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But Mr. Klinkenborg also neglects an important fact: more American students are attending college than ever before. He is correct to say that the distribution of majors has become more career-focused, but these degrees may be going to students who would not have gone to college at all in prior generations.
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The relative decline of majors like English is modest when accounting for the increased propensity of Americans to go to college. In fact, the number of new degrees in English is fairly similar to what it has been for most of the last 20 years as a share of the college-age population.
<p>The examples of majors rising in popularity, as a percentage of the college age population, include health professions, business, criminal justice, and visual / performing arts. Engineering and social studies / history are rising, but not by that much (while declining as a percentage of college graduates), while English and math / statistics are declining.</p>
<p>Some (most?) of the top colleges do not even offer degrees in health professions, business and criminal justice. One would need to major in say, Biology, Economics or Political Science as the equivalent.</p>