Attracted by Emory’s exceptional resources and renowned education quality, every year, thousands of students flock to majors that will prepare them for careers in business and medicine.
Ainsley Powers (26C) always knew she wanted to get a degree in theatre. But because Emory does not offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Powers decided to pursue her passion with the University’s Creative Writing department.
After getting involved in Emory’s student playwriting festival with the encouragement of her advisor, Assistant Professor of Dramatic Writing and Broadway playwright Kimberly Belflower, she eventually decided to declare a Playwriting major, a joint major between the Creative Writing Program and Theater Studies department. Since then, Powers has worked closely with Belflower while building strong, beneficial connections with upperclassmen.
As one of the top universities in the United States, Emory University offers dozens of programs to its undergraduates, including over 80 majors and 60 minors as well as over 1,600 courses spanning students’ diverse academic interests. However, Emory has many majors that have only a handful of students, such as Arabic, Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Biophysics and Playwriting. In fact, Emory has 14 majors or joint majors with fewer than 10 students.
While some may see the small size of a major as a negative, Powers considers the small size of the playwriting major in a positive light.
“I really enjoy how small it is, because I feel like the opportunities are so unique,” Powers said. “When [Belflower] put her show on Broadway, she actually got the school to fund a research trip for both of the upperclassmen playwriting majors. So we both got to go to New York and witness her rehearsals.”
Powers described her small major as “the best of both worlds.”
While at Emory, Gianna Schulp (25C) double-majored in two of the smallest majors at Emory, Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Linguistics. Many of the classes Schulp took at Emory were cross-listed classes, which exposed her to a variety of fields, including art history and anthropology.
“I've taken classes in so many different departments, so I've been able to meet a lot of different people, meet a lot of different professors, which is really nice, and kind of explores the different avenues that are available to someone with this major,” Schulp said.
However, while this offered her a flexible academic schedule, the Ancient Mediterranean Studies major’s lack of independent classes has also made the learning experience isolating, as Schulp rarely encountered the same peers across all her courses.
Despite the small size and lack of dedicated classes, Schulp recounted that her experience in a smaller major was worthwhile.
“I do want to make sure like people realize that this is a major that people should keep," Schulp said. "Just because there aren't a lot of us doesn't mean that it should be done away with."
Director of the East Asian Studies Program and Associate Professor of Japanese Seth Goss explained that East Asian Studies confers skills that can be relevant to various jobs and professional pathways. While these skills may not immediately appear applicable, the program boasts alumni working in the medical field, multinational manufacturing, publishing and more.
“We have students who go into medical school and go into the medical profession and, at first, that might not seem related, but that comes down to these skills that we teach in the language classroom, like collaboration and teamwork, the ability to listen, to tell stories, cross-cultural competence, all these core abilities,” Goss said.
Likewise, Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Classics Emily Master explained how, in recent years, programs under the Classics department, particularly Latin, have emerged as popular choices for students with two majors, as it offers an opportunity for students to learn a new language without the intimidating aspect of speaking in an unfamiliar dialect. Despite the uncommon nature of some of these majors, Goss recounted that many of her students who graduated with a degree in Classics go on to pursue medical school, law school or business programs. Similar to Goss, Master believes that many of the skills this major teaches — such as reading, writing and memorizing — are valuable in the job market.
Furthermore, Goss emphasized that both faculty and alumni serve as vital resources for East Asian Studies students, expanding their network and helping them discover valuable professional opportunities.
Art History Department Chair Rune Nyord highlighted how smaller majors may structurally differ from traditional majors.
“One of the things about the Ancient Mediterranean Studies program is that it’s a fully interdepartmental program, so all of our classes are cross-listed with other departments and they’re offered by faculty in other departments,” Nyord said.
Nyrod added that, as opposed to many college majors, many students in these smaller majors will never have to take a major class in a large lecture hall.
Similarly, according to Master, small majors — and small classes — have their benefits. For example, Master believes that smaller classes can provide a unique and close-knit learning experience that fosters increased dialogue among students.
“You can't just disappear, sit in the back of the room.” Master said. “It's a round table, and I think we're all pretty engaged in the experience in the classroom, so it's a lot of fun.”
