LEANN BURKE / THE DEPAUW
For over a decade, at least 1/10 of DePauw University graduates’ degrees showed double majors, partly because the univeresity’s distribution requirements force students to take classes in several departments.
At the turn of the century, double majors at DePauw University totaled about 10 percent of each graduating class. By 2005, graduating classes witnessed a slight increase in double majors to around 12 to 15 percent.
In 2010, when DePauw changed its distribution requirements, 19 percent of the graduating class consisted of double majors, the highest percentage since 2006, when 600 students graduated and 114 of them were double majors. Of all students currently enrolled at DePauw who have declared a major, 17.6 percent are double majors.
The distribution requirements from 2005 to 2010 were much different from what they are today. Students were expected to take two classes in six distinct categories: natural science and mathematics; social and behavioral sciences; literature and arts; historical and philosophical understanding; foreign language and self-expression. Depending on one’s major and interdisciplinary focus, these distribution classes filled up 10 to 12 classes for each student’s transcript.
The class that entered DePauw in the fall semester of 2010 began their careers with the distribution requirements that students are familiar with today: arts and humanities, social sciences and science and mathematics. Registrar for DePauw, Ken Kirkpatrick, explained this change in distribution classes as the “Six-for-Six” plan.
“I think I favor our old system where we had 13 gen-ed courses,” said English professor, Greg Schwipps. “They were more prescriptive and it took students longer to fulfill those requirements, but it tightened things up in a good way, I think.”
The distribution requirements are hugely important to the purpose of a liberal arts education; however, taking fewer of these classes allows students to go more in-depth with their majors as well as allows them to take on a completely different major if desired.
Sophomore Nichole Dyer is a biology and religious studies double major.
“Since middle school, I knew I wanted to go into science,” Dyer said. “Because of the distribution requirements, I ended up taking Christianity with Valerie Ziegler for my [Arts and Humanities credit].”
Schwipps explained how he has two advisees who double major in English writing and economics, which is another intriguing major combination.
“These are students who came to DePauw as primarily econ-minded students, came in the Management Fellows program and discovered they have a love for writing.”
Some faculty believe this flexibility in classes is a bad thing, however. Kirkpatrick said, “I hear particularly from faculty that students double major too much. It overly focuses their studies and they don’t get enough variety.”
Schwipps tends to agree with this sentiment. “The worst kind of double major advisee is the student who comes in and says, ‘Ok, I’m interested in a double major between writing and blank because I feel like one major isn’t enough,’” said Schwipps. “If someone thinks they need a double major just because, then we have a problem. That’s the worst kind of checklist mentality.”