title says; beyond that, it would contain instruction as to how to recognize these organizations and so on.

CJS 4190 Literature & Crime: Originally about something very different, in this class, you get to read and analyze the writings of serial killers. Lovely stuff. Were I to take this, I'd take its graduate section.

Finally, the useless, but fun and possibly instrumental option...

ENL 4620 Murderers & Thieves: A senior-level seminar that gets a new topic every year, this one is, obviously, focusing on pieces of literature written about certain deviant demographics--murderers and thieves. Reasons for taking this ostensibly useless course? As a senior, this is my last chance to take "useless" courses; I really like the professor and haven't had him since my first semester at school; there's a half-Ukrainian former tennis player chick who's a literature minor who'll be in the class and was named the town of Romeo, MI's "Peach Queen"--possibly repeatedly. Sound reasons.

*There may be the option of refiling one of my electives as a 2 credit directed study, in which case I'd "technically" be 18, but taking over six classes.

[Horsemask]

Voted for useful/relevant, because those are the two classes I'd probably be most interested in.

[muon2]

For spring semester senior year, time management matters. You will probably benefit from solid blocks on time with no lectures. So, I'd first recommend taking the class that gives you the overall most manageable schedule, with half-days off if possible. Second if you are doing the grad program at the same school, taking courses that count towards the MS/PhD are way more valuable timewise then just about anything else.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Voted for useful/relevant, because those are the two classes I'd probably be most interested in.

That's how I voted as well, but I originally misread "Literature and Crime" (thought it was literature about serial killers, not from them). I would never be able to take that class.

Anyway, quite a macabre field of study you've chosen, but I can't say I'm surprised.

[Mr. Smith]

If you've still got stuff to do, relevant.

You're privileged to be graduating in the Spring, I wish I could've done that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If you've still got stuff to do, relevant.

You're privileged to be graduating in the Spring, I wish I could've done that.

Could'a graduated early if I'd felt an impetus to, but there were extra classes I wanted to grab (language, etc.).

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

My biggest hesitation with the graduate class would simply be that it's an elective (thus, hypothetically, limiting my choice of classes in the future when there are other electives I consider more paramount) and one that could come up again anyway. Plus, I'd be taking 19 credits, working on an honors thesis, and am already registered in one graduate course (also an elective). The required graduate course offered this semester is restricted to those admitted to the program; I'm currently engaged in a scheme to gain admittance before December and thus in theory be able to register for it despite not at that point being a graduate student. Nevertheless, I may register for the elective anyway simply as a means of graduating as early as possible.

[DavidB.]

Useful/technical or useless/fun, not the middle of the road option, which will be less useful and less fun. Do the data mining thing or the literature thing.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'd go with the "useless/fun" option, might not end up being any less useful than the other stuff, and could provide a different helpful perspective on crime-related subjects that you wouldn't get otherwise.    Either that or the Digital Forensics, if you think you have a knack for it and you enjoy it. You'll have plenty of time to do "in-field" courses in graduate school.