What's with all the Neuroscience, BioMedE, Sports Mgmt, Game Design, and IR majors?

Parents Forum
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<p>What’s with all the Neuroscience, BioMedE, Sports Mgmt, Game Design, IR majors, etc?</p>

<p>Do these majors just sound cool, so kids are picking them? (Reminds me of when being “pre-vet” was super popular.)</p>

<p>I wonder because not all schools offer these undergrad majors, yet kids seem to be excluding certain schools simply because they don’t have one of these majors. </p>

<p>My gut tells me that some of these majors aren’t necessary for undergrad, nor will many of these kids actually graduate in those majors. </p>

<p>I recently rec’d a PM from a mom who was beside herself because her D would only apply to schools with Neuroscience even though none of the schools were likely to be affordable and the D’s grades in science classes had been weak. </p>

<p>Thoughts???</p>

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<p>Colleges are pushing STEM programs- and pushing for development money to expand their science facilities- because it’s what seems hot in today’s world. The better one’s technical programs are and the more kids a school can attract, the better some aspect of their reputation grows. I wouldn’t include sports mgt.</p>

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<p>Every few decades there are new trendy fields – remember how hot women’s studies were in the 70’s/80’s? Or French philosophy/literary criticism?</p>

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<p>To some extent, these things go in cycles. Back when I was in school, psychology and journalism were the hot majors.</p>

<p>Neuroscience: I’ve seen a fair number of posts in which the poster seems to think this is some sort of a pre-neurology major. Also, a lot of pre-meds seem to think it’ll give them an edge for med school admission that they wouldn’t have with just a biology major. As you mentioned, some students mistakenly exclude certain schools if they don’t have a specific neuroscience major since they don’t realize that you can easily create the equivalent of this major, or complete the pre-reqs for grad study in that field.
IR: I think there are a lot of wannabe ambassadors who don’t have a realistic idea about what it takes to work in international careers. A lot of interest seems to stem from the “War on Terrorism”. Many students confuse themselves about the difference between IR or International Studies, and they perseverate about the almost nonexistent differences. Other students mistakenly exclude certain schools if they don’t have a specific IR major since they don’t realize that you can easily create the equivalent of an IR major.<br>
See my posts on this in these threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/749245-undergraduate-foreign-policy-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/749245-undergraduate-foreign-policy-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/other-college-majors/902677-political-science-vs-international-relations.html&lt;/a&gt;
Game Design: Seems to be a lot of kids who want to major in their favorite past time—video games. Though game design definitely has a lot of legitimate uses.
Sports Management: Seems to be a lot of kids who want to major in their favorite past time—watching/playing sports.</p>

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<p>My children didn’t pick these majors because they sound “cool”, but because they are where their interests lie. My D has always liked social studies and languages, is interested in working in DC or abroad, what would you have her major in? IR is a good fit for her, better than history or poly sci, and she is double majoring in economics. My S has known he wanted to work in the video game field since he was 10. He is looking at schools where Game Design is within computer science rather than art, but why not major in exactly what he wants to do? It is a popular major and a growing industry, I have no idea if he’ll get a job, but the same can be said of all the teachers graduating also. Many kids who major in engineering don’t graduate in that major either. So what? There are thousands of colleges, you have to narrow it down some way. Neither of my kids had a shortage of schools to apply to, and many are affordable to us.</p>

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<p>The sports mgmt major has interested both of my sons. Very mixed thoughts about it - many say there are few jobs in this field with only an undergraduate degree and that they are low paying. My older son is a very strong student and made the choice to major in business instead of sports mgmt so as to keep more options open. Younger son is not as strong a student - sports mgmt might be an easier major for him - maybe he would add a business minor to make it a little more serious. I see lots of colleges adding this major so as to attract more male students.</p>

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<p>For the longest time, my son was interested in majoring in something involving video games. He was one of those “gamers”. He even had a small business that he formed while in high school. </p>

