What major at CAL is most successful at its respective purpose?

[ucbalumnus]

<p>

@sakky

Consider the entire Cal football roster. Notice that, of the ones who have declared a major or who are considering doing so, how an inordinately disproportionate percentage of them nominated American Studies as a major. Keep in mind that American Studies, overall, is not exactly the largest major on campus. Yet it seems to be unusually popular amongst the football team.

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<p>16/91 were in or “considering” American Studies. Yes, that makes it the largest major on the football team. But your other favorite “fluff” majors, Legal Studies and Media Studies *, have only 2 each. Majors with better representation on the football team include:</p>

<p>5 African American Studies
7 Business *
3 Integrative Biology
3 Interdisciplinary Studies
4 Political Economy
4 Political Science
6 Social Welfare
10 Sociology</p>

<ul>
<li>1 was intending to double in Business and Media Studies, not counted in the 2 Media Studies and 7 Business above.</li>
</ul>

<p>Of course, if any major taken by a football player is a “fluff” major, how does that explain:</p>

<p>1 Mechanical Engineering
1 Molecular Environmental Biology
1 Operations Research and Management Science</p>

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@sakky

I continue to believe that American Studies, Legal Studies, and to some extent Mass Comm are the most successful majors at Cal at achieving their intended purpose, which - at least for those majors - seems to be to primarily provide a pathway to a degree and relatively strong post-graduation prospects while demanding little effort from the students.

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<p>Strong post-graduation prospects? American Studies appears to have about a 1:2 ratio of employed : seeking employment in the latest career survey. Legal Studies and Media Studies are better, with about a 2:1 ratio. But none has a particularly good pay level (yes, better than MCB, but that is not saying much). A student not getting substantial non-loan financial aid might not find the upgrade in pay levels for these majors versus some alternative post-secondary activity to be worth the cost of attendance.</p>

<p>Note that American Studies has a senior thesis requirement. If the major is indeed a “fluff” major, that means that you are claiming that the grading standards for such a senior thesis are lax.</p>

<p>Would you have chosen one of these majors if you had to do it all over again? Why or why not?</p>

<p>

@sakky

Other majors may be just as easy, but provide weaker post-grad prospects,

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<p>Low work majors with significantly better job and career prospects:</p>

<p>Business Administration
Cognitive Science
Economics
Environmental Economics and Policy
Applied Math
Statistics</p>