Monday, November 3, 1997
Minor Majors
Some of UCLA’s least populated majors don’t mind being small,
but are others in danger of extinction?
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
There’s safety in numbers. Everybody grab a buddy. Two heads are
better than one. The list goes on, and the theme is apparent: being
a member of a group has its advantages.
Some students at UCLA, however, find that they are alone in
their field, pursuing knowledge with only a handful – or less – of
peers. According to Academic Planning and Budget, the least
populated majors as of last year include cognitive sciences (with
11 students), Latin (four), Greek (two), Hebrew (three) and Italian
(nine).
Many of the smallest majors, like cybernetics and African
languages, are interdepartmental, with classes and professors drawn
from other departments.
Cognitive sciences, for example – the study of how animals gain
knowledge, represent that knowledge and manifest it – draws from
psychology, biology, neurological sciences and many other
sciences.
Others are specializations of larger majors, such as the Greek
and Latin specializations of the English major.
At the other end of the spectrum, the most populated majors are
biology (with 2,144 students), psychology (2,121) and economics
(2,046).
Students have mixed feelings as to whether joining a small major
should be done with caution. Dana McMillen, a first-year student
currently contemplating the cognitive science major, said that
although larger departments seem safer, size should not play a
significant role in choosing a major.
"It would be nice to be in a major with a lot of people. It
would be easier to form study groups, easier to talk about future
plans within the major. But if you really like a field that isn’t
as established, you should go for it. The size should be a
secondary concern," McMillen said.
Lucky for cybernetics students, size doesn’t always matter. If
it did, all 14 of them would be in big trouble.
The cybernetics major is actually an interdisciplinary program
that draws from a number of subjects including engineering,
computer science, mathematics and pre-med classes. And this year,
there are only 14 students declared under the major.
Cybernetics is one of the least populated majors at UCLA, but
fortunately for students interested in the subject, the
interdepartmental program fears no impending doom.
"Students really do feel like they have a place," said Beth
Rubin, Student Affairs Officer for the cybernetics program.
Despite the small numbers and lack of an official department,
Rubin feels that students in the cybernetics major face no
challenges different from students in the more populated majors.
Much of this is due to her availability.
"I am very accessible. And that’s important because they need a
lot of counseling," Rubin said.
The major, which is divided into three sections, offers numerous
specializations, requiring students to "take an active role in
course planning."
According to Rubin, the cybernetics major requires the highest
amount of courses allowed by the Academic Senate, and students are
screened for the pre-major in order to weed out those who are not
"highly motivated."
"Cybernetics requires tons of discipline and hard work," Rubin
said. "It’s (for) a different breed of students."
Professor Michael Dyer of the computer science department
agreed. "It’s a pretty unique major. It’s a very rigorous program
for students who are very ambitious and excited about the merging
of natural sciences, engineering and other sciences."
Dyer is one of less than a dozen professors from various
departments who come together to teach the classes that make up the
program. Rubin explained that cybernetics is a concept that
describes a way of viewing science, rather than a field in
itself.
"Cybernetics is a word that you hear a lot in graduate schools.
It’s very system-oriented," Rubin said.
The fact the UCLA does not have its own department for
cybernetics is not uncommon.
"You won’t find a cybernetics department in the United States,"
Rubin said, although departments can be found at the graduate
level, especially in European universities.
Despite the confidence that Rubin displays about the place of
cybernetics at UCLA, other low-populated majors do have reason to
be concerned.
The African languages major, for example, is one of 12 majors
offered by the linguistics department. The major currently claims
only two professors, and one of them seems worried about the
major’s future at UCLA.
"Students these days have practical goals and most students
think, ‘What can I use this (major) for in terms of a career?’"
said Russell Schuh, professor of linguistics and African languages.
"The African languages major is too specialized. What can you do
with a degree in it?"
Schuh speculated that many African languages students end up
doing field work in African communities. Students who are declared
in the program – Schuh said that to his knowledge, none have
declared this year – are required to study two African languages
and take basic linguistic courses.
Unfortunately, only one of the two most popular languages with
students, Swahili and Zulu, are available. Professor Tom Hinnebusch
teaches Swahili, Schuh teaches Hausa, and Zulu remains
unavailable.
Schuh, who said he has seen the number of professors who teach
for the major diminish in recent years, said he is concerned about
what will happen when he leaves UCLA.
"When Professor Hinnebusch and I decide to retire, there’s every
likelihood we won’t be replaced," Schuh said. "The future of the
field on the UCLA campus is definitely a concern."
In the past, the program has advertised in the Daily Bruin or
posted signs around campus in attempts to raise student interest,
but according to Schuh, "it didn’t make a difference."
However endangered the major may seem, Schuh expressed
excitement about the program’s innovative methods, which involve
video and computer language instruction.
"We’re trying to develop new techniques to help students get
more of a cultural experience out of the program," Schuh said.
"We’re on the forefront of new teaching methodology of language.
And because we’re small, we’re open to experimentation."
MICHAEL WACHT
Professor John Hanley from the psychology department was a guest
lecturer in Cybernetics 196A.