Malkiel releases guide to smaller departments

The University is stepping up efforts to encourage students to major in smaller academic departments.

Dean of the College Nancy Weiss Malkiel's office released a slim booklet last week featuring testimonials from alumni in small departments like classics, geosciences and Slavic languages and literatures.

The publication represents the most visible move yet in her effort to sway the hearts and minds of underclassmen — and steer them away from popular majors like history, politics and economics.

"We want students to pursue their intellectual passions, not study what they think they have to study because it's practical or career-oriented," Malkiel said.

At her direction, residential college deans have for the first time asked freshmen and sophomores to communicate their top three major choices via email. Departments can then reach out to potential majors to promote their strengths, Malkiel said.

Nearly half of Princeton upperclassmen currently major in one of the "big five" departments: economics, English, history, politics and the Wilson School.

That means the other 54 percent of students are distributed across 29 departments — "not a very sensible allocation of resources," Malkiel said.

"It doesn't allow students [in the big departments] as much access to the things we pride ourselves on, like professorial access and intellectual community," she added.

The booklet, called "Major Choices," was sent to all freshmen and sophomores and their parents. Malkiel said parents are an important part of the decision-making process.

The testimonials in "Major Choices" range from a philosophy major currently working as a Washington, D.C., journalist to a former civil engineering student who now serves as an assistant attorney general of Arkansas. The 30 profiled alumni urge students to follow their passions as undergraduates and worry about their careers later.

"I recommend against being 'pre' anything (e.g., premed, pre-law, pre-whatever)," wrote Joshua Yamamoto '88, a physician. "There are not enough passionate, educated people . . . Do what you want. Then, get a job."

One sophomore who looked through "Major Choices" with her parents over Fall Break said it hasn't changed her plans.

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"I am concerned about being a part of a big department such as history, but I am just not willing to major in a department which I don't feel really strongly about just for the sake of having more individual attention from the department," said Rachel Price '07, who plans to major in the history of science.

And upperclass students voiced skepticism about Malkiel's effort.

"Small departments remain small for a reason," said Krista Brune '06, one of eight classmates majoring in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures. "I don't think it's a matter of promotion. I just don't know if there are that many people on campus who want to study Spanish and Portuguese."

Brune said she understood why Malkiel wants to spread students more evenly across departments. But, she said, "the charm of a small department would be lost if it got bigger."

A student majoring in English, traditionally one of the most popular options for upperclassmen, said she liked her larger-than-average department.

"I like it because there are always lots of people around who are studying what I'm studying," Kelly Sanabria '06 said. "There are lots of classes to pick from and lots of people to ask for advice, whether students or professors."