FIU’s majors are not as diverse as its students

Maria Duque/ Contributing Writer

Our university is known for representing students of various backgrounds and situations, but it seems that the same is not true for representation of majors and disciplines.

In the first awkward weeks of college, the most common question was “what’s your major?”

The vast majority of answers were either biology, chemistry, business or finance.

For someone who entered as an Exploratory student trying to decide between English and Communications, this was not reassuring.

I had the same feeling walking through the Graham Center, seeing only tables for pre-med fraternities and business honor societies.

Where were the professional organizations and honor societies for students in the liberal arts?

While FIU is categorized as a research university, this should not mean non-STEM majors should have less opportunities for involvement and professional advancement as students in business and the sciences.

Of the ten most popular majors, six are either STEM or business-related majors, according to FIU Accountability, The others are a mix of majors from various schools including Communication, Hospitality, and Criminal Justice.

Going by these statistics, STEM and business majors make up approximately 68 percent of the top ten majors.

While they are the majority, the other majors are by no means insignificant, and they need as much of an impact on campus as business and pre-med students do.

This problem can be addressed both by students and from within the departments.

Students who do not see representation of their major can take steps to learn about the available groups to join and work on making them more visible among the general population.

Doing online research will often turn up results for major-specific involvements and even scholarships that may not be advertised elsewhere.

On the other hand, faculty can focus on increasing the availability of internship, job and research opportunities for students in liberal studies and social sciences.

I have found that as I take more upper-level classes specific to my degree, I meet more and more people that share my academic and career interests.

I realized it is not just me who wants to do something besides medicine or business, it just seemed that way because these are the most prominent groups on campus.

Overall, FIU students are just as diverse in the majors as in their backgrounds, identities and interests.

The next important step is to ensure students in all majors feel welcome and supported by the rest of their college community.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo retrieved from FIU flickr.