While it may be easy to dismiss liberal arts disciplines with a “what are you going to do with that?” attitude, numerous North Campus Bruins will attest that graduating with a degree in the arts, humanities or social sciences can be intellectually and financially rewarding.
Reena Rana, the president of Phi Alpha Theta, the primary history honor society at UCLA, said the wealth of skills taught through a history major can help students prepare for any career.
“History teaches you public speaking, leadership. … There are so many options and so many careers available,” Rana said.
To illustrate her point, Rana helped to organize this spring’s career workshop for history students, featuring five distinguished UCLA history alumni.
Ranging from a lawyer specializing in copyright law to the executive vice president of a development company, the former Bruins offered advice, recounted their stories and reminded students that being a history student can be a catalyst for a possibly brilliant future.
Milan Ratkovich, a development manager for the Ratkovich Company who spoke at the event, added that being purely specialized in history was a common misconception of the major.
“History as a major pigeonholes you into a future career the least,” Ratkovich said.
Claire De Briere, the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Ratkovich Company who got her bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA, said the advantages of being a history student included being able to critically understand large quantities of information.
“Through being a history major ““ a research major ““ you are able to see multiple sides of where the facts come from, as well as absorb, distill and draw conclusions with a wealth of information,” De Briere said.
Rene Tiongquico, a member of the Phi Alpha Theta society, said all of the speakers were part of the history advisory council and had previously helped to finance activities in the history department.
“The alumni initiated this to bridge connections between the students, alumni and faculty,” said Cindy Nguyen, a second-year history student.
Other North Campus students agreed that, while career paths may be less clear-cut, opportunities for finding a lucrative future are still abundant.
Cassidy Weiss, a third-year art history student, said she plans to have her own art-consulting business.
“I’m surrounded by really creative people. It’s about aesthetics and how those come into fruition,” Weiss said. “(Art history) combines the best of both worlds: history and art.”
But for students within the School of the Arts and Architecture, where departments are smaller, Bruins said they often have to find their own professional niche once they graduate.
“The challenge in ethnomusicology is that you’ve got to find a place for yourself in the professional world, but people can study music and apply it to any discipline,” said Marlon Fuentes, a third-year ethnomusicology student.
He added that, while ethnomusicology is a challenging discipline, it’s even more challenging to convince people that it’s a worthwhile major.
“I always feel like I have to defend the ethno major. It’s not that easy,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes, a Brazilian music specialist, said he aspires to write about music of protest and its role in social movements.
Other students in the School of the Arts and Architecture added that though students in more professionally oriented disciplines often see these majors as “easy,” this is a misconception.
Elizabeth Grandsaert, a first-year art student, said she had to submit two portfolios to get into the department in addition to regular admission requirements.
Grandsaert said the main challenges with an art major come from staying motivated and designing your own curriculum while competing with other students.
“The art department is one of the most competitive places. You have to have some kind of edge. … Everything is a competition,” Grandsaert said.