<p>CMU, RIP, UPenn were considerations back then. </p>

<p>Then he went to CMU’s summer gaming program. Before he started, he was asked had to choose between art and computer science. Well, he didn’t want to be a programmer, so he chose art. What he really wanted to be was the idea-man overseeing the big ideas and the small details of the game, but neither having to do with programming or art. That summer, he learned a lot, but decided video gaming wasn’t his thing. He’s still quite interested in culture studies or sociology, but he’s moved away from thinking he needed to combine his interests into a college major.</p>

<p>ETA: maybe all these majors are added so as to attract more male students, like like the Women Studies were added as a reaction to the times back then.</p>

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<p>Well, it doesn’t make much sense for a student to go to an undergrad college that doesn’t offer the major they are interested in.</p>

<p>I do think students need to look beyond the label, to get the sense of whether there is an interdisciplinary equivalent. My d was interested in IR – her college doesn’t offer that as a specific major, but she could and did opt for a political science major with an international focus; she studied abroad, she took courses focused on international political issues, and she graduated and found a job within her field. </p>

<p>But it wouldn’t have made much sense for her to opt for a college that did not offer her the opportunity to get the educational foundation she needed for an intended career. </p>

<p>I don’t quite understand the idea that no schools that offer X major are affordable – there are a wide range of schools, including public, that offer various majors. The solution isn’t to pick a school based on affordability and then pick a major from its offerings – rather the solution is to try to find an affordable school that also will meet the student’s educational goals.</p>

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<p>I believe a good general rule is to go with basic, foundational, traditional majors, that are usually broad in nature, rather than more specific ones. I think often the latter sound more appealing to young people because they fit more closely with particular interests and perceived jobs, when in actuality broader traditional degrees are more likely to be widely recognized and be useful for a wider range of occupations and grad school possibilities.</p>

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<p>The sports mgmt major has interested both of my sons. Very mixed thoughts about it - many say there are few jobs in this field with only an undergraduate degree and that they are low paying.</p>

<p>Right…and from what I understand, it’s just as effective to get an undergrad in some other area of business (management, marketing, etc) and then do sports management for grad (if at that point, the student is still interested in the major).</p>

<p>*yet kids seem to be excluding certain schools simply because they don’t have one of these majors.</p>

<p>Well, it doesn’t make much sense for a student to go to an undergrad college that doesn’t offer the major they are interested in.*</p>

<p>That would be true if the major was one that doesn’t have alternatives. For instance, if you want to be an engineer, then you need to go to a school with engineering. Same if the goal is to get a BSN (nursing). However, for majors like the ones in question, that exact major is not necessary for an undergrad. </p>

<p>There are kids who are insisting on BioMedE for undergrad, yet that major isn’t necessary either. Some would even say that it would be better to do EE or MechE with some extra bio classes to be more marketable.</p>

<p>My example of neuroscience. The student wants to go to med-school. Majoring in neuroscience is NOT necessary for med school. And, if a school doesn’t offer neuroscience, often a mix of chem, bio, and psych classes can do as well.</p>

<p>As for issue of finding affordable schools. This family has a high EFC that is unaffordable, so their child needed to get big merit. Her stats were good, very but not quite high enough for the big merit at many schools that offered big merit. So, her choices were more limited to 3rd/4th tiers that offer big merit. It was very difficult to find any that had Neuroscience that she would consider going to (that wouldn’t be a commuter/suitcase school). The parents were hoping to convince her to do some kind of Bio, chem, Psych combo major (or customized major), but the D was stubbornly sticking with neuroscience (which again would not be needed for med school). </p>

<p>I do think some of these majors have a trend associated with them.</p>

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<p>mom2 - I printed out the course requirements for marketing and sports mgmt at a college that interests my son and compared. Without a doubt, the sports mgmt major looks easier - fewer requirements - if any - in the areas of accounting, calculus and statistics. For my son - it might make semse to do the easier and more interesting sports mgmt major and a minor in business than major in business - at least that’s the way it appears. Not saying this is the best route to go for everyone - but it seems to make sense for S2. An internship is required and there is also a sports mgmt society that does lots of “hands-on” work at many events. For a boy who is strong neither in math nor English - this may be a viable alternative.</p>

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<p>Neuroscience is just a Chem/Bio double major, really, and tends to fall into a BIO degree, with a “concentration” in Neuroscience.</p>

<p>Cognitive Neuroscicence is a Chem/Bio/Psych triple major.</p>

<p>It is simply helpful to have an advisor who knows all the requirements under those circumstances. There’s a lot of interesting brain and neuro research going on right now, along with the genome work. </p>

<p>But it’s a a lot of classes to get in, plus the basic requirements, which is why I think the kids like to know it’s all in one place. I would assume the same for BiodMedE</p>

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<p>To some extent, I agree that if a school doesn’t offer your major, it’s often really hard to study it. Sometimes, downselecting the schools to make sure that the major is offered is not a bad way to downselect from a zillion schools. </p>

<p>Neuroscience, BioMedE: these are hot cutting edge areas. Schools that offer these majors likely have enough critical mass in these areas to provide better research opportunities than schools that don’t. These could be really good grad school preparation. More traditional engineering may make it easier to get a job right out of undergraduate though. </p>

<p>IR - there are plenty of programs that offer these, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find this major. Maybe poly sci with an international focus is just as good, I really don’t know. </p>

<p>Game Design. Some kids aren’t so education focused, and going into majors like these in a way, gives them a reason to go to college, so why not. Some schools like Digipen are even reputable and lead to a focused career path in a career that can be quite lucrative. These schools provide narrow preprofessional training, but some people like narrow. Who am I to argue. </p>

<p>Sports Management: Theo Epstein went to Yale, Larry Lucchino went Princeton, Brian Cashman went to Catholic University. None of these schools offer a major in sports management. On the other hand, maybe you can get a job in the front office of a professional sports team selling tickets and get tickets to the big games for yourself :-). I can see the appeal.</p>

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<p>Why would someone HAVE to major in neuroscience (or biomedE) specifically if they wanted to go to med school?</p>

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<p>They don’t, but they could be interested in those subjects and most people who enter as pre-meds don’t go to medical school.</p>

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<p>actually, no.</p>

<p>Some kids are interested in pure research. At the schools with this concentration, there are profs who are involved in this research. </p>

<p>but, I’m sure there are other motivations, as well.</p>

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<p>I would throw engineering in the mix, especially for females. Every young woman I know who had some interest in math are currently majoring in engineering.</p>

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<p>Some students want these because they’re trendy but others want them because they’re interested in the career or the field and want to hit the ground running. I remember reading about some of the first game design programs. Traditional computer science programs often looked at game design as a sort of poor cousin, and didn’t teach the skills that were needed. There was an industry hungry for employees who could start working immediately out of school, and students hungry for game design programs. Entry was highly competitive, and the programs were tough. A friend’s two sons both went through this type of program. They graduated within the last few years (can’t remember what program), and they’re both gainfully employed in the industry. </p>

<p>D1 wants to study IR, among other things. She’s applying to some of The Usual Suspects :slight_smile: but is also applying to schools that offer a Poli Sci major with an international studies concentration or option. What doesn’t make sense for her is to apply to a school where the Poli Sci department doesn’t offer that type of option. The student the OP mentions has other issues (pre-med looking for merit money, so-so grades in science), but the same principle could apply: look for schools that do have neuroscience coursework, even if they don’t have the major.</p>

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<p>I wonder what these skills are.</p>

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<p>Really? You would put engineering (electrical, chemical, civil, aerospace, mechanical, etc.) in the conversation that the OP has opened…
Newer majors that students are gravitating towards, perhaps even overlooking some very good educational choices that do not offer these choices. (At least that’s the topic as I understood it).</p>

<p>If you are suggesting that students who are good in math or science often decide (or are steered towards) engineering by default, then I would agree that can be true sometimes. This is nothing new. This is why some schools are known for having ‘weeder’ classes. Killer first year classes that tend to redirect students to other majors they have interests beyond engineering.</p>

<p>Women in engineering is a big push from the SCHOOLS. They recruit heavily, offer scholarships, generally an advantage in admissions, etc. Girls with high scores and grades, specifically in math and sciences, can find very large incentives to go into engineering. So, which came first…the chicken or the egg?</p>

<p>I hardly think I would add engineering in the ‘new major on the block’ category.</p>