Every university holds stereotypes for different majors. The words engineering, business, and science likely trigger an image in your mind which you associate with the people you have met in these programs.
What comes to your mind when you think of arts majors?
When I began my first year at the University of Guelph, I felt proud to be majoring in Criminal Justice and Public Policy. My excitement to finally study topics that I am passionate about was indescribable. The program seemed like it was designed just for me: a combination of both my love for sociology and my growing interest in politics.
It quickly became apparent to me that my peers did not see things the same way.
There is a negative attitude surrounding Bachelor of Arts degrees which few people are willing to admit. Countless articles from so-called reputable sources dismiss arts degrees as “useless.” You’ve heard the jokes about philosophy, sociology, and psychology majors being jobless after university.
When I discuss my aspirations to pursue a career in law with my family, they praise my ambition. When I attempt to hold the same discussion with my peers, their interest tends to falter upon hearing the words Bachelor of Arts.
I am the butt of many jokes made by my friends in other majors. I am told that the required sociology courses for my program are the “bird courses” of my friends’ programs. That the 90% I got on my exam “doesn’t count,” because it is in sociology and not physics. That Introductory Methods isn’t real statistics, even though I stay up all night memorizing the same formulas as my roommates majoring in science.
I also wrongfully find myself attempting to defend my major. Desperately explaining to my peers that my undergrad “doesn’t matter,” because I have plans to go to law school. Putting down other social sciences, because my program requirements appear more strenuous on paper.
Who decided that the validity of our passion should be defined by how academically demanding it is?
We go to school because we have a desire to learn. The secondary goal is to earn a job after graduation, but the main purpose is to learn about what we love. I am not spending thousands of dollars each semester to learn about a topic that is meaningless to me; I am doing so because I wish to expand my knowledge of the things that matter in my life.
I love learning, and I love social science. I should not have to defend my decision to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree because my peers think it is “easier” than other degrees.
Besides, I’ve edited some of your writing assignments, and it looks like the skills that I am learning in my arts major might not be as easy as you think.