Hershey H. Friedman

Linda Weiser Friedman

Antony Arcadi

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210, Baruch College Zicklin School of Business and the Graduate School of CUNY, New York, NY 10010, and Brooklyn College of CUNY, Brooklyn, NY 11210, respectively.

Most undergraduates major in a single area of study. However, students interested in several disciplines may be reluctant to choose one over the other, and in certain areas, e.g., law, there is no single appropriate major. Furthermore, many universities find that the number of majors in various liberal arts areas is extremely small. The authors propose combining business with liberal arts areas. Combining two fields produces a synergistic effect that expands the number of quality programs greatly at a very low cost. Results of three exploratory surveys, and an application of this approach at a single college, are discussed.

Key Words: Combined Majors, Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary, Cross-disciplinary Programs

Currently, most students major in a single area of study. For example, a student might choose to major in management information systems and take approximately 10 to 15 courses in that area. While this system works well for many students, especially those who pursue clear-cut, traditional goals, as faculty advisors we know that many others are stymied by this system. For one thing, we know that many students remain undecided as to major until they are well into their junior years because they cannot find one area that appeals to them strongly. This uncertainty can lengthen their college stays, especially if they change their majors several times.

Some students are interested in two (or more) disciplines and are reluctant to choose one over the other for fear that they are locking themselves into a single career path. Furthermore, in certain areas, e.g., law, no specific major is required at the undergraduate level since the ultimate program of study will be completed in a professional school.

Additionally, a number of focused, goal-oriented students have career goals that require knowledge of two or three areas rather than the more traditional, in-depth, intensive knowledge of a single discipline. Environmental studies, for instance, is a program usually offered jointly by several departments including chemistry, geology, physics, and biology. The University of Florida’s pioneering doctoral program in plant medicine requires that students take courses in numerous departments including: entomology and nematology, plant pathology, agronomy, horticulture, soil and water science, communications, agricultural law, and business management.

Kolodny [1998, pp.40-41] asserts that interdisciplinary programs are crucial for students educated in the twenty-first century, and that the antiquated way of organizing colleges — by departments — will have to "evolve into collaborative and flexible units." Students with narrowly defined majors will have great difficulty comprehending a world in which the knowledge required of them is complex, interconnected, and, by its very nature, draws from many areas. Smith [1993] asserts that academic departments

A study conducted by the Association of American Colleges [1991, p.6] regarding majors notes the following:

The report also makes the point that many majors place too much emphasis on the memorization of facts. Duderstadt [2000] suggests that the university of the future will be very different from today’s institution. One major change will be that the future university will be divisionless, i.e., there will be far more interdisciplinary programs. There will also be "a far more intimate relationship between basic academic disciplines and the professions."

Nowadays, for example, a historian must have computer skills, and must also understand business, economics, and statistics. A new program developed at the University of Southern California, designed to study entertainment in the twenty-first century, could not be developed by any one department since it covers law, business, journalism, communication, and culture. Indeed, more than 100 existing courses had to be coordinated for this interdisciplinary program [Purdum, 2000]. Interdisciplinary majors may be much more likely to develop critical thinking skills than unidisciplinary majors.

It is interesting to note that the technology for developing the laser existed for several decades before the first working laser was demonstrated in 1960. Part of the technology needed for developing lasers was well known in the electrical engineering field, that of oscillating amplifiers used in radio (light amplification). The quantum mechanical aspects of laser technology were well known in atomic physics and were developed in the 1920’s by Albert Einstein (stimulated emission of radiation). The laser could not, however, be perfected until those who knew both fields could combine the two technologies. Much technology works this way and, therefore, in many cases, individuals need knowledge of two or more fields. Increasingly, we find that the distinctions between individual disciplines are blurring and those distinctions are often due more to historical reasons than to real differences.

Another serious problem many colleges have is that the number of students majoring in popular areas such as accounting, business, computer science, psychology, and education may be quite large. The number of majors in other disciplines, such as classics, physics, geology, and music may be very small. The number of humanities majors, for instance, has been halved in the past thirty years [Weisbuch, 1999]. The continual and rapid change inherent in many academic disciplines, particularly in today’s technological, sociological, political, and legal environments, necessitates a more dynamic, ambitious, and expedient solution; it requires a new approach to our notion of what constitutes a program of study.

There is a good reason for students to major in professional fields: greater earnings. One study of 150,000 college graduates examined salaries by major and found the following: Even after holding other factors such as previous work experience and demographics constant, graduates with bachelor’s degrees in professional fields such as computers, engineering, and business earned between 30 per cent and 60 per cent more than students graduating with degrees in the social sciences and humanities. These salary differentials did not disappear over time since salaries for both groups grew from year to year [Freeland, 1999].

