Career Opportunities

"Consider the change captured in the annual survey by the University of California, Los Angeles, of more than 400,000 incoming freshmen. In 1971, 37 percent responded that it was essential or very important to be 'very well-off financially,' while 73 percent said the same about 'developing a meaningful philosophy of life.' In 2009, the values were nearly reversed: 78 percent identified wealth as a goal, while 48 percent were after a meaningful philosophy.
"The shift in attitudes is reflected in a shifting curriculum. Nationally, business has been the most popular major for the last 15 years."

Kate Zernike in The New York Times reports on how colleges and universities are eliminating liberal-arts majors in the face of student careerism.

In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Thomas H. Benton (aka William Pannapacker) warns remaining humanities majors against entering graduate school.

And in the Los Angeles Times, William Tierney calls for a new Master Plan for higher education in California.