Individualized Undergraduate College Majors
by KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman
Last year an event took place in West Philadelphia that could be life-changing for Drexel University students. Administrators discussed developing a self-designed major with a group of undergraduates.
Individualized majors started appearing in the 60s and 70s and now more than 100 colleges and universities offer these customized options. Although difficult to administer, these programs fill a need for nontraditional students reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Those knowing their vocational goals might write a novel rather than a thesis that has less meaning. One NYU student developed a curriculum on "Genocide Studies, Human Rights and International Relations" after meeting a Holocaust survivor at a gym.
Officials at a few major institutions cite individualized majors as more likely to win prestigious awards. Five Duke students became Rhodes scholars and at Bloomington a disproportionate number were Phi Beta Kappans. NYU had four Fulbright scholarship winners and the school's Wasserman Center for Career Development cites students who have fared better in the job market.
It's suggested that this kind of a major would have kept Bill Gates or Steve Jobs in college!