One approach proposed previously, the modular multidisciplinary major, is quite simple and appears to very cost-efficient [Friedman, Friedman and Klein, 1999]. Every department and program at a college would be given the option to create a concentration (i.e., a module) consisting of 5 to 7 advanced courses. These courses should be selected so as to provide students with a reasonable amount of depth and breadth within an area and also mesh well with other areas when used in combination. Students who opt for the multidisciplinary modular major, rather than the more traditional major in one area of study, will then be able to put together a program consisting of two or three modules. Of course, the student’s modular multidisciplinary major will have to be approved by a faculty advisor in one of the concentration areas.

For example, students can combine a liberal arts module with a business module to create an interesting and desirable major. Some combinations that might be highly valuable in the workplace include: statistics / marketing for students interested in marketing research; computer science / marketing for students interested in e-commerce; Spanish / marketing or Japanese / international business for students planning business careers in Latin America or the Far East; finance / economics for future stockbrokers; and accounting / political science for students interested in corporate law.

The modular multidisciplinary major is a simple way of allowing students to create interdisciplinary majors. It provides them with more breadth than a traditional one-discipline major and only sacrifices a limited amount of depth. Over the years we have seen many areas of study wane in popularity with students. These are usually either very specialized areas (e.g., a foreign language) or very technical areas (e.g., physics, statistics). Some of these disciplines may be rejuvenated if students can use them as part of a modular major. For example, statistics is one of the very small majors at most institutions, but as part of a modular major and combined with business it can be quite valuable.

The modular multidisciplinary major can help speed up the graduation process. Many students who are undecided as to their major will no longer have to keep switching majors until they find an appropriate major, a process that lengthens the time needed to graduate. The multidisciplinary modular major increases students’ options for majors dramatically and allows them to easily combine two or three areas, thus reducing the time spent searching for a suitable major.

Some students with very definite ideas as to what they wish to do might be better served by the modular major. For instance, a student interested in a public relations career might find a modular major (English / speech / business) more helpful to her career than a major in English. A number of other careers can be better enhanced by the modular major than by a traditional major. These include: marketing research (marketing / statistics), social work (sociology / psychology), technical writing (computer information systems / English), art director for advertising agency (art / marketing), nursing (biology / health education), etc. Yvonne Calavan, director of MIS for Restaurants Unlimited, attributes her success to her interdisciplinary-studies major from Fairhaven College (an experimental college in Washington State), that combined business, computers, accounting, and mathematics [Rubinstein, 1998].

An alternative to the modular multidisciplinary major, and perhaps a less radical solution, is for the business and liberal arts faculties to collaborate on the creation of combined majors. Students might be interested in majoring in liberal arts disciplines if these areas were combined with business. In fact, a joint major may produce a synergistic effect that produces a better major than either field alone. Joint majors involving business may also allow a university to increase the number of different majors available to students without increasing costs, because they should not require the creation of new departments or the hiring of a large number of new faculty. A college could take advantage of existing infrastructure.

Some disciplines are already working on creating interdisciplinary programs rather than offering the traditional solo major. Carter, Kang and Taggart [1999] discuss the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach in the teaching of journalism and communication. Good journalists have to be able to do much more than write well. In fact, a number of colleges have created business journalism majors and interdisciplinary business / English majors. For instance, Dominican University offers a joint major in English and business writing, and Mount Mercy College offers a joint program in English and business administration.

White [1999] claims that individuals with a technical education in science or engineering have much to gain from an understanding of business. Many businesses fail because founders, while proficient in technology, did not understand how to write a business plan or understand marketing. In fact, three critical problem areas for many failed firms were marketing, finance, and management.

Voght [1999] posits that the paradigm of the traditional foreign language major is mainly for students preparing to teach foreign languages and do research in literature. The traditional U.S. business education paradigm is that English is the language of international business, the U.S. market is sufficiently large so that businesspeople do not have to concern themselves with foreign trade, and American businesspeople do not have to understand the culture of other countries. Globalization has changed all this and today’s businesspeople should speak a foreign language and be familiar with the culture of other countries. Towards this end, Eastern Michigan University has developed majors in language and world business and language and international trade.

Three surveys were conducted among students at Brooklyn College, a liberal arts school with about 10,000 undergraduate students. The purpose of the first study was to determine whether students would be interested in majoring in a program that consisted of two fields rather than one. The second study was a follow-up to Study I and surveyed another 100 students on their interest in interdisciplinary study. The purpose of the third study was to investigate the degree of interest in specific combined majors.

