The School of Management may seem superior to outsiders with its pristine marble floors and what students fondly call ‘the death star,’ but management majors in SMG and social sciences majors in the College of Arts and Sciences are in neck-in-neck for the most popular major at Boston University, officials said.
Out of the 250 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and special degree programs BU offers, social sciences and management majors are the two most popular undergraduate majors at BU, each accounting for about 18.5 percent of the undergraduate student population, BU spokesman Colin Riley said. BU has about 18,733 undergraduate students, meaning about 3,465 students are studying either social sciences or management.
SMG Finance and Economics Department Executive-in-Residence Mark Williams said he thinks the increased interest in management majors, such as business and accounting, are a result of the current economic climate.
‘The current economic recession has increased the interest and awareness of the interconnect between Wall Street and Main Street and how risky activities can adversely impact the broader economy,’ he said.
SMG Undergraduate Programs Director Norman Blanchard said in his 10 years at SMG, the undergraduate program has grown 33 percent.
Representing the social sciences, BU’s International Relations Department holds its own against SMG, boasting the largest undergraduate enrollment in CAS, International Relations Department Acting Chairman William Keylor said.
Keylor said he thinks the popularity of the major is due to the department’s interdisciplinary mindset that allows students to study in courses ranging from history to anthropology, as well as the wide range of faculty members who are ‘well-known for [their] commitment to teaching.”
‘Its faculty comprises a wonderful blend of distinguished academic researchers, former practitioners from the world of diplomacy, intelligence, military service and journalism and public intellectuals who write and speak about international affairs to gain audience beyond the university,’ he said.
CAS junior Kisha Wilson said she was drawn to international relations because of her interest in other cultures.
‘ ‘The international community is growing and as globalization takes hold, the importance of understanding and tolerance is more important than ever,’ Wilson said.
While BU offers international relations majors many valuable resources, Wilson said these resources are unfamiliar to many students.
‘Someone would have to be an insider or dig really hard to find everything that the IR department has to offer,’ she said.
While social sciences, management majors are the most popular at BU, criminal justice and safety studies majors account for only 0.1 percent of students, and mathematics and computer science majors for only one percent, Riley said.
CAS junior Mercedes Villalonga, a mathematics major, said the small size of the department can be frustrating, especially when the classes she wants to take do not generate enough interest and are no longer offered.’
‘I asked my advisor about a history of math course,’ she said. ‘Because of lack of interest in the subject, they didn’t have it.’
Though a smaller department does have its downfalls, Villalonga said she actually benefits more from the size, because the faculty and advisors can help her out on an individual basis. However, in the long run, Villalonga said the size of the department does not matter.’
‘What matters most is your passion for the subject and your willingness to find and connect to your advisor and your faculty,’ Villalonga said.
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