What college majors are worthy? Or what criteria determines the worthiness of a college major?

[mtmind]

@Htas

Wow, I find this question so abrasive and rude. Who is going to decide what is “worthy”? Seems like this thread is trying to be philosophical and maybe needs a class in logic. Or maybe I missed something.

Regarding your criticism about this thread generally, I assumed that @ucbalumnus started this thread because in the other thread certain posters were repeatedly casting aspersions on “some majors” while refusing to either identify these majors or to articulate a standard by which the majors were deemed unworthy, and that this thread was an attempt to more openly discuss the issue.

FWIW, I agree that is “abrasive and rude” to suggest that certain college majors aren’t worthy of a college degree. I’d add that to my mind is also extremely condescending and more than a little elitist, but nonetheless that is what some posters apparently believe, so it seems worthwhile to air these ideas more openly so that the issue can be better understood by all. Below are some examples of what I mean, so others will understand the context of the question presented in this thread.

Here a poster suggests that colleges offer “pseudo ‘academic’ fields of study” to allow students with “weak academic skills” to graduate . . .

@1NJParent

If they have weak academic skills, why are they allowed to go through college in the first place? Is it because the college offers some pseudo “academic” fields of study so they could major in, since they don’t care (or need to care) about whether such majors lead to a job or career?

Here the same poster laments that many majors are essentially worthless . . .

@1NJParent

Many of them waste education resources and they don’t benefit the students, their families, or the society. In fact, we do all of them a disservice.

And again, suggesting that many majors exist so that colleges can graduate “unprepared/ underprepared students.”

@1NJParent

If there’re too many unprepared/underprepared students, the colleges can’t let them all fail (i.e. not to graduate), can they? The proliferation of majors, and grade inflation, are part of colleges’ responses. Why would that be inconsistent or surprising?

And again . . .

@1NJParent

So you would hand everyone who doesn’t drop out a college diploma in some major?

To my mind, repeatedly casting aspersions on “some majors” without identifying them is much more “abrasive and rude” than openly identifying such majors so that they can be openly discussed.

For full disclosure, I feel the same way about your post in the other thread where you wrote that you wouldn’t name the “much easier” “drop down” majors “for fear of offending but they are well known and have many graduates.” What are these majors? Why bring them up if you won’t identify them? If identifying them is so offensive, then why make the claim in the first place?