<p>I’m not sure I agree either. Actually I’m petty sure I don’t.
There seemed to be faculty interaction among the colleges, when I attended Cornell.
But more importantly, undergraduates can, and do, avail themselves of the offerings of all of these various colleges. I took courses in three different colleges there, some of which would not have been available at a more narrowly focused university. I overcame the problem of all of them not being in the same building by… walking?</p>
<p>Wrong interpretation of what I’m saying-- the truth is, interdisciplinary concentrations require significant service to a non-departmental (therefore, non-promoting or tenure granting) group at the university at most schools. Where departments are larger and hold more power and opportunities, you’re more likely to see people not step out of that system. I worked at MSU in a chemistry group that did a lot of interdisciplinary work-- it’s happening everywhere all the time. However, are you as likely to see professors advise and read thesis for people doing work that the department won’t consider as service to itself when these departments are more ingrained? Of course not.</p>
<p>It’s not a negative thing or a bad thing nor do I think it’s a measure of research interests. However, I do think at smaller schools in general have an advantage here versus middle schools with the largest schools and those with preprofessional opportunities having the biggest advantage (because they are able to support far more departments across more diverse interests).</p>
<p>Does that make sense?</p>
<p>This isn’t entirely about faculty research ties it’s about this translating to curricular offerings like teaching classes, supporting concentrations, etc.</p>
<p>I also think that taking courses in different areas is not the same as doing interdisciplinary work. There’s an integrative component to interdisciplinary work that does not happen by taking courses in one department in isolation with course work in another.</p>
<p>And btw, collegehelp, if you think that CIP is accurate in their grouping of things like “East Asian Studies”, “Slavic Studies”, and “French Civilizations” as area studies and a single major, well then, you have faith in some pretty dumb numbers. That single heading only can cut off a lot of offerings and a big difference in offerings across many schools on this list.</p>
<p>If I’m understanding (maybe not):I’m guessing the chance of this negatively impacting an undergraduate,as a practical matter, is dwarfed by the much more evident advantages of having more courses and opportunities for study available. I don’t know that there really is a substantial institutional impediment surrounding interdisciplinary projects, should one desire to do undertake them. </p>
<p>But someone really interested in this aspect should investigate what the situation really is there. At all universities of interest.</p>
<p>I just think this is hard to measure, and I’m in here mostly to point out I think the numbers, while convenient, are not necessarily accurate. </p>
<p>It’s very difficult to compare across 70+ universities how easy it is to get a new research center started, how much communication is occurring across departments, how that’s translating to undergraduate curricular options, etc. This all happens completely differently in different places and one model definitely does not fit all.</p>
<p>How did you get the stats on the number of concentrators in each major? And if you have them can I get Yale?</p>
<p>Yale doesn’t publicly have data like Brown’s on their OIR webpage. This is the closest stuff I found-- most popular concentrations and course registration data:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W038_YC_Popular_Majors.pdf[/url]”>http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W038_YC_Popular_Majors.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W034_YC_Regs_byDept.pdf[/url]”>http://www.yale.edu/oir/open/pdf_public/W034_YC_Regs_byDept.pdf</a></p>
<p>I haven’t checked the USDoE webpage, which is where I assume collegehelp is getting his numbers.</p>
<p>Yale University</p>
<p>History 175
Political Science and Government 152
Economics 139
Biology, General 96
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 96
Psychology, General 77
English Language and Literature, General 65
Area Studies 55
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology 36
Fine and Studio Art 31
English Language and Literature/Letters, Other 29
Architecture 23
Anthropology 23
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft 23
Music 23
Biomedical/Medical Engineering 21
Philosophy 21
Engineering Science 19
Physics 19
Film/Video and Photographic Arts 17
Cognitive Science 17
Sociology 15
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities 15
Mathematics 15
Chemistry 14
Religion/Religious Studies 14
Computer and Information Sciences, General 11
Mechanical Engineering 9
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 9
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 9
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 9
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, and Gender Studies 8
Chemical Engineering 6
Linguistics Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services 6
Astronomy and Astrophysics 4
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 4
Engineering Physics 3
Applied Mathematics 3
Archeology 2
Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 2
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering 1
