Among UNL's brightest, multiple majors growing
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By MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star
Burned out after high school, conflicted about whether she should pursue her passion for music or take a more traditional academic path, Anna DeGraff decided to postpone college, pack her bags and move to Boston to think about her options.
While there, the Lincoln High graduate took up reading to aide her soul-searching.
Psychology books, DeGraff found, seemed to speak directly to her.
The number of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students graduating with multiple majors is up slightly from a decade ago, UNL data show. The trend is sharp among UNL’s highest-achieving students, with 40 percent of this year’s Phi Beta Kappa inductees earning multiple majors, up from 28 percent in 2004.
She realized there was no need to choose between music and other academic fields.
DeGraff returned to her hometown and enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a new mission.
“I decided I would have one major that was really a passion of mine and one major that was more serious,” she said. “I enjoyed them both so much that I didn’t want to quit either one.”
DeGraff graduates from UNL today with two majors — music and psychology, an offer to pursue a master’s degree in vocal performance at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an exclusive honorary society reserved for UNL’s highest-achieving students.
Her resume may be rare, but her decision to pursue multiple majors is becoming less so, particularly among UNL’s top students.
Of this year’s 47 Phi Beta Kappa inductees, 19 have more than one major — a whopping 40 percent of the group.
That’s up from 28 percent in May 2004, when just 12 of 43 Phi Beta Kappa members graduated with multiple majors.
Among all undergraduates, about 7.7 percent had multiple majors last May, up from 7 percent a decade ago, UNL data show.
Students also are piling on more academic minors than before, campus leaders say.
The upward trend reflects a growing eagerness among college students to explore all their areas of interest, rather than limit themselves to one discipline, students and administrators say.
And with advanced-placement and dual-enrollment courses now readily available to many high schoolers, some top students are able to earn dozens of credits in general-education requirements before they begin college, making the pursuit of multiple majors even easier.
Students also hope multi-disciplinary resumes will help them stand out in highly competitive job searches and selection processes for graduate school.
DeGraff, for example, said her interviewers at various graduate schools seemed impressed she had a traditional academic background to support her musical education.
And she’s at peace knowing she can find good jobs as she waits for her opera career to take off.
“I have these other skills that are more traditional,” she said. “If I want outside work, I have this other degree.”
Students’ intellectual curiosity is showing in other ways, too: For the fall 2007 semester, UNL recorded a record single-year increase in enrollment in its Division of General Studies, the home of students with undeclared majors.
That shows students are feeling less pressure to choose a major right away, campus leaders say, and as they explore options, they’re developing such strong interests in multiple areas they ultimately decide to pursue multiple degrees.
“Students are much more interested in an array of topics. They want to find out information across the board,” said Rita Kean, dean of undergraduate studies.
“And that’s for the good. It shows students are more curious.”
Karen Lyons, associate director of UNL’s Honors Program and an assistant professor of English and women’s and gender studies, has one student with majors in fisheries and wildlife and music. A former student studied physics and theatre.
Lyons delights when students stretch themselves.
“It’s just an overall trend in higher education: breaking down the barriers between cross-disciplines,” she said. “Students are so excited to learn that they don’t want to feel limited.”
The most common pairings include majors from related disciplines — political science and history, for example, or news-editorial and English. Duos like those are relatively doable, as they include many similar course requirements.
But more unusual pairings like the ones Lyons has seen are popping up.
And foreign languages are increasingly included, as students realize the value of being bilingual, Lyons said said.
Among this year’s Phi Beta Kappas, one majored in math and French, another in anthropology and Spanish and another in math, Spanish, international studies and Latin American studies (yes, that’s four majors).
Beth Ann Tidemann admits the four-major path was tough. But the Sidney native said she’s glad she wasn’t forced to give up any of her interests, and that her resume helped her get into North Carolina State University’s statistics doctoral program.
“The fact that (my majors) were so different as well helped,” Tidemann said. “It showed I could do the math but I also had a different side of me, the creative side. It showed what I was capable of.”
For graduating senior David Solheim, earning majors in economics and international studies happened almost unconsciously as he bounced from college to college, exploring areas of interest.
When he decided to stay in college for a fifth year so he’d have the time to serve as student-body president last year, Solheim realized he’d earned so many credits he was close to picking up two majors.
He figured: Why not?
“I’ve been able to pursue whatever’s caught my fancy,” said Solheim, a Phi Beta Kappa who will enter law school this fall. “The double major’s been a way to add breadth and made my education more dynamic.
“You don’t get set in one thing. I feel my education’s been much more broad and much more enjoyable.”
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.
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Then come back, when all the old geezers are gone. "
John M Fulwider wrote on May 10, 2008 6:29 am:
John wrote on May 10, 2008 6:31 am:
CS wrote on May 10, 2008 8:32 am:
Number Cruncher wrote on May 10, 2008 12:31 pm:
bob wrote on May 10, 2008 9:52 pm:
And CS, I applaud people that get multiple degrees. If that is what they want, do it. Not everyone can and wants to do it. My major required twenty more hours that other degrees, so I didn't have the flexibility to get a second degree. That is the beauty of a free society. Put as much into it as you want. Most get rewarded accordngly. I have a bro-in-law that doesn't like to work, and hence he doesn't make much money. But he does whine a lot. Funny how that works, eh? I better stop there.... he might read this. "