<p>Has anyone heard anything about this program? I think it sounds incredibly interesting, and it was one of the biggest reasons I applied to the school. However, I was just curious if anyone or their friends had any knowledge about it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have multiple friends in the major and am fairly familiar with the coursework. What do you want to know?</p>
<p>What do they think of the major? Do they like it? (Well, I guess it’s obvious since they are majoring in it) How do they think the program is run and the classes are taught?</p>
<p>Most of them seem to like it. A couple of my friends freshman year felt it was too “soft” of a major and switched to something like business or CS that was a little more technically minded. I spoke to one of my friends today about it (he is graduating this spring as an SDS major), and he pretty much summed up the impression I’ve gotten so far:</p>
<p>“The professors are generally really good, but there are a lot of idiots in the program. Either you’re there to work really hard and focus on research or you’re just basically sitting there drooling and getting B’s. Try not to work with those people and you should be fine. The classes are easy with the exception of a select few so it’s possible to graduate without trying hard. But if you want to take the advanced courses (level 400 and up), you’ll find it’s a lot more rewarding career-wise but also a lot more difficult.”</p>
<p>At CMU, the major suffers a lot from a stigma of “psychology student syndrome” of sorts, where a lot of people are SDS majors just because they want to go to college and don’t really care about what they’re studying. It’s like a catch-all for people who haven’t figured out what to do with their life yet.</p>
<p>The positive thing is that when your main major is SDS you have free time to take classes in other colleges on a whim, unlike, say, a CS major or an engineering student. You can also easily pick up a second major.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response!</p>
<p>This may sound a bit odd but here it goes:
In the future I would like to be a musician (I do not want to go to Art school) as well as run a record label. Of course, I would need to market my record label, so would Decision Science be a good major to learn how to market to people? Wanting to be a musician, could Decision Science also be helpful and teach me, in say, creating an album cover and visuals, and maybe even music, that would appeal to people? Of course, this is all a pipe dream, but having just learned about Decision Science tonight through CMU’s website, I became very curious.</p>
<p>I, of course, have a clear goal in life and would try and take the most rewarding course load for this major instead of slacking off, as previously mentioned in this thread.</p>
<p>If you would like to run your own record label from the ground up, SDS is definitely the wrong major for that. You’re going to want to get a degree in business or marketing as well as some really solid entrepreneurship skills. You’re also going to need to know people if you plan to make it in Hollywood. None of those things are SDS’s focus, which is really about research in psychology more than practical application.</p>
<p>I’d recommend Economics in H&SS or a business degree from the Tepper School of Business. CMU also has a startup incubator called Olympus that offers free consultation to students looking to start their own companies. I’ve dealt with them a decent amount and they’ve been very helpful and informative every step of the way.</p>
<p>As for creating album covers - if you run an actual record label company (as in you are the CEO) you likely won’t be doing things like album covers. Typically you would hire an outside contractor or artist who is a professional graphic designer/photographer. Of course, it’s possible to take design classes at CMU and that kind of thing to broaden your knowledge of general design principles - that never hurts.</p>
<p>As for making music, unless you are an enormously popular record label (like EMI, Capitol or something) bands will approach you with their own music and their own stuff already made. Your job is to market them to customers, get them publicity, and connect them with consumers. Those are all going to fall under a business education more than one in SDS.</p>
<p>I recommend you take a look into the business side of running a record label. I think you may have a different vision in mind from what the reality of the recording industry is.</p>
<p>i actually want to take a more DIY approach to music. i do not want to “make it in hollywood,” rather, make it on the internet. also, the music i make and hope to put out isn’t very “hollywood” (hip hop electronic music) i do not want to be a big ceo, i want to run an independent record label (think warp or stones throw). </p>
<p>with the internet being more and more prevalent in everyday life, i need to learn how to market myself through advertising and other mediums, such as youtube and twitter, and i don’t know if a business degree could do me much good, but i think decision science could be good to learn about people and what people respond to.</p>
<p>when i mentioned album art, i meant my own, i would not hire a photographer or designer. again, everything is very DIY</p>
<p>there is a new wave of “bedroom producers,” if you will, that are becoming increasingly popular, such as Flying Lotus and Washed Out, and i want to market to fans of that genre.</p>
<p>you could be completely correct, but again, i’m unsure of how far a business degree could get me with what i have in mind. you also mentioned economics, and i would love to double major/minor in it, if that is possible.</p>
<p>this IS also entirely dependent on if i am able to get into CMU, so i may very well not get accepted and study business or something of that nature at another school!</p>