Selection of a Major
In designing a program of study, the student ought to plan for depth of concentration as well as breadth of scope. To study a subject in depth can be one of the most rewarding and liberating experiences a person can secure and can form the basis of the interests and occupations of a lifetime. Although no one should specialize to the neglect of distribution, knowledge advances by specialization, and one can gain some of the excitement of discovery by pressing toward the outer limits of human knowledge in a particular field. Intense study of a seemingly narrow area of investigation will often disclose ramifications and connections that alter perspectives on every other subject. Such study also sharpens judgment and acquaints a person with processes by which new truths can be found.
In order to expose themselves to this kind of experience, students must choose a field of study that will be their major field, that is, the subject in which they will work more intensively than in any other. A list of the more than seventy possible majors in Yale College from which such a choice is to be made is given in chapter IV. Specific requirements for each major are established by the department or program concerned and are explained in chapter IV.
Some students will have made a tentative choice of a major before entering college. Others will have settled on a general area—for example, the natural sciences or the humanities—without being certain of the particular department or program they intend to major in. Still others will be completely undecided. Past experience shows that students who arrive with their minds made up often change them after a year or two. Even students who feel certain of their choices should keep open the possibility of a change. In selecting courses during the first two years, students should have in mind not only the principles of distribution described above, but also the need for a preliminary exploration of the subjects to which they may feel drawn, in order to become aware of their own tastes, talents, and capacities.
A few general principles may help students in selecting courses.
1. In most of the humanities and social sciences, a student may choose from a variety of paths by which to progress from elementary to advanced study. It is possible to begin a major in, for example, English, psychology, or history at the end of the sophomore year. There are few prerequisites to these majors, and students may satisfy them in either the freshman or sophomore year, or even, in some cases, on the basis of work done in secondary school.
2. In some other fields of study, such as the natural sciences, engineering, and foreign languages and literatures, a sequence of courses must be taken in a specified order from the freshman to the senior year. The introductory courses are prerequisites for the intermediate courses, and so on. In order to major in one of these disciplines, a student should lay the groundwork in the freshman year. Otherwise, it may be difficult to begin a major in these subjects in the sophomore year without undertaking study during the summer.
3. In order, therefore, to attain the maximum range and freedom of options for the upperclass years, each student should think about probable choices of a major before arriving at college. A student who is considering the possibility of majoring in a science should begin the appropriate foundational work during the freshman year. This will normally include one or more courses in mathematics along with courses in the natural sciences. Students in the biological sciences normally complete the general chemistry requirement or begin organic chemistry during the freshman year and, if appropriate, begin course work in biology. Students in the physical sciences and in engineering normally pursue course work in chemistry, physics, or both.
4. No matter what major a student selects, knowledge of a foreign language is one of the hallmarks of a liberal education. Students who cannot comfortably use a foreign language would be well advised to take during freshman or sophomore year courses that will enable them to do so. Anyone who intends postgraduate study should keep in mind that the requirements for a Ph.D. degree usually include a reading knowledge of two foreign languages.
5. Many of the courses open to freshmen will build on work they began in secondary school. Students will probably want to choose some of their freshman courses in areas in which they have already acquired some familiarity and interest, but for the sake of intellectual stimulation and to avoid being unduly limited in their range of future choices, they should also elect some courses in fields that are wholly new to them.
