Megan Kolb was so passionate about music, theater, dance and the production of stage shows that when the time came to choose a major in college, she couldn't decide which to pursue.
So she combined them all and made up her own major: performing arts management. Ms. Kolb, the only student with that degree when she graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst last year, has already landed a job as a project manager for a New York City production company. "How great is it to be able to say, 'I created a major that I love and care about, and then to pursue a career in it?' " the 23-year-old says.
A recent article from the WSJ looked at the growing trend in DIY majors at different universities across the country. Can't pick a major? Create one!
According to the College Board, more than 900 four-year colleges and universities allow students to develop their own programs of study with an adviser's help, up 5.1% from five years ago. The programs can spark students' enthusiasm for learning and sometimes equip them for complicated, cross-disciplinary jobs or emerging career fields. Designing your own major, however, takes a lot of effort, plus skill in selling yourself and your major. At most universities, students must persuade at least one professor to sponsor and advise them. They must tie their major to a specific field of work or future study. Most are required to produce a weighty final project or paper. Besides, parents are often wary, fearing their kids will drift too far from training for a real, paying job. Some employers look askance at do-it-yourself majors, too, saying their novelty leaves room for confusion about what, exactly, the grads can do. Nevertheless, the number of organized programs is growing. While schools are struggling to put together majors in sustainability or green building, here a student can go ahead and say, "This is what I want to do and this is how I want to do it. " With luck, their goals will mesh with the jobs of the future.
If you were to create a major for yourself, what would it be? Here is a sampling of some students' D-I-Y majors:
- Ethnobotany
- Magic
- Ethology (animal psychology and behavior)
- Music promotion
- Anthropology of mental health and illness
- Peace and conflict resolution
- Historical clothing
- Sociology of fashion
- Environmental racism
- Complex organizations and informational systems
- Neuroscience, human behavior and society
- Asian-American studies
- Bioethics in crosscultural perspectives
