News' View: Yale should not add minors
We hope the Yale College Council’s call for academic minors does not lead to a new policy.
As reported by the News earlier this week, the YCC on Tuesday submitted a report to the Committee on Majors suggesting the creation of secondary concentrations with fewer course requirements than majors. As few as six credits in a second field should, the YCC proposed, allow students to add minors to their diplomas — and their résumés.
Explaining the council’s recommendation, YCC President Rich Tao ’10 told the News, “We are recommending secondary concentrations not necessarily just because of high student demand, but also because we’ve taken a systematic look at the state of the...
I think that minors would add to the liberal arts education. If you are interested in classics and chemistry, its nearly impossible to major in both -- having a minor would allow one to pursue their professional and academic interests. I hope that this resolution gets approved by the university!
Agreed- I don't want the added pressure of feeling that I have to minor in a field.
i think the article is flawed because it doesn't take into consideration that current students are pressured into pursuing majors for the wrong (or, rather, anti-liberal arts) reasons. in my opinion, a kid (perhaps pressured by the career-oriented environment) is actually more "pressured" in the status quo. with the addition of a minor, that kid could actually free up at least six credits by minoring in what he originally majored in.
also, the article fails to mention that harvard, the cited "founder" of the concentration system, recently introduced minors. doesn't that tell us something?
George Patsourakos
I believe that college undergraduates should be required to have a major and a minor, in order to be eligible for a bachelor's degree. When I was an undergraduate student at Northeastern University, I needed to have at least 48 credits in my major field of study, and at least 24 credits in my minor field of study, in order to graduate. I think this is a good ratio for graduating, because it gives the student a solid background in his or her major as well as his or her minor. The fact is that if there is no requirement for a minor, the student will probably take many unrelated courses, and that will not be of much assistance to the student when he or she is seeking employment!
As a double major I would have to say that the double major sucks. I feel like lots of people who find themselves with 6 or 8 credits in a major and push themselves to double major because they only have 4 credits left which even further restricts their ability to do liberal arts. Also I hate the current policy where i can only count two classes or force themselves to write a forced a combo senior essay.
I actually can see it going both ways regarding pressures of specialization.
My problem is that saying, "I minored in [whatever] in college" doesn't seem like much of a qualification.
Just take whatever courses you like, and if you are actually competent, the rest will take care of itself.
Amen.