Psychology, marketing favorite majors at Pitt

Students at Pitt like choices.

Perhaps that is why those majors which offer an assortment… Students at Pitt like choices.

Perhaps that is why those majors which offer an assortment of tracks and concentrations are among the most popular.

According to the Princeton Review, Pitt’s most popular majors include marketing and marketing management, psychology, and speech and rhetorical studies.

Pitt’s own statistics about popular majors vary slightly. English, psychology, political science, history and biological sciences are the departments with the most popular majors according to the Office of the Dean in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Mary Beth Favorite, an advisor for the School of Arts and Sciences since 1990, notes the importance of interest in a subject of study.

She emphasizes that while it is normal to be concerned about finding a job, it isn’t always wise to pick a major solely because jobs are available in that field.

Favorite added that the classes students take prepare them for many different jobs.

Although the reasons for which students select a particular major differ, she has some theories on why English and psychology are so popular.

She said she believes English to be a popular choice because it combines literature and writing as well as film studies.

Student interest in psychology, Favorite said, may stem from the natural intrigue people have concerning the mind and its functions.

The plan someone has immediately after graduating high school may not be the same plan he or she has after a few semesters in college.

“What I see sometimes is a tendency for beginning students to be more focused on ‘what can I do?'” Favorite said. “But sometimes there’s an evolution when students are exposed to other fields. They become more open.”

“It’s all a process you go through when you take classes,” she said. “You not only learn about the subject, but also learn about yourself.”

A good alternative for those having trouble selecting a specific major is to dual major.

Favorite said that this provides the chance to blend a love and a particular interest.

She specifically mentions that a multitude of students double in humanities and social sciences. Having a major and a certificate is also a good way to go.

If a student is not satisfied by the more than 50 majors the School of Arts and Sciences alone offers, the student can choose to do an interdisciplinary studies major, which combines two majors into a larger-than-average major.

This is a fairly common choice. The guidelines require the student to have two faculty sponsors and a written proposal.

Broad majors seem to be the most popular. Some of the least popular, or in Favorite’s words, smaller majors, are ones that demand a lot of credits and are highly specialized, such as a classics major.

Technical majors are also less popular, she said. In the sciences, physics and astronomy tend to have smaller numbers than chemistry and biology.

Favorite said since most people “don’t even know what jobs are out there,” it never hurts to know a lot about a lot of different subjects.

If students are ever truly concerned about not being able to develop a career out of their majors, they can visit the School of Arts and Sciences’ Web site and click the “What Can I Do With this Major?” link.