It seems as though every semester, a new minor is proposed or created to allow students to differentiate their fields of study.
One of these new minors is the peace and conflict studies minor. This minor builds on coursework found in philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, history, etc., and could help students signal to potential employers where they have been focusing their education.
But not every minor will help a student find that dream job after graduation. Some minors will be a clear way to indicate an individual’s desire to focus on the campaign management aspect of a political science degree. Others will signal diverse interests, such as physics majors with a minor in creative writing.
Many minors are, however, simply a slight addition to a student’s current major. For example, biology majors can earn a chemistry minor by taking one more upper-division chemistry class beyond what was already required of them. How much does that really say about a student’s interest in the field of chemistry?
The peace and conflict studies minor could fall into either category. It could be a way for political science majors to show their commitment to diplomacy and international relations-or it could just be a way for a student to add another line to his or her diploma.
For this reason, it is important to encourage students in different colleges to look into minors such as the peace and conflict studies minor.
The U has tried to prove its commitment to educating students about global and international issues. Such a commitment is elucidated in our mission statement, as well as the proposal to add an international studies credit to general education requirements.
Despite this, it seems that we only push the importance of understanding international relations on students who already grasp the concept-political science majors, history majors, business majors, etc.
Whether or not students realize it, the fact is, our world is rapidly globalizing. No one in the future will remain unaffected by the actions of those in disparate parts of the world, and it will be important to have some understanding of international issues.
Therefore, we need to find a way to more effectively engage students in disciplines who would not normally be inclined to look into this minor, or other minors like it. Not only will this validate the existence of such minors, but it will give students the opportunity to learn about issues that their major did not cover.
The U needs to think of ways to promote interdisciplinary cooperation among colleges as a means to encourage students from all avenues of campus to explore different issues-and not the ones that are already right up their alley.