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences 1
Mathematics and Computer Science 1
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 1</p>
<p>I noticed that two-thirds of the students at Yale are housed within only 8 majors. That is another way to look at the diversity in student interests. At Brown, two-thirds are housed within 13 majors. That does not seem diverese either but is more diverse than Yale.</p>
<p>At Cornell, two-thirds of the students are housed in 18 different majors.</p>
<p>Biology, General 321
Agricultural Business and Management 224
Human Resources Management and Services 220
Hospitality Administration/Management 213
Economics 148
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering 124
Animal Sciences 121
Operations Research 114
Political Science and Government 109
Mechanical Engineering 107
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services 101
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other 89
Psychology, General 84
Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering 80
English Language and Literature, General 75
Chemical Engineering 71
Architecture 66
Computer Science 66
Sociology 65
Communication and Media Studies 64
Fine and Studio Art 63
Public Policy Analysis 57
Area Studies 54
History 54
Food Science and Technology 51
Civil Engineering 50
Engineering Physics 47
Chemistry 42
Materials Engineering 36
Mathematics 34
Environmental Design 33
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 33
Agriculture, General 32
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies, and Humanities 32
Plant Sciences 31
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services 31
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 30
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning 26
Computer and Information Sciences, General 25
Physics 19
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 19
Linguistics Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services 17
Landscape Architecture 16
Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology 16
Philosophy 14
Biomathematics and Bioinformatics 13
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences 11
Anthropology 10
Film/Video and Photographic Arts 9
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft 8
Science, Technology and Society 8
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering 7
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, and Gender Studies 6
International Agriculture 6
Archeology 6
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 5
Astronomy and Astrophysics 3
Music 3
Religion/Religious Studies 3
Architectural History and Criticism 2
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 2
Dance 2
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics 2
Zoology/Animal Biology 1</p>
<p>Collegehelp-- would those 13 include Engineering (we have 7 different ABET certified areas…) or area studies (which is multiple areas)?</p>
<p>Also, btw, I can’t figure out what Human Resources is at Brown… we don’t have that as a concentration. </p>
<p>I actually think that measure is more interesting, as would be the number of concentrations with fewer than 5 students.</p>
<p>Here is how the CIP codes are described for Human Resources. Perhaps Brown mis-classified Public Policy or Public Admin or Educational Administration…</p>
<p>52.1001 Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General. A program that generally prepares individuals to manage the development of human capital in organizations, and to provide related services to individuals and groups. Includes instruction in personnel and organization policy, human resource dynamics and flows, labor relations, sex roles, civil rights, human resources law and regulations, motivation and compensation systems, work systems, career management, employee testing and assessment, recruitment and selection, managing employee and job training programs, and the management of human resources programs and operations. (Occupational Crosswalk)</p>
<p>52.1005 Human Resources Development. (NEW) A program that prepares individuals to apply integrated training, organizational development, and career planning and counseling skills to the design, management, and evaluation of programs to improve individual productivity, employability, and job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness. Includes instruction in psychology; organizational behavior; principles of adult education; occupational counseling; skill testing and evaluation; program design; consulting practice; organizational development; and applications to issues such as training, management development, customer service, and total quality management. (Occupational Crosswalk)</p>
<p>52.1099 Human Resources Management and Services, Other. Any instructional program in human resources management not listed above. (Occupational Crosswalk)</p>
<p>Those number just don’t make sense with the OIR stuff-- we have more political science concentrators than listed there…</p>
<p>My guess looking at the 2007-2008 list on Brown is that Human Resources is Commerce, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship miscategorized.</p>
<p>I think these little inconsistencies make using CIP reporting less reliable than I’d like this kind of comparison to be, personally. This is just one school and we’re seeing numbers not match up at all. If I remember to, I’m going to talk to the registrar on Tuesday and ask him about CIP reporting.</p>