Majoring in University Studies at TAMU?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
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Doe anyone know anything about majoring in University Studies at TAMU?

My daughter is unsure of what major will best fit her. She started out thinking that she wanted to be an English Major, as she loves Shakespeare and writing, but she doesn’t want to teach. She loves fashion and thinks she would enjoy writing for a fashion magazine, but knows those jobs are scarce and usually NOT found in TX. Marketing also sounds interesting to her, but she doesn’t want to be a Business Major. She really enjoyed a Psychology course last semester and is currently in a Sociology course.

She is currently a Freshman (2018) in Blinn TEAM and plans to stay on Blinn TEAM for her Sophomore year, primarily because she isn’t sure of what subject to pursue for a Major.

I saw the University Studies with a Liberal Arts concentration, and that seems like it would fit her. There are 2 minors required and I could see her minoring in English or Psychology or Sociology or Business. BUT, since it isn’t a “traditional” single name major, will it be of any benefit in the future? Will she be employable? What Masters Degrees would follow this major? My daughter is thinking of staying a TAMU for a Master’s Degree in “something”! :slight_smile:

Any suggestions?

This is what is posted on the University Studies BS Liberal Arts Concentration:

"The College of Liberal Arts offers a degree in University Studies with a concentration in Liberal Arts. The degree is intended to provide students the flexibility to create individualized degree plans in the college. The format also provides additional opportunities for study in the College of Liberal Arts when there is restricted admission to specific departments. The University Studies in Liberal Arts is a unique degree plan that consists of a foundational knowledge of Liberal Arts as a discipline, advanced work in social sciences and humanities, and two minors uniquely chosen by each student.

The 21-credit-hour concentration is uniquely administered by the college, rather than by a department, and includes coursework drawn from all 12 college departments and six interdisciplinary programs. The degree, although B.S., requires a year of college-level foreign language and an additional 12 hours of communication, literature, and social science.

A student enrolled in the University Studies concentration of Liberal Arts may not pursue a double major or a double degree."

There is a list of program requirements that looks very flexible and would accommodate quite a range of interests.

Another possible path would be Majoring in Psychology with the idea of continuing on to the new Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology but I’m not sure that she wants that much of a Science focus.

Any info, thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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What sorts of things does your DD like to do, not her intellectual interests exactly, but her preferred activities? Also, there are personality inventories that can be taken that can help point toward lines of work. (I took one a couple years ago and found it pretty accurate. It suggested that I would enjoy being in a helping profession, which was spot on.)

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Many times colleges offer these interest inventories for free in their academic counselling departments. Helping students figure out a major is exactly the purpose. Couldn’t hurt to look into this!

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I regret that I cannot speak about the major you mentioned, not being familiar with it. Hopefully someone else IS familiar.

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What are her summer plans? Would it be possible to have her come up with some possible professions that interest her, then spend one day this summer “shadowing” somebody in each profession (not getting paid, simply following them around and learning about their job)?

My student did that for different fields of engineering, and the companies were more than happy to show my student what they do and how they do it.

I don’t know anything about the major. You and your daughter could ask to meet with the department head and get more info about the program, including who hires their graduates.

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We are planning to have her take an extensive aptitude battery of tests this Summer that will hopefully give her a good idea of her strengths.

As to her interests, she enjoys various forms of Dance, and costume design, reading, (Shakespeare, mysteries, true crime, chick lit, humor and she was really into Harry Potter in Elementary/Middle school), Indy music, fashion, make up, cooking, decorating, travel, shopping. She is a self described “girly girl” . :slight_smile:

She can draw well but has only taken Middle school art classes. Might like photography but currently only takes photos on iPhone. Has not taken theater but I am pretty sure that she would like it. Was way too busy in HS to have a job and will probably take classes in at least the first Summer session, so probably no Summer job this year. Has thought about “shadowing” but hasn’t started the process. Hopefully, the aptitude testing will identify careers that she can shadow next Summer.

On the day that her HS class first started reading Shakespeare, she came home so excited, saying that the language was so amazing that it brought her to tears, but that everyone else was “bored to tears”. Her English teacher for that class adored her, wrote a great LOR and they are now fb friends.

Not into sports, doesn’t play an instrument, quit liking Math after a concussion, enjoyed Bio and Chemistry classes in HS but not Physics.

She is intelligent and also has a high Emotional intelligence. She is a pretty good judge of character and knows a bit about body language. She is very tenderhearted and generous. She is one of the most instinctively kind people I have ever known. (Her older sister can be snarky but this daughter is kind and thoughtful). But she is not a pushover.