In this study, respondents (n=103) were asked whether they would consider graduating with two minors rather than one major, if this were an option. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they would definitely or probably consider the option of graduating with two minors. Respondents were then asked in an open-ended question format which two minors they would select if this were a viable option. Some of the combinations mentioned included: accounting/computer science (20 mentions), computer science/business (15 mentions) , accounting / general science (13 mentions), computer science / education (10 mentions), business / art (7 mentions), computer science / art (6 mentions) , business / psychology (5 mentions), education / psychology (5 mentions), computers / psychology (4 mentions), and business / speech (3 mentions). Apparently, subjects had no problem with the concept of a major consisting of two concentrations rather than the traditional single-discipline major.

In this follow-up study, respondents (n=100) were asked in an open-ended question format what joint majors should be offered by Brooklyn College. The following dual majors were mentioned: computers / business (14 mentions), advertising / marketing (12 mentions), marketing / accounting (10 mentions), computers / finance (9 mentions), psychology / business (7 mentions), business management / political science (5 mentions), film / marketing (4 mentions), business / engineering (4 mentions), business / creative writing (2 mentions), health / management (2 mentions), and business / speech (2 mentions).

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of interest in specific interdisciplinary majors, constructed by combining two or three fields. These majors were already being considered by the college’s Business Curriculum Committee. A random sample was taken of 202 students in introductory-level core courses at Brooklyn College. The sample consisted of: 86 males and 116 females; 111 freshmen, 88 sophomores, and 3 juniors. Respondents were asked to indicate their degree of interest in taking each of six different combined majors: Marketing Communication Arts, joining television/radio and marketing; Discrimination Studies and Personnel Management, joining sociology, management and several ethnic studies departments; Consumer Behavior, joining sociology, psychology and marketing; Human Resource Management and Development, joining sociology and management; Urban Entrepreneurship, joining Africana studies and business; Entertainment Marketing, joining film studies and marketing.

Place Table 1 about here

Table I contains the frequencies for the six proposed majors ranked by means. Subjects showed some interest in all six of the combined majors. The "top box" scores for all six proposed major programs ranged from 12 to 35. This was considered quite adequate given that about half of the liberal arts majors at the college have fewer than 10 students [Brooklyn College, 1999]. The entertainment marketing major was the most popular with students, resulting in a top box score of 35 with more than 17 per cent of respondents indicating a great deal of interest in this major.

The business program, housed in the economics department of Brooklyn College, embarked on the creation of programs combining business with other disciplines. Four programs have already been approved; two are in the approval process, and others are still under consideration. At this point it is still difficult to gauge the success of these programs, except by word of mouth. This is because a new program is frequently "housed" inside of another program, as a track option. Furthermore, the new catalog describing the new programs is still in press.

Philosophy and Business. This program, an option in the philosophy major, was aimed at philosophy students interested in applied philosophy and business ethics. There are quite a few opportunities in this field. Many hospitals, nursing homes, and drug companies have ethicists working for them full time. The program is relatively new and is still not listed in the catalog, which is revised every three years. Despite this, a number of students have already opted for this program. Not only are students interested in careers as ethicists selecting this major but also students planning to go to law school. Some students believe that a dual major, especially one that is somewhat unusual, will make them more attractive to prospective employers.

Marketing Communication Arts. This program, a joint effort of the television and radio (TV/R) department and the marketing area of the business program, was developed to help students majoring in TV/R. The TV/R major at Brooklyn College has been losing enrollment because the number of jobs in Television and Radio production is quite small. This major was designed to provide students with opportunities in the marketing area. The TV/R Department felt that a large number of entertainment conglomerates would be interested in hiring students who understand media and marketing. The program has not yet completed the entire approval process, but there is great interest in it and numerous students keep asking when the program will be approved.

Film Marketing. Many of the film studies majors cannot find employment in the areas of screenwriting and film directing because the number of jobs is quite small. This major, which combines film studies and marketing, was designed to provide students with a backup. Students who cannot find jobs in film directing might find a satisfying career in film or entertainment marketing. This program was recently approved and we already have students taking the introductory marketing principles course. One of the authors, a professor of marketing at the college, has found that the composition and dynamics of the introductory marketing class has totally changed since more than half of the class now majors in areas other than business. A large number of the students taking marketing are from the TV/R, film studies, and philosophy departments. Class discussions have truly become interdisciplinary and range from the marketing of films to ethical issues.

Puerto Rican / Latino Studies and Business. This program, proposed by the Puerto Rican studies department and the business area, was designed to provide students with a background in Latino/Latin American Business and in-depth knowledge about U.S. Latinos. Students must demonstrate competency in Spanish for this program. Although approved only a few months ago, a significant number of students have expressed interest in this major.

Environmental Management. The environmental studies program at Brooklyn College is extremely rigorous and requires students to take a large number of science courses. The number of students attracted to this major was quite small (fewer than five students). It was felt that offering a second option combining environmental studies with business would attract additional students.

