The Badger Herald

NEWS

UW’s ‘major’ headache

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Darryl Schnell:

Crowley to ALRC: drop drink specials (October 20, 2005)
Mayor veto on Overture possible (October 20, 2005)
Building commission rejects 9-story proposal (October 20, 2005)
In-Depth: Changing the face of Badger fans (September 4, 2006)
'Sconnie Nation' a big hit at UW (September 7, 2006)

by Darryl Schnell

Friday, January 19, 2007

Some students come to the University of Wisconsin knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives.

However, many students come with just a sense of their desired pursuits, while others come without a clue.

Eventually the undecided students must declare a path, as long as graduation is a part of their plan.

However, the exclusivity of some majors, students’ lack of awareness of others and the sheer popularity of certain fields leaves the university lopsided in terms of specific majors students choose to study.

As a result, more than half of UW’s 40,000 students belong to the College of Letters and Science, according to the UW Enrollment Report for last semester.

While majors like biology, biochemistry, elementary education and mechanical engineering are quite popular, each of these majors belongs to its own college. The College of Letters and Science, however, brings a wide variety of majors — like political science, English, history and communication arts — to the table.

According to the College of Letters and Science Dean Gary Sandefur, the college fits the general idea many students have when they decide to attend the university.

“A lot of people come to the University of Wisconsin specifically to get a liberal arts education,” Sandefur said. “Even though some don’t necessarily know what they want to do, many students are attracted to [the College of Letters and Science] because of the variety of options and majors it offers.”

He said the College of Letters and Science contains more than 50 majors, which can make decisions difficult for undeclared students choosing a collegiate path.

Many students will be drawn to a major by a class or a professor they particularly enjoy, but when guiding students, Sandefur said he and the college’s counselors challenge students to consider two other things when they decide on their major.

“The first thing we ask students to think about is their plan for their life after their time at the university, and [we ask them to choose] a major that allows them to do it,” Sandefur said. “The other thing students need to think about is what they really enjoy doing.”

The longer students wait to declare their major, Sandefur added, the more difficult fulfilling the credit requirements can become.

Even though most students are likely aware of this fact, more than one-fourth of UW’s student body had not declared a major by fall 2006.

According to Tim Walsh, director of UW’s Cross College Advising Service, the number of undeclared students is not surprising.

“Each year at UW, about one-third of the entering class of approximately 5,600 freshmen self-identify as undecided or exploring and are assigned to CCAS advisors,” Walsh said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald. “This number has held steady for the past 12 years.”

Walsh said that in many cases, when it comes to finding a career or studying in graduate school, a student’s major is not necessarily that important.

“Since there are many jobs out there for which there is no single corresponding undergraduate major, employers in those areas know they will need to train new employees in the specific skills for these positions,” Walsh said. “As a result, traditional liberal arts majors are often the best choice.”

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (January 21, 2007 @ 9:21pm):

Corrections to the article: The Biology Major is, in fact, granted from the College of Letters and Science.
The Biochemistry Department does not have its own college. It's in the college of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The current employment dependency on specialization, licensing, certification, etc., has degraded what it means to get an education. Being 'undecided' isn't a bad thing. I'm not saying that breadth is better than depth. But, there's far too many people depending on their credentials than on any real competence.

Let's take K-12 teaching, for example. Why do we need teacher certification? Certainly, it's not to test teacher competence in various subjects. If so, why aren't college professors (who have terminal degrees) allowed to teach K-12 without a license. On the other end of the spectrum, why not allow anyone has something to teach, teach? Well, they could be perverts, extremists, and tinfoil hat types. But, on the other hand, should we really blindly trust government certified teachers with our children?

There needs to be more flexibility in how degrees are granted. Far too many students are locked up 7-8 years trying to fulfill degree requirements. The Bursars Office loves to take your tuition checks, but really, students eventually need to get on with their lives. Universities are putting too much emphasis on creating specialists ready for the workforce, trained only in the current state of the art. Students aren't given an opportunity to learn how to adapt to the changing world. Anyhow, a biochemist earns the title with proven experience, not by appending their name with degree acronyms.

Being only well-schooled leads to a self-perpetuating system of administrators and life-long bureaucrats. Being well-educated gives the individual freedom to do great things--as well as deleterious things, but the scope is limited to the individual, not to an entire society.

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.