She is very resilient, she endured “frenemies” and HS drama without getting bitter. When life gave her lemons, she really made lemonade, finding an alternate path to success when faced with obstacles. She does feel very deeply, and has been very sad when disappointed, but she puts it aside and doesn’t dwell on disappointments. She has a great group of kind Aggie friends and I have seen her blossom with joy and more confidence.

She has very definite color, texture and style preferences in everything from clothing, housewares, make up , jewelry, architecture, and food. If TAMU offered an Interior Decorating degree, that would be great, but she would rather be an Aggie than go somewhere else! :slight_smile: She wants to major in something that she can earn more than minimum wage and she doesn’t want to teach.

Yes, she sounds like a Princess, and that is one of her family nick names! :slight_smile: But more like a Disney princess and not like an emotionally high maintenance person. :slight_smile:

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Hi Y’all:

@Thelma2 or @AggieMomhelp or anyone else, do you know anything about the University Studies Major at TAMU? I know that most parents have Engineering students so maybe I am just out of luck.

The University Studies Major- Liberal Arts Concentration with 2 Minors (one from outside of the College of Liberal Arts) program sounds good, I’m just not sure how employable that degree is in the long run. Or if there is any downside that isn’t obvious at this point.

My daughter is LOVING being an Aggie, I just want her to settle on a Major before the end of next year.
Any help is greatly appreciated. :slight_smile:

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We know a university studies major - first job offer was over 50K. She is in food management, managing a store in a small size chain. She now manages several stores & has quickly run up the corporate ladder. She dabbled in several fields at TAMU, then opted for the university studies since she was almost finished with several minors and didn’t want to continue to get a specific major – for her it worked great. Honestly her friends thought she was crazy, but then ate their words as she is very successful now.

That being said, she worked as did most students with higher job salaries (mine included). Work experience is tough to overcome in this job market - do not focus on only academics or activities - a blank resume is an unproven work ethic to an employer and with stiff competition they are left in the dust. I have watched it happen over and over, with my children’s friends who have now all graduated from colleges. Biggest regret when looking for a job is NOT getting a job before graduating so they have that glaring block of nothing under previous employment. No matter the degree, it took them a good 18 months of doing ‘whatever’ to then land their first ‘real’ job. Frustration hits quick as they keep getting rejected.

Regarding retail, they have a strong retail degree in the business school – it is in the marketing department as a certificate (like a minor/emphasis). It has specific criteria that must be met including an internship. There is also a group called Zales Scholars ( yes, the jewelry store Zales). It is competitive for membership, but is the premier showcase group of TAMU students interested in retail. TAMU also participates in retail competitions and have previously earned top national honors in those. There are also entrepreneur competitions as well. You do not have to be a business major to compete.

Shakespeare wise, I have a friend at another college who is graduating with an English degree with emphasis in Shakespeare and Drama. There is a national internship in Washington DC at the Shakespearean library/archives and another in England. She is interested in working at one of the archives vs. teaching. We have another friend that is working at the Smithsonian within her specialty field.

Hope that helps a little :slight_smile:

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AGmomx2 : THANKS! Your input is very helpful! I did not know abut the retail/marketing certificate but will encourage my daughter to check it out. Could be just what will work for her. :slight_smile:

And thanks for the info on work experience before graduation, I feel strongly about that too. She knows that an internship or Summer job before graduation is something that she needs to do.

The Shakespeare internship also sounds very interesting. And I have heard that TAMU has a Shakespeare related project and I have encouraged her to check it out. I think that she is afraid of continuing to fall 'head over heels" for Shakespeare in college when she knows that she doesn’t want to teach. :confused:

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@Aggiemomagain Not sure how I missed this post. AGmomx2 is right… great degree under a lot of different majors. For instance Business. You can really create your own individual path specific to your interest. It is a new degree offered at TAMU and it’s gaining steam. Must have 30 hours at TAMU and a 2.5 to apply to it (at least for business).

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The Retail Marketing Certificate is only open to Business Majors. :frowning: Too bad, that sounded like something that might work for my daughter.

She is planning on taking a couple of Summer classes at TAMU this Summer, so no job but possibly she will be able to shadow at a couple of places since that requires less of a time commitment. I think she will have at least one class which includes a lot of writing. I am encouraging her to talk with the English advisors about career paths for English Majors which do NOT include teaching, as well as talking to an adviser about Majoring in University Studies in the College of Liberal Arts.

She really enjoys writing ABOUT writing, I think she would make a great book reviewer or a writer for “Cliff Notes/Spark Notes”. Not sure how that works as a career path. LOL.