CHSBS increases enrollment while liberal arts programs nationwide lose students


The idea that fewer students are interested in liberal arts education because of increasing pressure for more technical degrees is a myth, Rick Kurtz said.

“Our enrollments in this college are record enrollments,” said the interim associate dean for the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education said fewer undergraduates choose majors in liberal arts because of “waning student interest and unprecedented financial duress.”

But Central Michigan University's CHSBS recently added sections in English composition, psychology, philosophy, religion and Spanish, Kurtz said. He said these courses are popular both on and off campus.

Kurtz said although the percentage of students with liberal arts degrees have gone down, the interest in the programs has not. He said the reality is that new technologies have created new career options for students.

Students who are earning technical degrees still need a set of competency skills, he said, and CMU has the “best of both worlds” because it offers both technical and liberal arts programs.

“Some universities mistakenly put focus on technical degrees at the detriment to liberal arts,” he said. “Universities that don’t realize that students want broader-based education are going to be the ones that suffer,” he said.

Port Huron junior Dan Wiley said he chose to major in political science with a minor in public administration to prepare for law school.

“Political science and pre-law go hand-in-hand together,” he said. “It’s one of the most common degrees that lawyers have.”

Wiley said he is a little concerned about the job market because “not everyone that goes to law school becomes a lawyer,” but he believes his education will keep his options open.

Suttons Bay senior Matt Riley also chose a major based on employment concerns. He said he originally wanted to major in both information technology and music, but he chose to focus on IT with a minor in music.

“I’m similarly interested in both, but the prospect of me getting a job is a lot higher in IT,” he said.

Negaunee junior Helen Collins is majoring in political science with a comparative politics concentration. Collins said she chose this major because she has an interest in international relations, but is not sure what she wants to do with her degree.

“I’m getting the degree and I’m not really focusing on what I want to do when I graduate,” she said.

Collins said she believes a background in political science would be useful for a variety of careers, such as international journalism.

“I believe that this degree will help me with whatever I want to do with my career,” she said.

Kurtz said there has been an increase of people with minors in CHSBS because students expect more from their college education and they recognize the demands of employers.

“Students respond to what they hear from their potential employers,” he said. “Students respond by having that competency.”

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