ACADEMICS — When students first apply to UCSD, they are
presented with a list of over 100 majors and specializations from which they
are to pick only one.
For the lucky few, this is a no-brainer. The lawyer to-be
chooses political science or philosophy and the premed student eagerly clicks
on human biology or any other science major that UCSD seems to have in
abundance.
But what about the applicants with more variegated
interests, or worse, interests that aren’t easily translatable into a specific
major? Are these students merely expected to settle for something they have
little interest in? Besides, most new applicants don’t even have a clue as to
what they might be interested in studying or even what they want to be doing
for the rest of their life, and why should they? UCSD students switch majors at least once
during their college careers.
Thankfully, for these students, there is hope. All but one
undergraduate college (Sixth) offers what has come to be known as individual
studies, a program whereby students have the opportunity to conceive, plan and
take on an original major of their own design.
It has its restrictions, but it is nonetheless a great way for
indecisive Tritons to make the best of a situation that would have otherwise
been downright suffocating.
Students pursuing these individualized programs, according
to Thurgood Marshall Academic Advising Dean Anne Porter, are habitually
“dissatisfied because of their creative, diverse interests” that no existing
major can accommodate at UCSD. Examples of past student-designed majors, among
others, have been education in society, neurophilosophy and space science and
systems. Interestingly, several majors now on the list of UCSD-sanctioned
programs had, in fact, at one time, been individual studies majors, notably
Japanese studies and Latin American tudies.
Creating a major from scratch is no easy undertaking, and
only the most dedicated trailblazers need apply. In addition to having good
academic standing (usually a GPA upwards of 3.25), students who enroll in ISM
must develop a proposal of several pages stipulating the “intellectual and
academic reasons” behind their decision to pursue that particular degree
program.
Adding to the hassle, the interested student must also
consult a faculty member who not only agrees to write an approval letter for
the proposed coursework, but also mentor the student throughout the entire
process.
Putting together a coherent, successful petition for an ISM
can take up to two quarters, according to Eleanor Roosevelt Academic Advising
Dean Sarah Spear-Barrett. Not only that, but some colleges have additional
requirements:
that all individualized majors culminate in a written thesis, which deter some.
Unsurprisingly, very few students muster up the resolve to
brave the complicated and lengthy process.
In the experience of Catherine Joseph, Warren Academic
Advising head, the ISM program at UCSD is something students choose to do
“gingerly,” and by and large the numbers are “very small,” with only three
Warren College students currently pursuing ISMs (two of whom have merely
expanded the already-existing law and society minor into a major). Even
rigorousness, has only seen one petition come across the desk of its Academic
Advising Dean, Mirasol Española.
As UCSD surpasses 160 majors, this already uncommon program
is unfortunately becoming even more rare.
While it is great that new additions to the official major
list produce more and more students who don’t have to settle for a premade yet
uninspiring major, the endurance of this sort of program on campus is a
comforting break from UCSD’s usual, paralyzing impersonality. It is one of the
last vestiges of what college should be about: the exploration and realization
of one’s intellectual interests — regardless of restrictive major structures.
and other forward-thinking schools have already taken this notion to heart,
giving students free reign to determine the structure of their own education.
Granted, many students do prefer to avoid the guesswork and simply let an
academic department decide what should comprise a particular major program, but
for others, the option of another course of action must be made available.
Students who enjoy taking classes that are edifying but may not necessarily be
part of a predetermined list of required courses should not be inhibited. Not
only is this necessary for their own sense of personal autonomy, but many
Tritons might find that their course in French literature, previously thought
to be “superfluous,” is more interesting than their taxing CHEM 6A class —
leading to a potentially beneficial career change.
But as with any good thing, the ISM program has its
drawbacks. After all, it is not just the massive paperwork and obligation to
ingratiate oneself with professors that make academic advisors reluctant to
encourage participation in the program.
Graduating with a degree in biological illustrative art or
health care & social issues (some examples of other past ISMs), though
undoubtedly fulfilling for the student, poses problems for graduate school
admission and future employment prospects.
“A graduate … program or … a company cannot readily identify
what it means to be an African studies or Middle East studies major at UCSD,
for instance … because the requirements for these majors are not something they
can look up in the catalog,” Spear-Barrett said.
Muir College Dean of Academic Advising Kay Reynolds warns
that certain Muir students have had difficulty finding work as elementary or
even high school teachers. For this very reason, most of the students who
choose to create their own majors are already double-majors. One of the
students pursuing a law & society major at
for example, will also graduate with a BA in psychology, increasing his or her
marketability.
Disadvantages aside, UCSD’s individual studies program is a
wonderful opportunity for students to break out of the mold and discover,
develop and embrace their true academic calling.
It promotes individuality and creativity — two concepts
rarely explored at this school of over 20,000 students. Invoking the words of
celebrated poet William Cowper, UCSD and its students must recognize that
variety is indeed the spice of life.
