The Department of Liberal Studies Hosts a Majors Fair for Students

Choosing your major can be one of the toughest decisions you need to make be it you are a senior in high school, an undecided freshie on campus, or even for students well into their 2nd or 3rd year in college looking for a suitable double major or minor. On April 1, the College of Liberal Studies hosted a Majors Fair at which 44 departments offering majors participated in providing students with the information they wanted to know about their prospective studies.

On this April Fool's Day, college students dressed up in their high school uniforms (a tradition among Korean university students) and, contrary to their playful dress code, took time to carefully tour the booths of their majors of interest. At every booth, information on the characteristics of major classes of each department was provided. Though the Majors Fair was launched by the Department of Liberal Studies to offer an opportunity to their students to keep in mind the various choices they have before they declare their major, students from other departments who were looking for a double major, minor, or combined major also knocked on the door.

Lee Tae Seok (Dept. of Mechanical Aerospace Engineering, '14 [sophomore]) commented that"there were not a lot of opportunities to get information about other majors although [he] was interested in many different subjects other than [his] major" and that this was"a valuable occasion on which [he] received a lot of precious advice on structuring [his] career path by hearing from the Astronomy, German Language and Literature, and Consumer Studies booths."

Compared to last year's Majors Fair, in which only 20 or so departments participated, and at which the information given was mainly on a Q & A session-like level, this year's Majors Fair was a great success both visibly and qualitatively in that it has extended its services.

A total of 44 departments had booths, stationing two people - an undergraduate and a graduate student - per booth to answer any questions from one o'clock in the afternoon to six p.m. In addition, 38 departments gave a thirty minute- to an hour-long orientation about their programs. The orientation was given by a professor and students from each perspective program.

Philosophy Booth: Will Studying Philosophy Give Me Insight into the Universe?

Two first-year students, Shin KyoMyoung and Oh MinKyoung, in the Department of Liberal Studies who visited the Majors Fair came to see the Department of Philosophy's booth. After minutes of counseling, Shin revealed that"though [he] did not really know what philosophy was, after hearing upperclassmen's explanation that philosophy can lead to an enlightening of the principles of the universe, [he] felt more interested in the subject." Oh expressed her delight in how she"got to know particular class curriculums and the substance of what [she] might be interested in studying, in addition to the reasons for which others chose this particular area of study."
The graduate student Park MinJee who answered these two students' questions said that,"Although it is hard to explain what studying philosophy is like in one word, I tried to inform them of what you can learn in each particular class and the real curriculum of our studies."

Program in Global Environment Management Orientation: Shall I Advance into this Global Hot Topic?

At one of the orientation sessions run by the Program in Global Environment Management, an overall introduction to the subject along with what was done in last semester's 'Environmental Practicum' class was introduced. It was especially useful as a student who actually took the class last semester prepared a Powerpoint presentation for the orientation.

Again a first-year student in the Department of Liberal Studies, Lee HeeJin, remarked,"It has been a great help in declaring my major. The orientation allowed me to dream about studying the environment in today's world when there is great interest about the subject globally."

Professor Youn Yeo-Chang (Dept. of Forest Sciences), who led the Q & A session, said,"By having other students who are already studying in the Department of Forest Sciences share their experiences, we tried to give practical information for the students. We brought Professor Victor K. Teplyakov along as well to demonstrate the diversity of our department."

Professor Teplyakov also commented that"the Program in Global Environment Management provides students the opportunity to advance into working for international NGOs through environmental research." He also added that,"this kind of Majors Fair is an excellent chance to show the breadth of studies to the students."

A Mini Interview with Suh Kyung Ho, Dean of the College of Liberal Studies

What is the purpose of hosting the Majors Fair?
The College of Liberal Studies is in a very special position. The students need to make a tough decision in choosing their major among numerous alternatives, and even most of those with declared majors also choose to double major. But due to mandatory electives they have nearly no time to take classes to explore their majors. Thus, we decided to organize the Majors Fair to provide, not only to our students but also students from other departments, information on their prospective studies. I hope students can learn to actively search for what they might be interested in studying.

The characteristics of this year's Majors Fair?
First of all, the Majors Fair this year is far larger than any we've ever hosted. We invited all professors who were willing to offer their advice. Even professional graduate schools that have no direct relationship with undergraduate students were willing to participate, such as the Graduate School of Public Administration, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, and others. This should have been a great help to students planning to pursue an advanced degree in the future.

Advice to students deciding their majors?
I always tell them to choose what they are best at and enjoy. However, the students seem to understand this with their heads but cannot with their hearts. I believe this is because students nowadays don't like to venture out and are very careful with their career paths. But historically all huge figures were adventurers. Don't be afraid to be an adventurer. This goes for not only students in the field of liberal studies but for all university students.

April 13, 2011

Written by LEE BoYoung, SNU English Editor (bylee0708@gmail.com)
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, Professor at College of Liberal Studies
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor