For Virginia DeLaTorre, what to declare as her major came as a surprise. While working in a student job at the Primate Center a few years ago, she had a chance to layout some materials -- and she fell in love with graphic design.
"I love the way shapes, lines and circles can look simple and clean," said DeLaTorre, now a senior. She had expected to major in anthropology.
In choosing her major, DeLaTorre made one of the biggest decisions of her young life and one that reflects student interest in visual culture. Trends in majors, as in higher education generally, are typically slow to change. It can often take years for student interest in a major to heat up or cool down.
How has the trend in academic majors at UC Davis changed in the past five years? A little, but not a lot to put it simply. Eight of the 10 most popular majors from 1998 remain in the top 10 for 2002. Still, an increasing interest in the social sciences is evident. Four of the top five majors are now in the Division of Social Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, compared to two in 1998. Of the top 10 majors, five are in the social sciences.
Steven Sheffrin, dean of the Division of Social Sciences, said, "I believe this shift toward the social sciences is permanent. Students are viewing these fields as an excellent preparation for professional training and scholarship beyond the undergraduate level."
He noted that the number of UC Davis students enrolling in social science majors has increased 61 percent since 1977-78.
"That's a much higher figure than the campus average," Sheffrin said. "Young people are increasingly interested in the politics and economics of the society in which they live. The study of psychology, too, is highly popular."
In 2002-03, 26 percent of all UC Davis undergraduate students were enrolled in social science majors; 17 percent were in majors in both the Division of Biological Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 15 percent in the College of Engineering, 7 percent in the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, 3 percent in the Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and 15 percent were undeclared.
Sheffrin said the social sciences offer a certain topical and analytical appeal to students. "The study of social science allows people to apply their skills in some way to enhance society and broaden our understanding of the world we live in," he said.
The largest major on campus -- biological sciences -- had 1,861 students enrolled this fall.
Phyllis Wise, dean of the Division of Biological Sciences, says that UC Davis has one of the largest concentrations of life scientists of any place in the world. The study of genomics, in particular, reflects the interdisciplinary strengths of the campus.
"Genomics is truly a platform that will allow us to link the life sciences with law, the humanities, arts, math and physical sciences, engineering and the social sciences," she said.
Another reason for the popularity of the biological sciences, Wise said, is that many students view the program as the ideal "stepping stone" toward professional degrees in human medicine and veterinary medicine.
The appeal of the arts, humanities, and cultural studies is that students who major in those disciplines work in all professions and all industries and make transitions in and out of careers much more easily, says Elizabeth Langland, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.
Communication skills make these students stand out, she said. "Students in the humanities learn to write effectively and persuasively, and that's an asset in a society where good writing skills are on the wane. In addition, HARCS' majors learn to think creatively, critically and analytically," Langland said.
The interest in majors in the arts and humanities is on the upswing for a number of reasons, she suggested. "The economic slide in Silicon Valley sends a strong message that even the professions that were considered a safe bet are vulnerable. If an individual has only computer skills to offer in the world of work, that person isn't prepared to meet changes with the skills and flexibility that can come from a broad-based education."
Langland believes professional schools look more closely at a student with a liberal arts education because these students tend to be more well-rounded than students with a more focused technical or business background.
Caps affect trends
Some majors are harder to get into than others. "Capped majors" restrict admission due to very high student interest and demand. One such major at UC Davis is managerial economics, which requires a 2.8 GPA requirement in five prerequisite courses for admission to the major.
Tu Jarvis, associate dean for the human sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said that student enrollment in managerial economics soared in the mid 1990s to almost 1,000. Managerial economics, in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, was attracting many students interested in an applied economics degree that was thought to be a strong background for business.
Jarvis said the campus wanted to steer more students into a degree in economics and encouraged the department to impose a GPA requirement that would reduce enrollment. The department did not want to have to deny students entry to the major, he added, but felt that it was the lesser of two evils and that some enrollment limitation was a first step in obtaining additional faculty that were needed to meet its teaching load.
Now, about 700 students are enrolled in the major. Up to now, the department has not obtained additional faculty and the program remains affected, Jarvis said.
DeLaTorre said that, after she earns her degree, she plans to return to her native Los Angeles. She'd like to study for a Master of Fine Arts in design, teach at a local high school, and even run her own design agency. She is currently interning as a student design assistant in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
"There are so many talented and gifted young people out there," DeLaTorre said. "I'd like to connect with them in meaningful ways."
_____________________
UC Davis offers 110 undergraduate majors. The most popular ones, ranked by the total number of students enrolled in 2002-03, include:
1. biological sciences
2. psychology
3. economics
4. communication
5. political science
6. managerial economics
7. English
8. sociology
9. animal science
10. electrical engineering
In 1998-99, the most popular majors were:
1. biological sciences
2. psychology
3. managerial economics
4. biochemistry
5. English
6. political science
7. human development
8. economics
9. sociology
10. animal science