“I wish someone had told me to not focus so much on the (four year) timeline and what you're supposed to be doing, and instead to focus on what you're interested in. That's how all of my majors came about.”
Daria Nicke
Neuroscience, International Affairs & Economics, 2021
One of the reasons advisors encourage students to study as wide of interests as possible is that it forces you to engage with ideas differently. The natural sciences require you to develop problem solving and detail orientation. The social sciences require you to analyze behavior, often on a macro scale involving huge quantities of data. The arts and humanities instill within you the ability to think critically and with empathy about a point of view that isn’t your own, often asking that you write and argue eloquently on its behalf.
The blend of skills, which we call the result of a strong liberal arts education, offers you the flexibility to adapt to whatever challenges you face. That’s why our majors do so well in their careers.
“College graduates today are expected to change jobs more frequently than in the past and adapt to a rapidly changing employment landscape. The liberal arts are designed to train students to adapt, think critically, step out of their comfort zone and work well in trans-disciplinary teams.”
James White, PhD
Interim Dean of Arts & Sciences
Choosing widely also allows you to hedge.
Even if you feel like you have a set career path, adding variation gives you the opportunity to change pathways in the workplace. Your interests might change or you might discover a new approach to an industry. Adding additional majors, even if you aren’t able to complete them within your four years, helps you produce diverse, interesting material well before you graduate.
The result? You have the ability to change course rapidly and get closer to a career you’ll truly love.
Do you want help choosing?
Academic advisors are uniquely able to help you see the way a major looks - classes, content and even the way a major fits alongside others.
