With collegiate academic careers beginning to sound more like Starbucks orders - a history major with a shot of mass communications and media studies or a French major with extra biology - there seems to be no limit to what can be added to students' titles at graduation. But Tufts students who hope to add more and more to their lists may find it difficult to navigate policies, rules and requirements set forth by the university.
While the increasing number of disciplines offered by a liberal arts education can entice students to pursue many concentrations, Chair of the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) and Professor of Sociology James Ennis explained that there are rules designed to limit what students can and cannot do. For example, while students may triple major, they are not typically permitted to double minor.
These rules are made to help students, according to Ennis. "The job of the university is to guide students to help them maximize their outcomes," he said.
The Tufts Bulletin explains that the aim of major rules and requirements is to gain a depth of knowledge in a particular subject. "The object of the concentration (or major) requirement is to provide the student with an integrated and thorough program of study in a well-developed field of learning," the Bulletin states.
Each concentration requires students to complete 10 or more courses in a major department. Some students opt to complete these requirements not only once or twice, but three times to complete a triple major. Though some requirements may overlap between majors, no more than half of the courses used to fulfill one major may be used to satisfy the requirements of a second major.
As more students arrive at Tufts with Advanced Placement (AP) credits, allowing them to bypass the introductory courses and go straight into upper level classes, it is becoming easier to fulfill the requirements of a major. Therefore, students are becoming more inclined to complete multiple majors.
Sophomore Natalie Polito is one such student. "I came to Tufts to do the classics major, but I got so much credit from the ten AP classes I took in high school that by default I became a major in Art History," she said.
Polito, who is triple-majoring in Classics, Art History and Italian, believes there is a misperception of those who triple-major.
"There is a stigma against the triple major in the greater academic world." Polito said. "It's assumed that to be a triple major is to be an overachiever, but my three majors are concentrated, so it's not as big of a deal."
Many professors and advisors, however, still urge students to pursue only one concentration.
"I don't think the triple major is a good idea," Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser said. "Students should spread themselves out and expose themselves to many different things."
Glaser said that the breadth of a varied liberal arts education should take precedent over the prestige of multiple majors. "The liberal arts education has great value, which would be a shame to squander just to credential oneself," he said.
Some schools have taken further action to deter students from the option of the triple major. In 2002 MIT decided to prevent students from overextending themselves by ending its triple major program.
Aside from multiple majors, students may add credentials to their title at graduation by completing minors.
The Bulletin describes the minor as "a coherent group of four to six credits that may be a limited version of a field of concentration or a group of courses having closely related subject matter."
According to the Bulletin, the minor provides students the opportunity to learn "the basic concepts in a single scholarly discipline including an introduction to appropriate methodologies and ways of thinking about the subject."
However, students cannot enroll in more than one disciplinary minor.
Though it might seem odd that students are allowed to triple-major but not double-minor, Glaser explained that this discrepancy is not important. "It's an oddity, but not one that's going to hurt anyone," he said.
Ennis agreed that the details of this policy do not have negative effects on Tufts students. "I don't think a lot of people need or care about it," Ennis said.
Ennis also emphasized the willingness of the administration to work with students. "Most rules are flexible if you have good reasons," Ennis said. "If a student presents a convincing rationale, we're usually friendly."
Although many students may declare these additional majors and minors in the hope of adding more to their resumés, there is no evidence that more majors mean more job opportunities.
"I know of no instance where an employer has specifically indicated preference for double - or more - majors," Director of Career Services Jean Papalia said in an e-mail.
Rather, employers look at experience and interests to help choose between candidates.
"Don't forget the importance of gaining real-life experience through internships, volunteer work, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs," Papalia said.
These experiences that come outside the classroom can be more valuable than a longer list of credentials from extra majors because they show a different side of a candidate.
"An employer is fundamentally looking for a variety of characteristics in a candidate," Papalia said. "These include your capacity to learn, leadership skills, communication skills, team skills, et cetera - all of which are demonstrated by your performance both in and outside the classroom."
