There is a debate in education in regards to university schedules in which one group prefers to study other subjects of interest in addition to their regular classes while others believe that a student must allocate as much time as she or he possibly can to their specific area of study, ignoring other courses. While I understand the reasoning behind the second group’s view point, I personally align more with group 1.
Firstly, there are many advantages that come with broader knowledge such as improved reasoning and thinking skills. One example is philosophy in which most philosophers often struggle with thinking outside of their specialised fields because they had never learned anything other than their regular coursework, and that proves the importance of knowledge outside of one’s domain. The reason is that if a person is not able to use his learned thinking skills to the fullest to solve other problems, then that signifies that he had wasted his time in all of the classes that he had participated in. Additionally, even though spending more time in a particular discipline might seem better at first, I believe that having more generalised knowledge as well as a degree in a specific area, together, will prove better and more practical in the future.
Furthermore, taking on a heavier course load will undoubtedly introduce more resources and strategies to a university student and similarly, it will also provide the students with many more opportunities, helping them construct crucial social connections.
In conclusion, acquiring more knowledge is always helpful and if everyone studied both a major and a minor in college, he or she will improve in many aspects such as essential reasoning, useful thinking skills, strategies, resources, as well as opportunities.