History and Business. A major combining history and business has been approved by both departments and awaits approval by the college. It is felt that the communication skills critical in business today are strengthened and enhanced by the history courses, which require a great deal of in-depth analysis and writing.

Three programs with the sociology department are still under development. Human Resource Development and Management. This is a relatively new area. The proposed program, requiring students to take courses in both management and sociology, should produce a more well-rounded and capable individual than a single major. Diversity and Employee Relations. Many firms have an affirmative action officer whose job is to ensure that there is diversity in the workplace. Diversity officers should take courses in several ethnic and women studies programs to understand the culture of African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Jews, and women. This major arose out of discussions with the College’s own affirmative action officer and was developed for students interested in working in this area. It combines management and sociology, with additional courses from Africana studies, Judaic studies, psychology, political science, and/or women’s studies. This is definitely a multidisciplinary area; students taking courses from only one area would be deficient. Consumer Behavior. This joint program under development by the sociology, psychology and marketing areas, focuses on producing well-trained experts in consumer behavior. Students desiring to know consumer behavior need a fundamental understanding of marketing in addition to a strong background in sociology and psychology.

Other programs being considered include Music Production and Management, aimed at students majoring in music who want a fuller understanding of the business side of the music industry; and an Urban Entrepreneurship major, combining Africana studies with business, aimed at African-American students who are interested in small business management in the inner city.

Several other departments have expressed interest in joint majors with business. Some joint majors that are being developed or have been broached include: Art Marketing and Management, with the art department; Theater Management and Marketing, with the theater department; Cultural Anthropology and International Business, with the anthropology department; Business Journalism, with the English department; English and Business Communication, with the English department; Business and Computer Information Sciences, with the computer information sciences department; Health Marketing and Management, with the health and nutrition sciences department; Business and Consumer Psychology, with the psychology department; and Religion and Business, with the religion program.

We believe that combining majors often produces more meaningful and useful programs of study than unidisciplinary majors. In particular, the business area works very well in combination with other areas. Our research and experience with such programs at Brooklyn College, while still very tentative, indicates that this may be an exciting way to encourage students to major in less popular disciplines. Moreover, we believe that the quality of the business major itself will improve by the infusion of students from other disciplines. Interdisciplinary programs encourage critical thinking and are the wave of the future. It is, therefore, important for business programs to push the envelope and create innovative majors that will prepare students for the world that awaits them.

Association of American Colleges. Liberal Learning and the Arts and Sciences Major. Vol. 1: The Challenge of Connecting Learning, (1991), Washington D.C.: Association of American Colleges.

Brooklyn College. Brooklyn College Data Book 1998-1999, (June 1999), Brooklyn, NY: Office of Institutional Research, Brooklyn College, CUNY.

Carter, Sue, Myung-Hyun Kang and Ralph Taggart. "An Interdisciplinary Approach to a Critical Incident Course," Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 54 (No. 2, 1999), 4-16.

Duderstadt, James J. "A Choice of Transformations for the 21^st-Century University," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 46 (No. 22, 2000), B6-B7.

Freeland, Richard M. "The Next Big Decision for College Freshmen: What’s Your Major?" The Boston Globe, (September 12, 1999), C7.

Friedman, Hershey H., Linda W. Friedman and Yehuda Klein. "The Modular Multidisciplinary Major: An Alternative to Traditional Majors," Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, (November 20-23, 1999), 194-196.

Kolodny, Annette. Failing the Future: A Dean Looks at Higher Education in the Twenty-first Century, (1998), Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Purdum, Todd S. "That’s Show Biz and Academia: New University Program Takes Serious Look at Entertainment," The New York Times, (January 24, 2000), A16.

Rubinstein, Ed. "Yvonne Calavan: Restaurants Unlimited Inc.’s Unconventional MIS Executive" Nation’s Restaurant News, (June 29, 1998), 41.

Smith, Jonathan Z. "To Double Business Bound," in Strengthening the College Major, (1993), Carol G. Schneider and William S. Green (Eds.), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers, 13-23.

Voght, Geoffrey M. "New Paradigms for U.S. Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century," Keynote Address at the Seventeenth Annual EMU Conference on Language and Communication for World Business and the Professions, San Diego State University, (March 12, 1999).

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/ciber/EMU.html

Weisbuch, Robert. "Six Proposals to Revive the Humanities," Chronicle of Higher Education, 45 (No. 29, March 26, 1999), B4.

White, Rebecca. "Learning About Business is Useful for all Degrees." Cincinnati Business Courier, 16 (No. 30, November 12, 1999), 31.

Table 1: Degree of Interest in Six Combined Majors

(n=202)

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Note: "very interested" was coded as 1 and "not at all interested" was coded as 5 to enable the computation of means.