What do Folklore and Mythology, Public Health and Dance all have in common? They are majors offered at universities other than DU. This is not to say that DU needs to adopt these particular programs of study; for most of us, DU has great programs that we are already studying.
However, I know some people that are still looking at what they would like to study and haven’t found success or comfort in the areas in which they have already taken classes.
For that reason, I believe that DU should offer more major and minor options.
Many students enter college without the faintest idea of what they want to study. Conversely, many students enter college with an idea of something they want to study, but don’t find it as fulfilling as they had originally thought. Both of these can be solved with more options in both majors and minors.
This issue could certainly be solved by picking a different college that offers more variety or even particular programs.
However, DU would be missing out on potentially bright students who can further add to the diversity of the school by studying something less common.
DU should strive to attract these students through the introduction of more major and minor degree options.
Having these additional majors and minors would not be a waste of resources, either.
There would be people to take the classes. Even if there is not a large influx of students at first, over time these programs will attract even more students.
Additionally, there will be students who will take classes in these programs to explore their options. These programs would start off slow, for sure, but in the long-run, they would be great assets to the students of DU.
The argument could be made that there would be a logistical problem with having more majors and minors. This would include having to hire more faculty members, which of course will increase costs.
New departments would have to be created and new professors hired to fill the newly created departments.
Again, if only a few more majors and minors are offered, the benefit of attracting more students and adding variety to current students’ possibilities outweighs the costs.
At the very least, more minors and class options should be offered. If majors prove to be too difficult to add, then minors are an easier alternative for all.
They can be incorporated into other existing departments and may not even need new professors to teach them.
By offering more minors and thus more class options, then students can at the minimum expand their horizons even more and add depth to their majors.
Adding options in classes, majors, and minors will only benefit the student body.
It will add variety and give students who don’t know what they want to study other opportunities to find something they enjoy.
For those reasons, it only makes sense for DU to attempt to increase the choices in both majors and minors.
