In Freshman year I was in a group for a class project where we didn’t know one another, so we began talking to each other learning our names, our grades, and majors to break through that awkward beginning stage. One of the guys in the group, who was a pre-med major, remarked that “communication was the easiest major to take” and that it was pretty much an excuse of a major when I said that was mine. Stunned by his response, I didn’t say anything back.
It turns out this comment was the beginning of many that I would hear over the course of my university career. I know that I am not the only communication major who hears these remarks – it is more common than you would think to hear similar thoughts to the one my group peer said. For some reason, this major seems to have a reputation of being the easiest major to get a degree in, but as a communication major, I have to disagree.
Firstly, it is a social science, this means it is in the same group as economics, political science, psychology, history and more… It is not just a “floating” major that learns about how to use social media and how to make a post on Facebook, it is so much more than that. Communication majors are about understanding people and their psychology, learning about how they think. It is also the core of making advertising and marketing a success. Communication is about learning communication theories and how humans interact with one another including their body language and interpersonal interactions. It is also about learning how to write strong, informative pieces for anyone to read and understand.
If you think communication is an easy major, I dare you to write a newspaper article with the correct structure, AP style, inverted pyramid, and multiple sources all within a few days, while at the same time managing all your other classes and homework. Or I dare you to create a script, film and edit your own film within a tight schedule using all the technical equipment in the studio. Or I dare to create an idea for an effective advertising or public relations campaign that clearly conveys the message in a literal and visual way that the receivers will remember.
Does it still sound easy to you?
It may not be spending hours in a lab or understanding the concepts of O-Chem or learning and defending a political case, but it does not mean that it should be deemed the easiest major to take because there is no such thing and it isn’t. Communication majors still spend hours learning and reading, researching, and writing which is often their equivalent of a lab. Each major is different and requires a variety of skills, concepts, and ways of thinking. Don’t doubt a communication major, or any other major, just because you think yours may be harder.
There is no such thing as an easy major.
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